Every language has its own history; be it the things that its native speakers remembers or the hidden things from its ancient past that influenced it to be what it is today. The
Hungarian language has its own share of history and influence that gives it its own uniqueness as a language. Hungarian was a central part of the everyday life of the Kingdom of Hungary and continues to play a role in Hungary and Transylvania. Though there are different dialects of the Hungarian language, each and every person that speaks Hungarian can be proud of the unifying factor that is their language.
Hungarian is mostly spoken in Europe though there are pockets of Hungarian diaspora communities globally where it can be found being spoken. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic language family and is largely spoken in Hungary and Serbia where it is the national language. It is also spoken in Romania, Slovakia, Austria, Ukraine, Croatia and Slovenia where it is a minority language. Apart from being spoken in these countries, Hungarian is also one of the official languages of the European Union.
Hungarian Speakers
Though the largest concentration of Hungarian speakers is concentrated in Hungary, there are other speakers outside the country and out of the European Union:
- Native Speakers. There are 13 million native speakers of Hungarian worldwide of who 9.9 million live in Hungary. 98.6% of these speakers speak it as a first language while another 0.6% speaks it as a second language. Another 2.2 million of native Hungarian speakers are found in the countries around Hungary that made up the former Kingdom of Hungary.
- Foreigners. There are 1 million people who speak Hungarian who are spread all over the world although the largest concentration is in the USA where there are 100,000 people who can speak the Hungarian language.The Hungarian language is more than a form of communication for those who speak it; it is one of those things that give them an identity and something to be proud of.
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