Hunglish.orgWhat's weird about greetings in the Hungarian language as oppossed to the English? Let me tell you then what it's all about.
By Scott Savoie
One of the weirdest things about first arriving in Hungary is the greeting system.
What is odd is that they use sound very similar to their English counterparts. “Szia” (Hungarian for “hi”) sounds a lot like “see ya” and “Hállo” sounds a lot like “Hello” to me.
What’s strange is that often use these words in the exact opposite of when you would say the English homonym. So upon arrival here, it feels you you just stepped into Bizarro World.
Bizzaro was a character from the Superman comic series. He was Superman’s opposite. Everything was the opposite in Bizzaro world. There, people say “goodbye” when they mean “hello,” etc.
Hungary felt a bit like that to me at first.
Now, however, I have mastered the fine art of Hungarian salutations. I say “Kezit csokalom” (lit. “I kiss you,” a formal Hungarian greeting) to old women whose hands I wouldn’t want to touch, let alone kiss.
My fear is that if I ever have to go back to an English-speaking country, this habit of switching “Hello” and “see ya” might make me too eccentric to be even a dogcatcher. I could wind up a substitute PE teacher or guidance counselor…