Unit I national stereotypes warm up
1. Comment on the following quotation: “An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.” George Mikes 2. What quotation can you think of that is suitable for Russian people?
3. What images do you have of the following nationalities? The British, Americans, Italians, Germans, Japanese, Brazilians. 4. Do you think your images are realistic or stereotypical?
WIDENING YOUR HORIZON
Read this text about three nations and point out what they have in common and what they differ in .You are given only the opening part about the Russians, you are welcome to go on talking about them using any lexical units from the text. Be inventive and creative!
Stereotypes of several nations
A stereotype is a fixed set of ideas that is generally held about the characteristics of a particular type of person which are wrongly believed to be shared by all the people of that type. In my opinion it is a dangerous thing to judge about people or a group of people by existing stereotypes but nevertheless a certain stereotype does exist.
Traditionally the British have been known as insular, they are reputed to be superior, snobbish, aloof and haughty people who do not yell in the street or change their governments as often as they change their underclothes. They are said to be prim. However, thousands of visitors who come to Britain find the ordinary Briton friendly and affable. Weather is the most important topic in the land. In England this is an ever - interesting, even thrilling topic and you must be good at discussing the weather. You must never contradict anybody when discussing the weather. Should it hail or snow, should hurricanes uproot the trees, should someone remark to you “Nice day, isn't it?” - answer without hesitation “Isn’t it lovely?” The British like people of every country tend to be attributed with certain characteristics which are supposedly typical. The most striking of them are self-discipline and courtesy. Also the fact that they prize privacy and resent being observed, that they do not like to display their emotions in public and are always good-tempered and cheerful. The English have a keen sense of humour. You will hardly find another country where practical jokes are as common a thing as they are in Britain. The British are usually considered to have good manners. And it is true, they are predominantly polite, there is little noisy behaviour in public places. They await their turn in queues at bus stops and elsewhere and nobody tries to cut in ahead of the queue. According to the stereotypes the English are also thought to be reserved, conservative, shy of strangers, suspicious of change and slow to accept new ideas, responsible, honest and unemotional. To avoid heated argument at a social gathering there are some topics that are implicitly taboo: politics and religion. The best topics for light social conversation are the weather, pets, art and sports. If one sticks to them, no unpleasant exchanges of words, let alone blows, are likely to occur.
There are some national characteristics that are typical of many people and that no one can deny: the Americans are gregarious, self-confident and domineering. They are possessed by an urge for action as opposed to reflection.
One often hears of the Englishman's «reserve», how he likes to «keep himself to himself», and how on a long railway journey, with four Englishmen in the carriage, often there won't be a word spoken during the whole journey. That wouldn't be the case in America. The Englishman thinks it ill-mannered to ask personal questions. The American doesn't feel that at all. The Englishman prizes privacy, the American prefers company and sociability. Asked if he didn't sometimes want privacy to be by himself a young American said, «If I want privacy, I go to bed».
The
Americans have developed a very strong competitive spirit. In their
desire to «keep up with the Joneses» they sometimes live beyond
their means, which very often results in ruin and tragedy. Sixty
percent of the Americans believe in competition and so desire to win
is healthy. In spite of the fact that society can't consist only of
winners the Americans are optimistic. The
Americans are unceremonious and their manners are somewhat informal.
Everybody is
called
by his or her Christian name. This they hypocritically pass off as a
very «democratic» habit. However this «John» and «Janet»
business though attractive to many on the face of it, actually does
nothing to span the social gap between people. The Americans are
pragmatic. The relationship between them and their material world is
purely utilitarian.
You can easily spot Americans abroad by their toughness. It comes
from their sense of individual freedom. Americans realize that
individuals must rely on themselves, otherwise they risk to lose
their freedom. So, self-reliance usually is the trait supposed to be
obligatory to a true American. A very important national value is
material wealth. Most Americans believe wealth is a reward for hard
work and that it's possible to have good standard of living if a
person works hard. God helps those who help themselves - says the
proverb.
The Russians are considered to be industrious, tough, brave and progressive. These stereotypes are derived from books, films and other cultural media. As any nation the Russians have both positive and negative qualities. On the one hand, people who belong to this nationality are hard-working, willing to respect the opinion of other people. They regard other racial or ethnic groups as equal. They are fond of being with other people, enjoying social life, hospitable to foreigners. ………………..
I also would like to say stereotypes are a part of human life though they may present one sided exaggerated view of religion, racial ethnic groups of people as well as of classes of people. Stereotypes are certainly not reliable description of individual people but they still exist.