The consonants are called single (b, d, g, &c.) or combined (cs, gy, ly, &c.).

The combined letters have been adopted to supply the deficiency of the Latin alphabet in symbols for representing the forty sounds or articulations which the Hungarian language comprises. They must be looked upon as one single letter only, representing one single and distinct sound or articulation, and cannot be divided in spelling or pronunciation.

Note.-If in a word the sound of a combined consonant is heard with greater stress, that is, where these letters are to be written double, they are thus abbreviated: for cscs, ccs; for gygy, ggy; &c. But if these consonants meet only by means of suffixes or putting together of words (compounds), they must be written out in full. Also when a word is broken off at the

B 2

end of a line, the missing letter is to be replaced; e.g., asszony

(woman) is divided thus: asz-szony.

The consonants are pronounced

:

c (or cz) as ts in its, or the German z; e.g., citrom, a lemon.

The Hungarian language has no diphthongs and no mute letters. Every character is to be pronounced distinctly and in full, always retaining the same sound, and each word in as many syllables as it contains vowels. For instance: fiaim has three syllables and is pronounced fi-a-im.

Vowels are divided into :

(a) Flats: a, á, 0, ó, u, ú;

ė

(b) Sharps e, é ó, ö, ü, u; and

(c) Mediates: é, i, í.

Flats and sharps never occur in the same word, and accordingly as the vowels are of the one or the other class, the words are said to be sharp or flat, and only take suffixes with vowels of their respective class. The mediates occur in both, and such words are then called mixed; they take the suffixes either of the one or of the other class.

Note. This rule does not prevent, however, the formation of compound substantives of heterogeneous words, but applies only to etymological derivatives. So, for instance, selyemruha is a compound of selyem (silk) and ruha (a gown). The emphasis rests always on the first syllable.

ACCIDENCE.

The parts of speech are the same as in other languages—viz., Nouns, Verbs, and Particles.

Of these the nouns (substantive, adjective, numeral pronoun)

and verbs undergo certain modifications in order to express the

various accidental circumstances of number, case, person, time,

and place. These modifications are called inflections; and the defining particles joined to the words are called suffixes.

Particles are not inflected, but are used to define the noun or

verb.

NOUNS SUBSTANTIVE.

The Substantive may be defined to express number, person, case, place and direction. The Particles used to define the Nouns are: article, suffix, and postpositions.

ARTICLES.

There are two articles: a definite and an indefinite. The definite article is a before words beginning with a consonant, and az before words beginning with a vowel.

The definite article is put before nouns when a certain and defined thing is referred to―i.e., before definite nouns, which it precedes then invariably, even in cases where in English it would be omitted, as, for instance, where a pronoun stands before it-e.g., a fiú, the boy; or az én fiam, my boy; az* a fiú, that boy, &c.

The indefinite article is egy (one), which is at the same time numeral, in which sense it is used. It is not necessary in Hungarian to put the indefinite article before a noun, if spoken of in general terms only-e.g., embert láttam, I saw a man.

Egy is used only, as has been said, to express number: as, egy embert láttam, I have seen a (one) man.

OF SUFFIXES.

The Suffixes by which nouns are modified are twenty-one. They are joined to the root, which sometimes undergoes orthographical changes, to be described further on.

* Az is here demonstrative pronoun.

These suffixes, divided into four categories, may be :

1. Suffixes expressing number.

2.

:

There are two numbers; a singular and a plural.

The plural is formed by adding -k to nouns ending with a vowel; or -ak, -ok, -ek, -ök to nouns ending with a consonant. In forming the plural the following rules are to be observed :

a and e at the end of a noun become lengthened in the plural; as fa (tree), plural fák; eke (plough), plural ekék.

Nouns ending with a consonant preceded by á or é shorten these vowels in the plural; excepting those ending in -ság, -ség, or -gás, -gés; and a few monosyllable nouns-e.g.

If the final consonants of the last two syllables in polysyllabic

nouns would admit an easy pronunciation without the inter