Turkic languages. However, their possible relationship needs further evidence. Transcription with Hungarian phonetic notation {| class="wikitable wide" border="1" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="1" ! No. of row ||Transcription (using Hungarian phonetic notation)||Translating from Ancient Hungarian (modern meaning) |- align="center" |1st||/üngür : ⁱsznek im ⁱly : βᵃsᵘ/||Here is an iron [needle] against demon Üngür; |- align="center" |2nd||/[t]ⁱɣ tëβᵉdγën : ⁱszën : tⁱɣ tⁱɣ szᵘr bëk βᵒrɣ/||[Needle should be pricked into the demon; needle, needle, stab, poke, sew-[in]! |- align="center" |3rd||/fᵉsᵉsz : ᵉlëi szɜl [...]/||[Who] unstitches [...]; |- align="center" |4th||/üngür në : adɣᵒn : [ɜzdɣ] imëszd ëɣt en : istᵉnᵉ[m]/||Üngür shall not give [curse]; [...], blast him, my God!’' |} Critics and alternative theories Vékony had read the Szarvas transcription as Hungarian, thus proposing it as evidence that the Hungarian-speaking people had appeared in the region by the 7th century. There are several critics of Vékony's theories and translations, most notably the Hungarian linguist and historian, András Róna-Tas. The debates were summarized by István Riba in 1999 and 2000: "many find themselves unable to accept Vékony's theory".Riba, István (2000). "Reading the Runes: Evidence of the Dual Conquest?" . The Hungarian Quarterly. Vol. XLI. No. 157, Spring 2000 The key point of the critics has been that in traditional Hungarian scholarship, the existence of the Hungarian-speaking population dates from 896 (when the Magyars took over the Carpathian Basin ), while the Szarvas needle case dates from the 8th century. Consequently, either the Szarvas inscription is not in Hungarian or Hungarians were in the Carpathian Basin much earlier than the late 9th century. Róna-Tas attempted to read the Szarvas relic in Turkic instead of Hungarian, but wrote that his transcription needed further improvement. The issue remains an open question amongst Hungarian scholars. See also The Alsószentmihály inscription on a building stone found in Mihai Viteazu, Cluj (Transylvania, today Romania). Notes References Juhász, Irén (1983): Ein Avarenzeitlicher Nadelbehälter mit Kerbschrift aus Szarvas. In: Acta Acheologica 35 (1983), p. 34 Juhász, Irén (1985): A szarvasi avar rovásírásos tűtartó [The Avar need-case of Szarvas with Rovas script]. Magyar Tudomány [Journal of the Hungarian Science], 85:2, pp. 92–95 Kristó, Gyula & Makk, Ferenc (2001): A kilencedik és a tizedik század története [The history of the 9th and the 10th centuries]. In: Magyar Századok [Hungarian Centuries]. Published by Pannonica Kiadó, Ser. ed.: Gyula Szvák, 222 p. Riba,István: Jöttek, honfoglaltak, fújtak. Régészvita egy rovásírásról [Came, settled, blown. Archaeological debate about the runic writing].