Hungarian-speaking Population Research Articles

A comparative study of the Hungarian-speaking Roma population living in the Carpathian Basin with regard to obesity during the COVID-19 pandemic

AbstractIntroductionObesity is the most threatening non-infectious disease of our time, the basis of many chronic diseases, increasing the mortality rate. The Roma ethnic minority is particularly affected.Materials and methodsCross-sectional–questionnaire and physical–survey in rural settlements of Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, where Roma live with the non-Roma, Hungarian-speaking population (N = 1893).ResultsThe average BMI of the Hungarian (P < 0.001) and Romanian (P = 0.018) samples was significantly higher than that of the Slovak sample. In the case of Roma and non-Roma subjects, we found a significant difference in Hungary (P = 0.006) based on body composition, as well as in the case of visceral fat (P < 0.001). The extremely obese (<40 BMI) are mostly low educated in Romania and Hungary (P < 0.001), while those in normal weight have a tertiary education in Slovakia (P = 0.027). Hungarian Roma and non-Roma participants show significant differences in the physical activity dimension of the SF-36 questionnaire (P < 0.001), as well as in Romania (P < 0.001) and Slovakia (P = 0.002).ConclusionsIn summary, it can be stated that rural Roma subjects in Hungary are in the worst situation in terms of obesity in the three countries studied. In our study, the results in Slovakia clearly suggest a healthier lifestyle.

Public Administration and Economic Analysis of the Region along Slovakia’s Southern Border

The paper analyses the economic situation of the districts located along the Southern border of Slovakia, which have sizeable Hungarian-speaking populations. Unemployment ratios, industrial pay levels and corporate profitability figures make up the backbone of the analysis. Our research reveals that, as a whole, the Southern districts fall short of the national average in terms of all economic and demographic indicators. In our research focusing on Slovakia, we have demonstrated the disadvantaged economic situation of the Southern part of the country, where its Hungarian population is concentrated, noting that this may further weaken its ability to retain their population. We used the same methodology for our analysis of the Northern Hungarian counties bordering on Slovakia. In both countries, there are discrepancies between Western and Eastern regions.

A complex study of obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in the Hungarian-speaking population of the Carpathian Basin, with a focus on the Roma minority

AbstractObesity and other unhealthy behaviors are behind cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, with the Roma population particularly at risk. The aim of our cross-sectional (questionnaire- and physical measurements-based) study was to compare the prevalence of obesity in Hungarian, Romanian, and Slovakian Hungarian-speaking Roma and non-Roma (N = 1893) in relation to lifestyle-related risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In the total sample, the proportion of extreme obesity was higher in Roma (P < 0.001) than non-Roma. The mean waist circumference was the highest in Hungary (P < 0.001). Visceral fat was higher in the Hungarian Roma sample than in the Slovak (P = 0.006) or Romanian Roma samples (P = 0.005). Hungarian Roma total cholesterol levels were lower than in the Slovak (P < 0.001) or Romanian samples (P < 0.001). Hypertension and cholesterol levels were associated with a higher risk among non-Roma men (P < 0.001), and the presence of smoking increased CVD risk among both men (P = 0.024) and women (P < 0.001) in the Roma minority. The combined presence of several risk factors was found mainly in Roma. Overall, Roma scores were found to be worse, but ethnicity did not provide clear evidence for the questions examined, but rather the level of education, which is associated with socioeconomic status.

Erratum to: A complex study of obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in the Hungarian-speaking population of the Carpathian Basin, with a focus on the Roma minority

"Erratum to: A complex study of obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in the Hungarian-speaking population of the Carpathian Basin, with a focus on the Roma minority" published on 19 Jun 2023 by Akadémiai Kiadó.

Sources in historical dialectology

Abstract Any scholarly description of Hungarian dialects may only be possible for the time period after the settlement of the Hungarian-speaking population in the Carpathian Basin. Research in historical dialectology has primarily focused on the phonological characterization of 11th-14th century conditions, while in terms of sources, scholars have so far relied primarily on early data related to tribes’ names, historical data recorded in charters, today’s dialects, as well as evidence provided by related languages and elements borrowed from others. My paper sets out to establish the value of various sources in historical dialectology in view of our current knowledge in language history and calls attention to related methodological pitfalls. As most of these source types may also greatly contribute to the better understanding of the history of other languages, these methodological issues are relevant not only for Hungarian historical linguistics and dialectology but also more generally. The research and writing of this essay has been supported by the University of Debrecen and the MTA Premium Postdoctoral Research Program, Eötvös Loránd Research Network.

Conditions of Democracy in German Austria and Hungary, 1918–1919

Conditions of Democracy in German Austria and Hungary, 1918–1919

A Y-chromosomal study of mansi population from konda River Basin in Ural

Based on genetic studies published, the Hungarian Y-chromosomal gene pool significantly differs from other Uralic-speaking populations. Hungarian males possess a high frequency of haplogroup R1a-Z280 and a low frequency of haplogroup N-Tat, which is uncommon among other Uralic-speaking populations. Previously we published the Northern and Southern Mansi Y-chromosomal data and now further studied to search the links between the linguistically related Hungarian populations. Samples were collected from 36 Southern Mansi males from Konda river basin in the Ural region. We analysed male-specific markers including Y-STRs and Y- SNPs, which would reflect past and recent paternal genetic history. In the case of the Southern Mansi males, the most frequent haplogroups were N1b-P43 (33%), N1c-L1034 (28%) and R1a-Z280 (19%). For phylogenetic studies, networks were constructed for the most frequent haplogroups in the Konda Mansi together with Khanty and Hungarian speaking populations. The Konda Mansi population shared common haplotypes within haplogroups R1a-Z280 or N-M46 with Hungarian speakers, which may suggest that the Hungarians were in contact with the Mansi people during their migration to the Carpathian Basin.

Chopping Hungary Up by the 1920 Peace Dictate of Trianon. Causes, Events and Consequences

The regime that emerged with the peace treaties concluded after World War I chopped up the Kingdom of Hungary and rewarded its neighbours, helping them to establish themselves on the basis of the principle of national self-determination, by giving them two-thirds of Hungary’s areas and one-third of its Hungarian-speaking population. During the settlement that followed World War II, the great powers repeatedly forced this shocking decision upon Hungarians drifted to the losing side. This essay sums up the causes and events of this difficult-to-survive historical traumatism and its adverse impacts on the Central European region, in retrospect after more than a century.

Selection of migrants and realization of migration intentions: lessons from a panel study.

We examined the selection of emigrants and the relationship between migration intention and actual migration, using the two-wave panel survey Turning Points of Life Course – Transylvania, which was carried out in 2006 and 2009 among the Hungarian-speaking population of Transylvania aged 20–45. This type of follow-up survey, dealing with migration intentions and subsequent behavior, is rare in the field of migration research. On the basis of prior intentions and actual migration, four groups could be discerned: stayers, who had no migration plans and did not move; expected migrants, who previously reported their intention of moving and who carried it out; dreamers, who planned migration but did not realize it; and unexpected migrants, who initially had no migration plans, but nevertheless moved. Our results indicate a negative selection of migrants in the dimensions related to living conditions and work, and a positive selection regarding subjective state of health and anomie. Those who expressed an intention to migrate during the first wave were almost three and a half times more likely to move than were those who had no such plans. Using Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, migration-related expectations were measured by the assessment of advantages and disadvantages associated with migration, while subjective norms were gauged by the perceived pressure from significant others (friends, parents, relatives) to migrate. Our findings confirm that migration-related attitudes and subjective norms influence migration behavior only indirectly, via migration intention.

Between the Word of the Law and Practice: a Case of the Hungarian Speakers in Serbia

Abstract The paper initially presents the Serbian legislative framework relevant to the use of minority languages. The ethnolinguistic vitality of the Hungarian-speaking population in Serbia is then analysed, particularly in the Serbian province of Vojvodina. The paper then focuses upon the sociolinguistic survey of Hungarian language use in Belgrade. The emphasis is placed upon the survey responses related to the awareness of language rights among the Hungarian speakers.

Testing Central and Inner Asian admixture among contemporary Hungarians

Historically, the Carpathian Basin was the final destination for many nomadic peoples who migrated westward from Inner and Central Asia towards Europe. Proto-Hungarians (Steppe Magyars) were among those who came from the East, the Eurasian Steppe in the early middle ages. In order to detect the paternal genetic contribution from nomadic Steppe tribes, we tested 966 samples from Central Asian (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan), Inner Asian (Mongolians and Buryats in Mongolia) and Hungarian-speaking European (Hungarian, Sekler and Csango) populations. We constructed median-joining networks of certain haplogroups in Hungarian-speaking European, and Altaic-speaking Central and Inner Asian populations. We estimated that the possible paternal genetic contribution from the above described populations among contemporary Hungarian speaking populations ranged between 5% and 7.4%. It is lowest among Hungarians from Hungary (5.1%), while higher among Hungarian-speaking groups in Romania, notably Sekler (7.4%) and Csango (6.3%). However, these results represent only an upper limit. Actual Central/Inner Asian admixture might be somewhat lower as some of the related lineages may have come from a common third source. The main haplogroups responsible for the Central/Inner Asian admixture among Hungarians are J2*-M172 (xM47, M67, M12), J2-L24, R1a-Z93; Q-M242 and E-M78. Earlier studies showed very limited Uralic genetic influence among Hungarians, and based on the present study, Altaic/Turkic genetic contribution is also not significant, although significantly higher than the Uralic one. The conclusion of this study is that present-day Hungarian speakers are genetically very similar to neighbouring populations, isolated Hungarian speaking groups having relatively higher presence of Central and Inner Asian genetic elements. At the same time, the reliable historical and genetic conclusions require an extension of the study to a significantly larger database with deep haplogroup resolution, including ancient DNA data.

Y-SNP L1034: limited genetic link between Mansi and Hungarian-speaking populations.

Genetic studies noted that the Hungarian Y-chromosomal gene pool significantly differs from other Uralic-speaking populations. Hungarians show very limited or no presence of haplogroup N-Tat, which is frequent among other Uralic-speaking populations. We proposed that some genetic links need to be observed between the linguistically related Hungarian and Mansi populations.This is the first attempt to divide haplogroup N-Tat into subhaplogroups by testing new downstream SNP markers L708 and L1034. Sixty Northern Mansi samples were collected in Western Siberia and genotyped for Y-chromosomal haplotypes and haplogroups. We found 14 Mansi and 92 N-Tat samples from 7 populations. Comparative results showed that all N-Tat samples carried the N-L708 mutation. Some Hungarian, Sekler, and Uzbek samples were L1034 SNP positive, while all Mongolians, Buryats, Khanty, Finnish, and Roma samples yielded a negative result for this marker. Based on the above, L1034 marker seems to be a subgroup of N-Tat, which is typical for Mansi and Hungarian-speaking ethnic groups so far. Based on our time to most recent common ancestor data, the L1034 marker arose 2,500 years before present. The overall frequency of the L1034 is very low among the analyzed populations, thus it does not necessarily mean that proto-Hungarians and Mansi descend from common ancestors. It does provide, however, a limited genetic link supporting language contact. Both Hungarians and Mansi have much more complex genetic population history than the traditional tree-based linguistic model would suggest.

Ármin Vámbéry (1832-1913) as a Historian of Early Hungarian Settlement in the Carpathian Basin

In the English-speaking world Ármin Vámbéry is known as a traveler in Central Asia and a student of Turkic cultures and languages. In his native Hungary he is also known for his disagreement with linguists who believed that Hungarian belonged to the Ugric branch of the Finno-Ugric languages—a part of the Uralic linguistic family. Rather than accepting this theory, Vámbéry contended that Hungarian was largely a Turkic language that belonged more to the Altaic family. Few people know that Vámbéry also expressed strong opinions about the genesis of the Hungarian nation. The most important aspect of Vámbéry’s theory about Hungarian origins is the thesis that Hungarian ethnogenesis took place—beginning with late Roman times or even earlier—in the Carpathian Basin. A corollary of this proposition is that the nomadic tribes that conquered the Carpathian Basin at the end of the ninth century were Turkic peoples who were few in numbers and were assimilated by the region’s autochthonous—and by then Hungarian-speaking—population. This paper outlines Vámbéry’s arguments and describes to what extent research on this subject in the century since Vámbéry’s death has confirmed or contradicted his unconventional ideas.

Catalan and Hungarian validation of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ).

The goal of this study was to examine the cross-cultural validity and reliability of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) - a recently published instrument for assessing the Zuckerman's Alternative Five Factor Personality Model - in Catalan and Hungarian speaking populations. The samples consisted of 1,564 subjects from Catalonia and 1,647 from Hungary. Results showed a clear five-factor structure and acceptable alpha reliabilities of the ZKA-PQ in both countries. Facets alpha average was 80.35 and 74.10 for Catalans and Hungarians respectively. The factorial congruency coefficients indicated that both structures were equivalent, with a global value of .97. However, the robust structure obtained with EFA yielded poor fit indices in the subsequent CFA. Altogether, the psychometric findings were similar to those obtained in the original validation study carried out in Spanish and English populations. Main country differences were found only in Neuroticism factor, with Hungarians scoring significantly lower that Catalans. Nevertheless, country, sex and age explained only 18.6 % of Neuroticism variance (adjusted R squared = .186). Country differences had only medium effect size [F(1, 3188) = 292, p < .001, η2 = .084 1 ].

Comparison of lactase persistence polymorphism in ancient and present‐day Hungarian populations

The prevalence of adult-type hypolactasia varies ethnically and geographically among populations. A C/T-13910 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) upstream of the lactase gene is known to be associated with lactase non-persistence in Europeans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of lactase persistent and non-persistent genotypes in current Hungarian-speaking populations and in ancient bone samples of classical conquerors and commoners from the 10th-11th centuries from the Carpathian basin; 181 present-day Hungarian, 65 present-day Sekler, and 23 ancient samples were successfully genotyped for the C/T-13910 SNP by the dCAPS PCR-RFLP method. Additional mitochondrial DNA testing was also carried out. In ancient Hungarians, the T-13910 allele was present only in 11% of the population, and exclusively in commoners of European mitochondrial haplogroups who may have been of pre-Hungarian indigenous ancestry. This is despite animal domestication and dairy products having been introduced into the Carpathian basin early in the Neolithic Age. This anomaly may be explained by the Hungarian use of fermented milk products, their greater consumption of ruminant meat than milk, cultural differences, or by their having other lactase-regulating genetic polymorphisms than C/T-13910. The low prevalence of lactase persistence provides additional information on the Asian origin of Hungarians. Present-day Hungarians have been assimilated with the surrounding European populations, since they do not differ significantly from the neighboring populations in their possession of mtDNA and C/T-13910 variants.

Y‐Chromosome Analysis of Ancient Hungarian and Two Modern Hungarian‐Speaking Populations from the Carpathian Basin

The Hungarian population belongs linguistically to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic family. The Tat C allele is an interesting marker in the Finno-Ugric context, distributed in all the Finno-Ugric-speaking populations, except for Hungarians. This question arises whether the ancestral Hungarians, who settled in the Carpathian Basin, harbored this polymorphism or not. 100 men from modern Hungary, 97 Szeklers (a Hungarian-speaking population from Transylvania), and 4 archaeologically Hungarian bone samples from the 10(th) century were studied for this polymorphism. Among the modern individuals, only one Szekler carries the Tat C allele, whereas out of the four skeletal remains, two possess the allele. The latter finding, even allowing for the low sample number, appears to indicate a Siberian lineage of the invading Hungarians, which later has largely disappeared. The two modern Hungarian-speaking populations, based on 22 Y-chromosomal binary markers, share similar components described for other Europeans, except for the presence of the haplogroup P*(xM173) in Szekler samples, which may reflect a Central Asian connection, and high frequency of haplogroup J in both Szeklers and Hungarians. MDS analysis based on haplogroup frequency values, confirms that modern Hungarian and Szekler populations are genetically closely related, and similar to populations from Central Europe and the Balkans.

Comparison of maternal lineage and biogeographic analyses of ancient and modern Hungarian populations

The Hungarian language belongs to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic family, but Hungarian speakers have been living in Central Europe for more than 1000 years, surrounded by speakers of unrelated Indo-European languages. In order to study the continuity in maternal lineage between ancient and modern Hungarian populations, polymorphisms in the HVSI and protein coding regions of mitochondrial DNA sequences of 27 ancient samples (10th-11th centuries), 101 modern Hungarian, and 76 modern Hungarian-speaking Sekler samples from Transylvania were analyzed. The data were compared with sequences derived from 57 European and Asian populations, including Finno-Ugric populations, and statistical analyses were performed to investigate their genetic relationships. Only 2 of 27 ancient Hungarian samples are unambiguously Asian: the rest belong to one of the western Eurasian haplogroups, but some Asian affinities, and the genetic effect of populations who came into contact with ancient Hungarians during their migrations are seen. Strong differences appear when the ancient Hungarian samples are analyzed according to apparent social status, as judged by grave goods. Commoners show a predominance of mtDNA haplotypes and haplogroups (H, R, T), common in west Eurasia, while high-status individuals, presumably conquering Hungarians, show a more heterogeneous haplogroup distribution, with haplogroups (N1a, X) which are present at very low frequencies in modern worldwide populations and are absent in recent Hungarian and Sekler populations. Modern Hungarian-speaking populations seem to be specifically European. Our findings demonstrate that significant genetic differences exist between the ancient and recent Hungarian-speaking populations, and no genetic continuity is seen.

The Hungarians in East Central Europe: a demographic profile.

The following tables have been compiled on the basis of published census data. In many instances this has necessitated explanatory footnotes for the following reasons:1. The oldest census results used in the tables are taken from the 1910 Austrian and Hungarian census based on “language” and “religion” categories. The later census results are usually based on declared “nationality.” A significant consequence of this difference is that in the Austrian and Hungarian census Jews can be found either among the German- or the Hungarian-speaking population, while in subsequent census results they are always designated a separate “nationality.” For this reason, additional information is provided in some of the footnotes regarding the Jews.

Ethnic Diversity in Eastern Austria: The Case of Burgenland

Unlike the Habsburg Empire, the Republic of Austria established in 1918 saw and sees itself basically as an ethnically homogeneous state—as did the Weimar Republic and Federal Republic of Germany. Austria's constitution of 1920 made German the official language, just as Hungarian became the official language in Hungary. The relatively high degree of ethnic homogeneity in Austria and Hungary were a result of the collapse of the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire and the new borders of these two successor states. Before 1918, the German-speaking and Hungarian-speaking population of the Empire were politically dominant, but. from a quantitative point of view, “minorities.” It was only the borders established by the Entente in the peace treaties of Saint-Germain and Trianon that reduced Austria and Hungary geographically to two territories, in which the German-speaking population on one side and the Hungarian on the other also became numerically superior, while creating large German and Hungarian minorities in the neighboring countries of Italy, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and SHS-Yugoslavia.

Book review

Historically, the Carpathian Basin was the final destination for many nomadic peoples who migrated westward from Inner and Central Asia towards Europe. Proto-Hungarians (Steppe Magyars) were among those who came from the East, the Eurasian Steppe in the early middle ages. In order to detect the paternal genetic contribution from nomadic Steppe tribes, we tested 966 samples from Central Asian (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan), Inner Asian (Mongolians and Buryats in Mongolia) and Hungarian-speaking European (Hungarian, Sekler and Csango) populations. We constructed median-joining networks of certain haplogroups in Hungarian-speaking European, and Altaic-speaking Central and Inner Asian populations. We estimated that the possible paternal genetic contribution from the above described populations among contemporary Hungarian speaking populations ranged between 5% and 7.4%. It is lowest among Hungarians from Hungary (5.1%), while higher among Hungarian-speaking groups in Romania, notably Sekler (7.4%) and Csango (6.3%). However, these results represent only an upper limit. Actual Central/Inner Asian admixture might be somewhat lower as some of the related lineages may have come from a common third source. The main haplogroups responsible for the Central/Inner Asian admixture among Hungarians are J2*-M172 (xM47, M67, M12), J2-L24, R1a-Z93; Q-M242 and E-M78. Earlier studies showed very limited Uralic genetic influence among Hungarians, and based on the present study, Altaic/Turkic genetic contribution is also not significant, although significantly higher than the Uralic one. The conclusion of this study is that present-day Hungarian speakers are genetically very similar to neighbouring populations, isolated Hungarian speaking groups having relatively higher presence of Central and Inner Asian genetic elements. At the same time, the reliable historical and genetic conclusions require an extension of the study to a significantly larger database with deep haplogroup resolution, including ancient DNA data.