HELEN HAJNOCZKY

The Rusty Toque | Poetry | Issue 2 | February 27, 2012

EXCERPT FROM MAGYARAZNI

The following pieces are taken from Magyarazni, a book exploring Hungarian-Canadian experience. If you or someone you know is of Hungarian descent and would be interested in being interviewed for the project, please contact Helen Hajnoczky or visit her blog for more information.

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bod, call /an extended cat, bad /as by, absence etc / like tsunami
as check, cheek, etching etc. / deck, wide etc. / like in kids
jam, George, bridge, edge, fridge / like less, cheque, edge, bed
like in "same", without the /ɪ/ part of the diphthong /eɪ/
café, hey / find, euphoria / get, leg, go etc. / (not used in English)
similar to: duke, dew, due (British, not American, pronunciation)
Basic: hi / 1. behind / 2. <mute> / 3. Loch, Chanukah /4. Human
thick, thin / lead, leave, seed, sea / you, yes, faith / key, kiss, weak
leave, list / hey, ray / mind, assume, might, / thing, lying (before k,g),
need, bone (anywhere else) / new (in BE, not AE) niño/niña (Spanish)
force, sorcerer / go, sew, snow
(Not used in English; corresponds to German Ö)
(Not used in English; a longer, more closed variant of Ö)
peas, apricot, hope / (not used in BE, pronounced like Spanish R
or like the t and tt in AE water and butter) / share, wish, shout
say, estimate / tell, least, feast / (not used in English)
similar to: stew, Stuart (BE RP) / rude / do, fool
(not used in English, corresponds to German Ü)
(not used in English)
very, every / view, evolve, vacuum
desert, roses
pleasure, leisure, genre.

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HELEN HAJNOCZKY first book, Poets and Killers: A Life in Advertising is available from Snare Books. Her work has appeared in fillingStation, Matrix, NoD, Rampike, and Speechless magazines as well as in a variety of chapbooks. She holds and MA in English and is currently working towards an MLIS.