The local language in Budapest is Hungarian however English is widely spoken in the city centre. Younger people tend to be fluent, older people less so. People involved in the tourist industry e.g. hotels, restaurants, are more used to speaking English than others.
So you can manage perfectly well in Budapest with just English but if you are feeling brave why not try a few words of Hungarian on some of the people you meet. A dozen or so common words will go a long way
If you really want to study one of the most difficult languages in the world, it is possible. The Hungarians adore their language, they say it is the most expressive and musical of all languages. You can judge for yourself. Until recently it was difficult to find good learning material but last year Pimsleur brought out a Hungarian language course on CD's. Like all the Pimsleur courses it is slanted towards business users but everyday words and phrases are taught clearly and after only a couple of lessons you will be itching to try out your new vocabulary.
Visit this link for information on how to
Start Learning Hungarian with the Pimsleur Language Course
Useful words
Koszonom = Thank You, pronounced koss-enom
Kerem = Please, pronounced keh-rem
Nem = No
Igen = Yes, pronounced ee-gen (a hard "g" as in "goal")
Bocsanat = Excuse me, pronounced boschAnAt |
