The national language is Hungarian. Rather than being an Indo-European language like English, German, or the Romance languages, Hungarian belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family. It is distantly related to Finnish, Mongolian, and Turkish. Many Hungarians, particularly the younger generations, understand at least some English or German. Some professionals, especially those in travel and tourist agencies, speak one of the two fluently. While you can get by without speaking Hungarian, any attempt to communicate in your hosts' native language is welcome. One easy rule to remember: the accent is always on the first syllable.