Практические задания

1. Describe any cultural tradition, specific for British or American culture.

2. Use the following words and phrases in your own situations and dialogues:

a) Parka, expense account, the great account, day release, day boy, cock house; b) au pair, free period, Swinging London, Red Rover

3. Read the following extract from the story “The Night the Bed Fell” by James Thurber; translate it. Draw the bed described in the story or make its paperwork model. Discuss the cultural conception of this bed; tell if there is any difference between similar objects (beds) in British and your culture. Is this object a cultural universality?

The Night the Bed Fell

My bed was an army cot, one of those affairs which are made wide enough to sleep on comfortably only by putting up, flat with the middle section, the two sides which ordinary hang down like sideboards of a drop-leaf table. When these sides are up, it is perilous to roll too far toward the edge, for then the cot is likely to tip completely over, bringing the whole bed on top of one, with a tremendous banging crash. This, in fact, is precisely what happened, about two o’clock in the morning.

(Thurber, J. The Night the Bed Fell)

4. Read the following text and discuss it. Tell if the holiday described in the text is specific only for British culture and what cultural tradition it represents. Can you

mark out features inherent for traditions in other cultures? Can it be a cultural universality?

Shrove Tuesday

This day is also known as Pancake Day. In past centuries, Lent was a time of fasting. Both meat and eggs were forbidden throughout the six weeks. The tradition was to eat up all your meat on the Monday before Lent, and all your eggs on the Tuesday - in pancakes. Now, the fasting has gone and only the eating remains.

Two events are associated with Shrove Tuesday. One of them is the pancake tossing contest (how many pancakes can you throw into the air and catch within a certaiil time?). The other is the pancake race. Contestants have to run while continuously tossing a pancake. Anyone who drops his or her pancake is disqualified.

5 What cultural tradition is described in the following text? In what culture is there such a tradition? (Fill in the gaps with the words denoting the kind of culture). In what other cultures is there such a tradition? Can it be called a cultural universality? What is the attitude of the American to such a tradition? How do they interpret this tradition?

Visitors should be prepared to frequently raise their glasses in a toast. Toasting in .... is serious business, and in the Republic of... it is an art form.

Toasts are usually given at the beginning of a meal when vodka is drunk with the first course, or at the end of the meal with the sweet wine or champagne that is served with dessert, and often throughout the meal as well. Hosts toast first, and the ranking guest is expected to follow with a return toast. With each toast, guests clink glasses directly and making eye contact. The person being toasted also drinks.

A toast in ... is a short speech. For starters, there are obligatory thanks to the hosts for their hospitality. This may be followed by references to the purpose of the visit, international cooperation, peace and friendship, and better world we hope to leave tour children as a result of our cooperation.

When called on to make a toast, be poetic and dramatic, let your “soul” show. .... Appreciate a show of emotion and imagination. Don’t hesitate to exaggerate; make the most of your toast. Humour may be used, but the substance of the toast should be serious. ... will judge a toast as an indication of the seriousness of a visitor’s purpose.

In ...., which is now in dependent, toasting is continuous throughout the meal, and a guest’s glass is never left empty. Eating, drinking, and hospitality are a way of life in ..., a wine-producing country, and guests should be prepared for meals that last several hours. Once, when I was in ... as the leader of an American delegation, my hosts had the courtesy to ask in advance whether I preferred a three- or four-hour dinner. I opted for three-hour “short” dinner, which actually lasted five hours - with continuous eating, drinking, animated conversation, music, singing, and endless toasting. (Yale Richmond. From Nyet to Da)

6 Read the following extract and discuss it. How is a new community characterized? Is it difficult to adjust in a new community? Why? What is a linguistic cultural community?

A New Community

One of the first things you have to learn about the community is how to find your way around - how it is laid out and where things are in relation to other things. The first time you drive to work or to the children’s schools or to the shopping district, you’ll be quite disoriented. Not recognizing anything, you can’t tell exactly where you are. Do I turn left or right at that church? Is that the same church I went yesterday? This is normal in a new city, but it means you’ll spend a lot longer just getting from place to place. If you don’t speak the local language, finding your way around town is even more daunting, for you will be reluctant to ask people and thereby trigger one of those excruciating exchanges wherein the local citizen is trying hard to be helpful and you don’t understand a word he or she is saying.

...Once you know where things are and how to get there, you have to understand how they work. What are the hours of these places? What’s the “system” in a pharmacy, bank, post office, cinema, petrol station, market? How do the public telephones work? Will there be an attendant in the public lavatory whom I need to tip? Do I sit down and wait for someone to come to my table (in bakery) or do I order at the counter?

(Craig Storti. The Art of Crossing Cultures)

Рекомендуемая литература

Воробьев, B.B. Лингвокультурология / В.В. Воробьев. - М.: Российский университет дружбы народов, 2008. - С. 44-56.

Гамперц, Дж. Д. Типы языковых обществ / Дж.Д. Гамперц // Социолингвистика. - М., 1975. - С. 182-189 (Новое в лингвистике. - Вып. № 7).

Маслова, В.А. Лингвокультурология: учебное пособие / В.А. Маслова. - М.: Издательский центр «Академия», 2001. - С. 32-33.

Тен, Ю. П. Культурология и межкультурная коммуникация / Ю. П. Тен. - Ростов-на-Дону: Феникс, 2007. - С. 15-18.