szólaltak

Szólaltak is a Hungarian verb form: the third-person plural past tense of szólal. The verb szólal has two primary senses in contemporary usage. One is to voice an opinion or statement in a discussion, meeting, or public setting (to speak up, to express oneself). The other sense can describe sounds produced by objects, such as bells or instruments, meaning to sound or ring.

In practice, szólaltak is used when referring to multiple people who voiced their views, typically in public or formal contexts. For example: A vitában több résztvevő szólalt fel. This means that several participants spoke up during the debate. The form can also appear in descriptive passages about sounds, especially in coordination with subject nouns like harangok, meaning that the sound occurred or the bells rang, as in A harangok megszólaltak.

Morphology and related forms: szólaltak is the bare past tense for a plural subject; the verb can take prefixes or particles to modify meaning, with fel commonly used to indicate “speaking up,” as in szólaltak fel, or meg- or megszólal to mark onset of sound or address. Related nouns include szólalás (a speech, an utterance) and megszólalás (an address or remarks by someone).

Notes on usage: The exact meaning of szólaltak depends on context. In discourse about people, it signals expression of opinions; in narrative contexts involving sounds, it indicates that a sound emerged or was heard. In both cases, it is a standard, neutral verb form found in reporting, journalism, and literary prose.

See also: szólal, megszólal, szólalás, megszólalás.