Almost English (38 page)
It was only when I began to write this novel that I realized how very little I knew about the history of Hungary and the Carpathian mountains. Slowly, painfully, I saw that knowledge was not the point; it was the lives of central Europeans in England, and their silence about the past, which interested me. Consequently – what a wonderful excuse – my research was dominated by one of my and my grandparents’ main interests: food. I particularly recommend:
Maria Floris,
Cooking for Love
(Putnam, London, 1959), for its old-fashioned intimacy, Anglophilia and wit; it could have been written by Mrs Dobos.
Károly Gundel,
Hungarian Cookery Book
(Corvina Press, Budapest, 1974).
Erzsébet Hunyady,
Ajó Házi Konyha
(Singer & Wolfner, Budapest, early 20th century).
George Lang,
The Cuisine of Hungary
(Penguin, London, 1985), which has all the recipes for Witches’ Froth, Eggs Metternich, Transdanubian Corn Cake, Wild Duck with Quinces and
Hortobágyi reszelt tészta tüdovel
(grated noodles with calf’s lung filling as in Hortobágy) that one could wish for.
József Venesz,
Hungarian Cuisine
(Corvina Press, Budapest, 1963), chiefly for its startling photographs.
However, certain other books were also helpful for atmosphere, and a little detail, particularly:
Péter Baki/Colin Ford/George Szirtes,
Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the Twentieth Century
(Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2011).
Adam Biro,
One Must Also Be Hungarian
(University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2006).
Edita Katona,
Code-Name Marianne
(Fontana, London, 1977).
Sándor Márai,
Embers
(Viking, London, 2002).
George Mikes,
How to Be an Alien
(Penguin, London, 1966) which, more than anything else, captures the character of the Hungarians I knew; it could have been entitled
How to Handle a Hungarian.
G. Pálóczy-Horváth,
In Darkest Hungary
(Gollancz, London, 1944).
Jan Pierikowski,
The Fairy Tales
(Puffin, London, 2005).
Daniel Snowman,
The Hitler Emigrés
(Pimlico, London, 2003).
Bram Stoker,
Dracula
(Penguin, London, 1994).
And lastly:
Ann Barr and Peter York,
The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook
(Ebury, London, 1982) and
The Official Sloane Ranger Diary
(Ebury, London, 1983).
Glossary and Pronunciation
In Hungarian, the emphasis is always on the first syllable. This makes the pronunciation of many English words and phrases rather distinctive:
Don’t be funny –
Donnt-
be-fanee
Never mind –
Nair
-vairmind
Wonderful –
Von-
darefool
Terrible –
Tair-
ible
Attila –
Ott
-illó
Waterloo –
Vort
-aloo
Westminster Court –
Vest
-minstaircourt
Rozsi –
Roe-
ji
Zsuzsi –
Ju
-ji
Marinaka –
Mor
-inókó
Hungarians will tell you proudly that their language is phonetic. However, learning how to pronounce each letter takes a little time:
Á
or
a
like the English ‘ó’ as in ‘Pot’
C
like the English ‘ts’ as in ‘Volts’
Gy
like the English ‘dy’ as in ‘D’ye know where the bus is?’
I
like the English ‘ee’ as in ‘Flee’
Lj
like the English ‘ly’ as in ‘Lure’
Ö
like the English ‘er’ as in ‘Her’
S
like the English ‘sh’ as in ‘Shame’
Sz
like the English ‘s’ as in ‘Sausage’
Ü
like the English ‘oo’ as in ‘Look’
Zs
like the French ‘j’ as in ‘Je’
This is how the following Hungarian words and phrases are pronounced, or at least were pronounced by my grandparents, and what, roughly, they mean in English:
Igen
–
ee-
gen (Yes)
Köszönöm
–
kus-
unum (Thank you)
Boldog születésnap – bull-
dog
soo-
lertaishnop (Happy birthday)
Hogy vagy – hodge vodge
(How are you?)
Szervusz
–
sare-
vus (I am at your service)
Kezét csókolom – ke-
zet
choc
-olom (I kiss your hand)
Kedves egészségére!
–
ked
-vesh
egg-
ayshaygaydre! (Cheers, i.e. to your house)
Krumplisaláta
–
krum-
plysólótó (Potato salad)
Paprikás krumpli
–
pó-
prikoshkrumply (Potatoes with paprika)
Körözött – ker-
erzert (Liptauer-style cream cheese spread with caraway and paprika)
Egyszersmind – edj-
sairshmeend (At the same time)
Összehasonlíthatatlan – ursh-
sehóshernleehótótlón (Incomparable)
Hanyszor fogsz felkelni ma éjjel?
–
Hony-
sore forgs
fel-
kelnee ma
ay-
el? (How many times will you get up tonight?)
Ahányszor kell
–
O-
hawnysore kell (As often as I need to)
Édes Zsuzsi, Virág virágnak
–
Ey-
desh
Ju-
ji
, vee-
rog
vee-
rognok (Sweet Zsuzsi, flower to flower)
Huszonnyolc
–
huss
-onyoltz (Twenty-eight)
Üdvözöljük –
Ood-verzerlynook (You are welcome)
Nez
–
nayz
(Look)
Nem
–
nem
(No)
Nem tu dom
–
nem-
tudom (I don’t know); ‘nemtudom’ plums are really called this
Hihetetlen
–
hi
-hetetlen (Unbelievable)
Em érted
–
em air-
ted (You don’t understand)
Viszontlatasra – viss
-ontlaataashró (Goodbye)
Madártej – mod-
arté (Floating islands)
Dios torta – dee
-oshtortó (Walnut cake)
Mákos – mark
-osh (Poppy seed)
Palacsinta – pol
-oshintó (Pancake)
Kukorica
–
koo
-koritsó (Corn)
Pongyola
–
pon
-dyuló (Dressing gown)
Kavitchka – kaa-
vitchkó (Little coffee)
Szívesen – See-
vershen (You’re welcome)
Buta
–
boo
-tó (Stupid)
Csúnya – choon-
yó (Ugly)
Popsi – pop-
shi (Bum) also
popó – pó
-po
Nagyon szép ház
–
nodg
-on sep hoss (A beautiful house)
Kivel beszél
–
kee-
vel
bess-
el (Who is she talking to?)
Yoy de édes
–
Yoy
de
ai
-desh (Oh, so sweet!)
Nagyon édes – nodg
-on
ay-
desh (Very sweet)
Teljesen hülye – tel
-yesen
hoo
-ye (Completely bonkers)
Megmondhatjuk Dobos neninek? – Meg-
mondhotyook
Dob-
osh
nay
-ninek? (How do I tell Mrs Dobos?)
Acknowledgements
Thank you to:
Marta Buszewicz, Tina Cotzias, Jane Craig, Marion Donaldson, Lucia Grun, Mary-Anne Harrington, Pat Kavanagh, Martha Lane Fox, Jean MacDonald, Kati Mendelson, Max Mendelson, Rachel Mendelson, Jane Morpeth, Elaine O’Dwyer, Tamara Oppenheimer, Nicola Roche, Kate Saunders, Helen Simpson, Caroline Stofer
. . . they know why.
To:
Claire Baldwin, Lynne Drew, Judit Katona-Apte, Hannah Robson, Àgnes Szervànszky, Valerie Thomas, Jon Woolcott
. . . for linguistic and other help.
And to all at Rogers, Coleridge and White, especially Gill Coleridge;
to all at Mantle and Picador, especially Maria Rejt and Camilla Elworthy;
and to Joanna Briscoe, above all.
Also by Charlotte Mendelson
Love in Idleness
Daughters of Jerusalem
When We Were Bad
First published 2013 by Mantle
This electronic edition published 2013 by Mantle
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-1998-9
Copyright © Charlotte Mendelson 2013
The right of Charlotte Mendelson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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