Facts to go
Popular destination for people from all over the world
Tourism also plays a key role in the economy: historic Budapest and the picturesque Lake Balaton have always been highly popular tourist destinations. However, Europe’s largest plain – the puszta – a world heritage site, also draws in visitors from abroad, who are just as enthralled by this unique landscape as they are by the culture (like the Csikós – the traditional horsemen – who dominate the work of art entitled ‘Hungarian Post’: standing on the back of the last two of five galloping horses). In view of such special particularities as well as its around 350 thermal baths and the unique Hungarian cuisine, with dishes such as the popular goulash soup (gulyás) or chicken paprikash (paprikás csirke), it’s no wonder that each year sees more tourists heading to Hungary.
Why is translation into or from Hungarian best left to native speakers?
The outstanding quality of our Hungarian translation services is largely based on the fact that tolingo works only with native speaker translations. In order to be able to produce a precise, technically correct translation, you not only require excellent knowledge of the specialist language and terminology, but you also you need practical knowledge on the respective topic area as well as real knowledge of the customs of the country. At tolingo, your content will therefore only be handled by professional translators who can prove they have years of practical experience in your respective field.
The subtleties of a Hungarian translation
The best way to explain why they are so important is to use an example: in Hungarian, there is an almost limitless number of greetings and forms of address. Some are legacies from the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and are used for (older) women, others are used by children for adults, still others serve as a form of address by men to women they don’t know personally and young people also use their own really special colloquialisms.
These subtle cultural aspects are what make the difference in translation: it goes without saying that native speakers would understand each of these terms. But it would also be immediately clear if the text was translated by someone unfamiliar with the cultural customs of the country. At best, it would appear amusing, at worst offensive, but one way or another, it would not leave a good impression with your clients. To avoid such blunders, we recommend working with a professional translation agency like tolingo: Whatever content you want to have translated – our professional specialist translators will always strike the right note with each project!
Future-oriented industries
and an important trade partner
Not many people are aware of how significant the Hungarian market is for the European economy: the billions in imports and exports puts the country in 13th place among German trading partners. This is where major European car manufacturers, who produce in Hungary, play a particularly important role. The export of cars and car parts as well as machines and electronics collectively make up around half of total export revenues and around a third of the population work in the industry. It is, among other things, these good trade relations – especially with Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, which are the main German sales markets for Hungarian exports and make up 60% of sales – that has led Hungary to record a steady increase in GDP over the past ten years.
The Hungarian language – an island in Europe
Hungarian is a unique language island within Europe because it is completely different to the languages spoken by its neighbouring countries. It originated over 7,000 years ago from the so-called ‘Proto-Uralic’ and belongs to the Ugric branch of the Finno-Ugric languages within the Uralic language family. Although they belong to the same language family, Hungarian and Finnish are so different that speakers of these languages are not even able to improvise to be able to understand each other. Hungarian is spoken by around 13.5 million people. Aside from a few large Hungarian minorities in Romania and Slovakia, however, you’ll rarely find this language outside of its country of origin. Thus, the official language of Hungary, which has been one of the official languages of the European Union since 1 May 2004, is something really rather special.
