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The Universal Language

It is, alas, _not_ Hungarian. 🙂

[Although it is a well known fact that Martians also speak it. Not that we could have any further proof until Matt Damon, the first earthling ever to have a chance to meet them, will tell us all about it. No wonder the movie was shot (mainly) on location in Hungary & Budapest, is there? 😉 ]

To your ears  Hungarian will most probably sound weird. Or at least different.

It’s perfectly natural, though, Hungarian not being of Indo-European origin, but a Uralic  language (like Finnish). (Or so the currently most widely accepted theories claim…)

No worries: here is a list of words and expressions to help you get through the first shock. (You’ll also get a printed copy in your conference bag.)

[Further help on  how to pronounce all those weird characters.]

Just to prove that it’s not _that_ difficult: if Freddy Mercury could do it, so can you! 🙂

Splashing Around

There was lots of a-splishin’ and a’splashin’ at the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia during the last few weeks. The Hungarian Team splished-splashed some and won 3 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals, finishing 8th on the overall medal table!

At the Masters’ Championships, the eldest contestant, 95-year-old Bánki Horváth Béla won  the 200 m backstroke  event, setting a new world record!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL ATHLETES FOR GIVING THEIR BEST!

On this note: the 17th FINA World Championships in 2017 will be held in Budapest. The official mascot of the event has just been unmasked.

OUCH 🙂

We Got It Covered

The June/July double issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society  features not one, but TWO Hungarian mathematicians from Rényi Institute (the Mathematical Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) who have played a leading role in the Polymath8 project, while all other institutions from all over the world contribute only ONE each!

If you are interested in other Hungarian achievements, please visit our corresponding timeline.