It's as difficult as you think it is (or isn't.)
There's a paradigm I experience about Hungarian. Part of me feels super proud that I learned this language. It was a huge feat to accomplish, considering that I'm not a child and that Hungarian is often deemed one of the most difficult languages.
But because I'm still studying Hungarian intensely, on the road to fluency, another part of me needs to feel that it's easy. I need to believe that I'm exactly the right age to acquire mastery of this language, and that the language is not as hard as people say it is.
If you are currently studying Hungarian, or another language, for any reason, but especially if you are studying for your Hungarian citizenship interview, I encourage you to think about it in a new way.
Instead of focussing on how hard it may be, think about all the benefits you have as an adult. Forget the research on the need to learn language at a young age. It turns out, those studies have been wildly misinterpreted.
For inspiration and context, have a look at these articles and blogs:
this language learning site, which summarizes a lot of academic research on learning at all ages.
And finally, if you need another boost of assurance that you CAN do this, remember one rather arcane thing that helped me:
A magyar nyelv a véredben van. (The Hungarian language is in your blood.)
Whenever I start to feel discouraged about my language skills, I remember this. The Hungarian language is in my blood, from my ancestors.
If you are doing the simplified naturalization procedure, you too have an ancestor born in Hungary. Meaning, you have the Hungarian language in your genes, in your blood and in your brain! It's there. You just need to find the tools to unlock it. And you can!
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