Józsefváros is one of Budapest’s most diverse districts, not only in its architectural heritage but also in its community. People from many different cultures, languages, and traditions live side by side in the 8th district, and this diversity has become an integral part of everyday life.
The local government has long recognized that those who do not speak Hungarian or have limited Hungarian language skills cannot be excluded from public life in the district. In this spirit, it is increasingly conscious of expanding its information channels: interpreters are regularly provided at events so that everyone can participate equally in community life and no one feels like a stranger in their own district.
Józsefváros Újság also subscribes to this approach.
The fundamental mission of our newspaper is to address all residents of the district, whether they are long-time residents of Józsefváros or newcomers, native Hungarian speakers or not. For this reason, we will publish some of our articles in English in the future, so that those for whom Hungarian is currently a barrier can also access up-to-date and reliable information about district events, developments and public affairs.
Of course, we cannot guarantee that all our material will be available in a foreign language, nor can we promise perfect translations – no one in our editorial office is a native English speaker. At the same time, we strive to avoid the pitfalls of Hunglish and to publish texts that are truly understandable and natural for the reader. Ultimately, however, this is not the goal as English is also only a second- or third-language for many readers in Józsefváros. We chose English because it is the lingua franca that opens the door to information for most people, transcending cultures and native languages.
Articles published in English are therefore not intended for a narrow target audience; rather, they promote cohesion and shared awareness. We trust that our readers, like us, will value intention and content over impeccable style and grammar. (In the future, we are also planning a technical development that will allow those who do not have a sufficient grasp of English to translate our content into other languages at the touch of a button.)
We hope this will also help make Józsefváros a home for everyone.
Please pass on this information to your foreign-language friends in the neighbourhood.
Lead image: Mile Máté
