“So that they can Become Worthy Representatives of the Interests of Both Halves of the Empire”

Hungarian Language Teaching at the Imperial and Royal Consular Academy of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

Abstract

In the era of the dualist Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the status of the Hungarian state language was settled. However it remained an existential question for the Hungarian state that the Hungarian language and constitutional law should be known by the common institution, especially by the common foreign ministry, the diplomatic and consular service. In the interests of teaching Hungarian as a foreign language, Hungarian teachers were also employed at the Imperial and Royal Consular Academy, and obligatory Hungarian-language subjects were added to the curriculum. In this study, I aim to present the Hungarian elements and influence, furthermore the related organisational, educational and methodological experiences regarding the teaching of Hungarian language.