Modern Magyar-Angol Szótár [antikvár]

PREFACE Although the compilation of this dictionary was begun under the impulse of the events that took place in Hungary in October and November, 1956, it claims to be more than a convenient tool to help the Hungarian refugees arriving in this country. It claims to be the only Hungarian-English dictionary with some pretensions to scholarship published in Great Britain. Many Hungarian-English dictionaries, some very good, have been published in Hungary. They have one weak point in common; the choice of the English word is not always fortunate. The English equivalents are very often taken from older dictionaries and do not reflect contemporary English usage. In fact, for anybody living outside the country it is well-nigh impossible to keep abreast of the latest developments in the vocabulary. As this was a difficulty I did not have to contend with, I hope that I have succeeded in giving for each modern concept the English word actually used. The utmost care has been taken also to dispose of all the dead wood frequently carried by even such small dictionaries as the present one. It goes without saying that a dictionary of this size—comprising about 10,000 words—cannot lay any claim to completeness. The Hungarian words included in the dictionary have been selected with very great care. I have tried to give such words as a Hungarian living in England is likely to look for in a dictionary. The current vocabularies of conversational Hungarian and English differ widely; so do the conversational topics likely to be taken up in an average conversation. To give but one example, names of flowers or birds used daily in English small-talk are most uncommon in Hungarian conversation and, therefore, a Hungarian using this dictionary would probably have found their inclusion of little use. On the other hand, he will look for the English equivalents of words very frequent in Hungarian conversation, whose English counterparts are rarely used. Equally conversant with usage in both languages, I have tried to bridge the gap between Hungarian and English ways of thinking. In connection with my teaching of Hungarian at the University of Cambridge, I have for some years experienced the difficulty of being unable to recommend to my students a reasonably priced dictionary which should prove adequate for the reading of those iv