11 Comments
Is there a male version of this work (the for which, I'm guessing, would be "óvó"), or are there only female kindergarten teachers in Hungary?
i'd say "óvóbácsi" for the male version. i don't have any statistics, but i think more than 95 % of kindergarten teachers are female. (there are two reasons for this in my opinion: 1) hungary is still quite patriarchal and looking after small children is considered women's work. many parents wouldn't trust a man with their children, and people would also look funny on a man who chooses to spend his days with children 2) kindergarten teachers' salaries are ridiculously low, so men tend to not choose it as a profession.)
All these reasons are heavily interconnected. Underpaid 'because it's a "woman's" job. Don't trust/look funny on men because it's not "traditionally" a male's role. It's time society changed and shared roles and remuneration fairly.
'Óvóbácsi' is the male version of kindergarten teachers, but I've never seen any.
Officially it is just "óvó" (http://www.tok.elte.hu/oktatas), but "óvó bácsi" would be used in general speak, in contrast with "óvó néni".
If you want to be really formal, you can say óvodapedagógus and that's gender neutral. Btw my mum's colleague is an óvóbácsi and the kids adore him.
Köszönöm szépen! All of the replies have been quite helpful (both here and in the facebook group).
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Beginners would greatly benefit by having a slow-speaking option to listen to. It would help Beginners begin to comprehend the subtle pronunciation differences among the 44 characters of the Hungarian alphabet.
