Exclusive Interview with Hungarian TikTok Sensation Livi
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With an unrivalled charm and a keen eye for the comedic elements of everyday life, Hungarian TikTok sensation, Livi, offers a humorous glimpse into the unique and uproariously funny nuances of the Hungarian language. In this exclusive interview, we delve into her journey of turning the bizarre yet hilarious idioms and phrases of her mother tongue into viral TikTok videos, her experiences of growing up in the United States while straddling two different cultures, and what Hungarian identity means to her.
To start off, can you tell us how your TikTok/Instagram journey began, and how long you have been a creator? How did you discover your unique voice or niche on these platforms?
Iβve been a creator since about late 2020, and it has been a crazy journey! I started off just posting funny anecdotes from my life, but it wasnβt long before I shared my Hungarian background and captured a Hungarian audience. I donβt think I ever realised how interesting my Hungarian speaking skills were to native Hungarians. I grew up in California where most of my classmates spoke a different language at home, so it was completely normal to me to be bilingual and experience a different culture at home than in school. Once I spoke in Hungarian on a video, Hungarians were enthralled with my accent and asked me to continue. I now predominantly post videos in Hungarian on my TikTok with English subtitles. I love that my platform has helped me keep in touch with my Hungarian community and simultaneously promote language learning.
How did the idea of creating these hilarious Hungarian TikTok videos come about, and what was your breakthrough viral content?Β
Thank you for thinking theyβre hilarious! My breakthrough viral content was a βtell meβ trend where I asked viewers to share moments where they caught others speaking about them in another language. I then proceeded to tell a story about how some Hungarians were behind me and my friends in a cafe, saying that we were a group of βstupid American girls.β I proceeded to place everyoneβs order in Hungarian in front of them and they stopped chatting pretty quickly after that. In terms of creating content, I think I see a lot of my life experiences through two lenses and that duality helps me see quirky things about the Hungarian language that maybe Hungarians sometimes donβt see. For example, Iβll very often translate Hungarian phrases to English since they just capture the moment better than an English phrase, but, in doing this, I realise how funny it can sound to English speaking ears.
@liv_iathan Iβm so ready for these stories #foryou #fyp β¬ original sound β LIVI
Could you share a bit of background story of your familyβs move to the States? Where do they come from originally? Do you still have relatives living in Hungary?Β
My mother is from Budapest, and my father was from California. My father was a friend of my moms cousin, who already lived in California at the time, and they met when my mom was visiting once. My momβs parents moved out to the States a few years after my parents got married as I was on the way. My father passed away when I was a year old, so I spent the majority of my time with my maternal grandparents, who only spoke Hungarian. Hungarian was technically my first language as a result. We no longer have relatives in Hungary but we do have many family friends we still visit.
When did you first visit Hungary, and what were your first impressions? And despite your Hungarian roots, did you experience any culture shock?
Well, I was first of all shocked to hear Hungarian all around me! It was mind boggling, because, for me, this language only existed in a home environment up until that point. We would sometimes meet Hungarians out and about in grocery stores, but I had never in my life been able to walk into a store and ask a clerk, in Hungarian, where an item I was looking for was. It was so empowering to know that, thanks to knowing the language and growing up with the culture, even if I was thousands of miles from my physical home, I was still home. In terms of culture shock, I donβt think I experienced as much of it as the group I was traveling with did. My first trip to Hungary was with ReConnect Hungary, a Hungarian birthright trip for young adults, and most of the cohort had never even been exposed to Hungarian culture prior to the trip. I will say that paying to use the bathroom or paying for toilet paper surprised me, though.
Do you have any plans for another visit to Hungary in the near future?
Iβm dying to visit! I havenβt been to Hungary since 2018, and now that the pandemic has ended, Iβd really love to visit. Iβm also very excited to take my fiancΓ©, Torrey, as well. I think Iβve talked his ear off about it at this point but heβs ecstatic to go, so my chatter has paid off!
Delightful.Thank you for this. What a lovely young woman of intellect,humour,all around brightness.
A truly pleasurable read.
~*All*The*Happiness*In*The*World*Livi*Dear*~
β₯
Mayora