Ausztral Tom - Surprising Benefits of Learning Hungarian

Hello everyone! How are we? I hope you had a blast with the latest video. Let's talk about some of the references and I'll give some other details. This is long!

Ok, does anyone know Szivtipro Gimi? It was the reference of the opening credits (Heartbreak High in English). When I first went to Hungary I was in absolute shock to see decades-old reruns of this Aussie show playing on commercial TV there. This show was every Australian kid's favourite back in the day, and since then several people have tagged me in tweets and things in relation to the show. So I know not everyone knows it, but I hope at least one or two Drazic/Anita/Rivers fans got a kick out of it. Plus the song is a cheesy jam regardless. Look at the 90s vibes of this visual, I'm obsessed with it. 

The first screen showed 'Bendeguz Productions Presents'. Remember when he was my assistant? Gosh what an up and comer. Now it's probably just me who found it funny when I left in the 'Magyar Hangok.... Dozsa Zoltan' over the picture of the first cast member. She doesn't even speak!

We're completely at home for this video. It has been raining so much here in Sydney, which they say is the fault of La Nina. Can't complain ever since 2019 when the sky was overcast from smoke and smelled like ash due to bushfires every day for months.

Anyway, I had this joke that I was saying how excited I was about today's video but I'm actually just reading an autocue. I should've kept reading it.

This video was originally going to be an FAQ, and I did save all the questions that everyone asked. However, I just got so many questions about 'Miert tanulsz magyarul' so it felt appropriate to dedicate a video to that question. Someone phrased this question as 'Why do you learn this useless language' which I thought was really unfortunate. Not without reason, sometimes Hungarians don't realise how intensely rich and impactful your culture is and what a supportive and engaging community you can be. So I took the approach to talk about that as opposed to explaining why I started learning Hungarian (which I've repeated 6 or 7 times in other places already). Hungarian is an endless source of fascination for me and my overall life is better from having delved into it.

I copied these phrasing of the questions from my email, where I also had a spam email about how someone made 122,300 forints (specific) in one day. So I love the idea of the editor (me) not paying attention and accidentally adding stuff like that.

As I explain, I learn Hungarian because of my Brutalis es Aberralt Magyar-nyelvi Belso Abnormitasom (BAMBA for short). Can you fathom how look it took me, with diminished Hungarian skills, to come up with a silly medical acronym in Hungarian that still vaguely makes sense? It's a bit awks but we got there!

When we spell out my Bamba disease a celebratory noise plays. If anyone knew this comes from Szerenceskerek I'd be astounded! I don't really know what the best English translation of bamba would be but I thought an equivalent level of goofy/daftness with an Australian twist would be 'no hoper drongo'. Great word in any case! 

Now let's talk about some of the surprising life-changing benefits. Also did you notice the Kiwi bird in the corner of the above image? I forgot it was there haha I should've given it more attention.

I can't tell you how true this is for me that Hungarian is high-altitude language training. The first foreign language I learned in French, which included living in Paris for one year as an exchange student then an intern with the World Bank Group. French has some tricky things to learn like gender but honestly the learning curve doesn't compare to Hungarian where as an English speaker you have to get a grasp of such a breadth of new linguistic features. 

So now nothing fazes me if someone is breaking down a foreign word, place name or last name, I have so many references and coping tools (haha) to draw from. Or I have the confidence to know I'll get it eventually. 

Also I really don't know who Vastag Csaba is. The internet makes jokes about him all the time and I tried Googling him but the information is just plain and factual and at this point. It's honestly holding me back in life. 

But what did you think of the Language Roasting segment of the video? Wow this was the weirdest thing I've ever done. Did you know I am an APPALLING youtuber? I know I'm meant to cook Tik Tok recipes and review supermarket food but instead I pretend I'm talking to Morse Code? I just wouldn't have it any other way though. This took an eternity to edit haha.

Can you Hungarians actually say 'Te tetted-e ttettette tettett'? I just hear that noise from the 2000s that your computer speakers make when your mobile phone nearby gets a call. 

Now later on, we joke that if you learn Hungarian enough that you'll become a Level 8 Hungarians and can solve Rubiks cubes in warp speed. 'Level 8 Hungarian' was a reference to Scientology which apparently has this grading system where it unlocks 'abilities' at each level. 

But is it true all Hungarians can do this? Don't lie to me

On to the next surprising benefit, the Jofej radar. And it's something I really didn't expect from the outset of learning Hungarian. You wouldn't believe how much non-Hungarians in Australia try to impress with me their knowledge of Hungary. Everything I listed has happened to me, and I love the random assortment of things that come up. It's so diverse! Again, this doesn't happen with other languages. No one talks about so many diverse French things to me, they just say that they went to Paris as if they were ticking it off a list.  

You should see their faces when they want to show off they can say Csikszentmihalyi etc. It comes up quite a bit because my field of work is influenced by psychology. Australians haven't shaped the modern world like you guys have. 

Now at the same time, some people are ****s. .1% of the time someone will say something completely ignorant and actually it's embarrassing for them. Also, you can see below my 'science chart' some esteemed organisations put together. I'm not saying people can't have heated opinions or criticisms of a country, my issue is when the comment is TACKY. (cliche, poorly timed, tone deaf). 

Anyway, my whole point of this section is that when someone has a cool Hungarian connection to share with me, there's a great chance we're gonna click. I love talking about their bicycle tours or the Kodaly method, because beyond being interesting, it shows to me they're a well-rounded person with an array of passions and interests. Love that stuff. So in that sense, it's a predictive indicator of cool people in my experience.

Intermission is next! And guys, this is not Bendeguz. This is a wallaby, Bendeguz is a kangaroo.

Okay I don't know who got this next fake out where I suggest that Benefit #3 is Erste Bank's new internet banking experience. If you didn't know I wasn't insulting Erste Bank, I was poking fun at YouTubers or influencers who try to force-fit sponsorships into a themed video. I think it's so funny when they do that. And imagine if I really thought I could get away with pimping online banking in a video about learning Hungarian??  Anyway, shout out to them. 

Because the actual Benefit 3 is all the amazing people I've met! I never would have encountered any of you fine souls if I hadn't been learning Hungarian. I can't say it enough how appreciative I am of everyone's support. Imagine someone taking time out of their day to share a music video they like with me? Or tell me an expression? Or when people run into me on the street they're so friendly.    

But if I have to generalise the Hungarians I've interacted with, I see so many charming and intriguing attributes which I rattle off in the video. Nagy lelkuek but kinda bad ass.  

Writing an aristocratic letter in one tab, making a dodgy meme in the next tab. By which I mean, your Hungarian way of writing letters can be so verbose with all kinds of borderline royal formalities. But then you hit ctrl + tab and you're making/sharing/enjoying the most hilarious and low-rent meme about Szajer Jozsef. Ah it's right up my alley. 

Thank God you don't care for triangle sandwiches in Hungary. They're not a celebration for you, they're more of an insult. Your celebrations have soul. Symbolism. 

I made the point that Hungarians tend to have world view that goes beyond the English language bubble, for obvious reasons. For me, this is refreshing. It's almost concerning when here in Australia, 'the world' means UK and US, and maybe Canada. It happens in the run-of-the-mill news reporting, but it also happens in conversation. Sometimes it's trivial, other times it's quite limiting. 

After this part I was explaining some great media you've shared with me and the two examples were Gyongyhaju Lany and Bye Bye Sasha. 

If I'm honest, I'm not sure what to make of the Bye Bye Sasha song (by Pa Do Do). I'll get back to you.

Lastly! I had a fake Microsoft Teams call where I was trolling Janos who doesn't know I speak Hungarian. What better way than by making the Monika show my background image. I just thought what would be the weirdest damn thing you could see over Microsoft Teams.

I wouldn't troll people in real life like that! It's all for jokes. 

Thank you so much for watching this video but more than that thank you for adding to my magyar experience. Here's Rajmund for you.