Stereotypes that characterise Hungarians
There are stereotypes about every country in the world. The English drink tea all the time, the Americans drive huge cars, while the Italians communicate loudly and gesticulate a lot. Some of these stereotypes are true, some are a bit exaggerated. Some are positive while others paint a negative picture of the country. What stereotypes are there about us Hungarians? Here are the most common ones. We let you decide for yourself whether they are true or not.
Bitter but humorous people
Many people regard Hungarians as pessimists. Many foreigners think that Hungarians are too negative. Often, instead of looking at the positive side of things, we only focus on the negative ones. This can also be traced back to history. But this approach also fuels our sense of humour. We try to cheer ourselves up with sarcastic or self-deprecating jokes. We Hungarians also say “we laugh with tears”.
Pálinka and alcoholism
If you were to ask foreigners what the first drink that comes to their minds when they think of Hungary is, they would most probably say wine or pálinka. Hungarians are fond of both drinks, and many even produce their own. Alcohol and its consumption is a Hungarian heritage and part of national consciousness. As a result, according to the WHO, there are 900,000 alcoholics in Hungary.
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Lack of language skills, strange language
Although we like to boast that there are many Hungarian Nobel Prize winners, foreigners think that Hungarians are not so good at foreign languages. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that synchronous speech is very common in Hungary. So people watch much fewer films and series in their original language. Speaking of language, foreigners find our mother tongue quite peculiar. It reminds some of the Elvish language from The Lord of the Rings.
Horse riding nation
The fact that our Hungarian ancestors travelled on horseback is a historical fact. For this reason, many people still believe that Hungarians travel on horses and shoot their bows wherever they please. A similar stereotype to that is that all Hungarians sport a moustache.
One stereotype that many Hungarians admit is true is that ‘Hungarians are quick to borrow money but very slow to pay it back (if ever)’, as I have found out to my considerable cost.
1. It is as if complaining was the national sport of Hungary. Answers to questions will contain some gripe, “How are you?”, “Okay but a little tired.”
2. Corruption at every level is accepted as a natural state of affairs. “What can you do?”
3. Shortcuts. Hungarians will find a shortcut (kiskapu) for just about everything. Johnny Carson once quipped, “A Hungarian is who follows you in a revolving door and comes out ahead of you.”
4. Hungarians expect that the government (at all levels) will solve the problems, they look to the government for answers.
All these point to an endemic need to escape personal responsibility: to blame, to evade, to ignore – anything but to act responsibly.
1. It is as if complaining was the national sport of Hungary. Answers to questions will contain some gripe, “How are you?”, “Okay but a little tired.”
2. Corruption at every level is accepted as a natural state of affairs. “What can you do?”
3. Shortcuts. Hungarians will find a shortcut (kiskapu) for just about everything. Johnny Carson once quipped, “A Hungarian is who follows you in a revolving door and comes out ahead of you.”
4. Hungarians expect that the government (at all levels) will solve the problems, they look to the government for answers.
All these point to an endemic need to escape personal responsibility: to blame, to evade, to ignore – anything but to act responsibly.
Ungaro, I think you perfectly summed up the Fidesz party platform – “to blame, to evade, to ignore – anything but to act responsibly.”