Слайд 1National Stereotypes
British and American
Lectures in Cross-Cultural Communication
Слайд 4The Term
The term stereotype derives from the Greek words στερεός
(stereos), "firm, solid"[ and τύπος (typos), "impression," hence "solid impression".
It was invented by Firmin Didot in the world of printing; it was originally a duplicate impression of an original typographical element, used for printing instead of the original.
The term, in its modern psychology sense, was first used by Walter Lippmann in his 1922 work Public Opinion although in the printing sense it was first coined in 1798.
Слайд 5The Definition
The definition of a stereotype is any commonly known
public belief about a certain social group or a type
of individual.
Stereotypes are part of the ‘common’, ‘background’ or ‘world’ knowledge shared by a social group, most frequently defined as accumulated wisdom of a community about an object, being, or phenomenon (Labov 1972: 314; Quasthoff 1989: 192; Scollon 1995: 58).
Слайд 6The Definition
Stereotype is a fixed general image or set of
characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular
type of person or thing (Collins: Learner’s Dictionary, 1996).
Stereotypes are often confused with prejudices, because, like prejudices, a stereotype is based on a prior assumption.
Prejudice is an unreasonable dislike of a group of people or things, or an unreasonable preference for one group over another.
Race, nationality, gender and sexual orientation are the main factors of stereotyping. Stereotyping must be avoided at all costs, as it leads to treating groups as a single entity.
Слайд 7The Definition
Whenever we don't have a good understanding of a
subject, say, of people or countries, then we tend to
make assumptions about them.
Stereotype is nothing but those assumptions that have become common knowledge.
Whenever you make judgments about people without knowing them, you are stereotyping them. Stereotyping makes people generalize things.
More often, they are all false assumptions. Though there are both positive and negative stereotypes, a majority of them are offensive.
Слайд 8The Definition
Stereotypes focus upon and thereby exaggerate differences between groups.
Competition between groups minimizes similarities and magnifies differences. This makes
it seem as if groups are very different when in fact they may be more alike than different.
For example, among African Americans, identity as an American citizen is more salient than racial background; that is, African Americans are more American than African.
Слайд 9Theory
Different disciplines give different accounts of how stereotypes develop: Psychologists
may focus on an individual's experience with groups, patterns of
communication about those groups, and intergroup conflict.
Sociologists focus on the relations among different groups in a social structure.
Psychoanalytically-oriented humanists (e.g., Sander Gilman) have argued that stereotypes, by definition, are representations that are not accurate, but a projection of one to another.
Слайд 10Theory
One theory as to why people stereotype is that it
is too difficult to take in all of the complexities
of other people as individuals. Even though stereotyping is inexact, it is an efficient way to mentally organize large blocks of information.
Categorization is an essential human capability because it enables us to simplify, predict, and organize our world.
Слайд 11Theory
Another theory is that people stereotype because of the need
to feel good about oneself. Stereotypes protect one from anxiety
and enhance self-esteem.
By designating one's own group as the standard or normal group and assigning others to groups considered inferior or abnormal, it provides one with a sense of worth.
Слайд 12lexicalized stereotypes
The analysis starts from lexicalized stereotypes, for they can
be encountered in all kinds of discourse, and, consequently, learners
are more likely to come across them.
It is possible to say “He is the Napoleon of the 20th century”, “She’s our Marilyn Monroe”, “Hong Kong is the New York of South-East Asia”
Слайд 13lexicalized stereotypes
‘French bread’, ‘loaf’ or ‘stick’ is not just bread
made in France, it also has certain distinctive characteristics -
shape, flavor, taste - making it unique.
After World War II in Britain ‘German shepherd dog’ was changed into ‘Alsatian dog’, the expression now employed in British English, while the former remained in usage in the United States.
Слайд 14lexicalized stereotypes
Euphemisms - Bound collocations and phrases containing a nationality
word are sometimes employed as a milder substitute for something
that is not decent to be called its right name, or simply in order to achieve a humorous effect.
Examples: French postcards, French prints – obscene drawings; French Consular Guard – prostitutes; to take French lessons – to use the services of a prostitute; Mexican breakfast – a cigarette and a glass of water.
Слайд 15lexicalized stereotypes
Metonymy. She laconically answered that the living conditions in
Serbia were Spartan. ‘Spartan’ has become a term of reference
for simple and severe living.
Let us examine which aspects - traits or characteristics – of particular ethnic groups are highlighted and lexicalized in the following expressions:
Asiatic (navy & marine corps, before W.W.II) – crazy; wild, violent;
Слайд 20lexicalized stereotypes
Scotch - mean (person), ungenerous (act);
Byzantine – characterized
by complexity, intrigue;
Turk – (archaic) – one who is cruel
or tyrannical;
Arab - a homeless vagabond; esp. an outcast boy or a girl;
gypsy – wanderer.
Sayings and proverbs. The only good Indian is a dead Indian. He won’t be late because he’s German.
Слайд 21Gender Profiling
There are also some common stereotypes of men and
women, such as:
Men are strong and do all the work.
Men
are the "backbone."
Women aren't as smart as men.
Women can’t do as good of a job as a man.
Girls are not good at sports.
Guys are messy and unclean.
Men who spend too much time on the computer or reading are geeks.
Слайд 22Cultures
Stereotypes also exist about cultures and countries as a whole.
Stereotype examples of this sort include the premises that:
All white
Americans are obese, lazy, and dim-witted. Homer Simpson of the TV series The Simpsons is the personification of this stereotype.
All Mexicans are lazy and came into America illegally.
All Arabs and Muslims are terrorists.
All people who live in England have bad teeth.
Слайд 23Cultures
Italian or French people are the best lovers.
All Blacks outside
of the United States are poor.
All Jews are greedy.
All Asians
are good at math. All Asians like to eat rice and drive slow.
All Irish people are drunks and eat potatoes.
All Americans are generally considered to be friendly, generous, and tolerant, but also arrogant, impatient, and domineering.
Слайд 24Groups of Individuals
A different type of stereotype also involves grouping
of individuals. Skaters, Goths, Gangsters, and Preps are a few
examples. Most of this stereotyping is taking place in schools. For example:
Goths wear black clothes, black makeup, are depressed and hated by society.
Punks wear mohawks, spikes, chains, are a menace to society and are always getting in trouble.
All politicians are philanders and think only of personal gain and benefit.
Слайд 25Groups of Individuals
Girls are only concerned about physical appearance.
All blonds
are unintelligent.
All librarians are women who are old, wear glasses,
tie a high bun, and have a perpetual frown on their face.
All teenagers are rebels.
All children don't enjoy healthy food.
Only anorexic women can become models.
The elderly have health issues and behave like children.
Слайд 26Sexual Stereotypes
Sexual stereotypes suggest that any feminine man is gay
and any masculine woman is a lesbian. Those who believe
gay stereotypes may also believe that homosexuality is immoral, wrong and an abomination.
Слайд 27National Stereotypes
People that belong to various nations may differ and
they always differ from one another within each nation.
For
example, the Germans are regarded as scientifically-minded and industrious; they're always considered solid, intelligent, mathematical, extremely nationalistic, arrogant and even aggressive.
And, for instance, Jews are believed to be mercenary, industrious, shrewd, loyal to family, religious.
There are many examples we can list about national character of different peoples.
Слайд 29National Stereotypes
There are certain stereotypes of national character which are well
known in United Kingdom.
For instance, the Irish are supposed to be great
talkers,
the Scots have a reputation for being careful with money,
the Welsh are renowned for their singing abilities,
and the English are considered to be reserved.
These characteristics are, of course, only caricatures and are not reliable descriptions of individual people from these countries.
Слайд 33National Stereotypes
Englishmen are reserved, tradition-loving, courteous, honest, and extremely nationalistic.
They
have a specific sense of humor. They say that they
can't understand Russian jokes and anecdotes because their humor is more delicate.
British people give a relatively high value to the everyday personal contacts.
British people try to appear as if they belong to as high class as possible, though nobody wants to be thought of as ’snobbish’.
Слайд 34National Stereotypes
Some writers on Britain have talked about the British desire
’to belong,’ and it is certainly true that the pub, or the working
man’s club, or the numerous other clubs devoted to various sports and pastimes play a very important part in many people’s lives.
Many people make their social contacts through work and, partly as a result of this, their profession is also an important aspect of their sense of identity.
Слайд 35National Stereotypes
The British have few living traditions and are too
individualistic to have the same everyday habits as each other.
They are
rather proud of being different. However, this does not mean that they like change. They don’t. They may not behave in traditional ways, but they like symbols of tradition and stability.
Слайд 36National Stereotypes
The British are rather conservative and their conservatism can
be combined with their individualism.
Why should they change just
to be like everyone else? Indeed, as far as they are concerned, not being like everyone else is a good reason not to change.
Their driving on the left-hand side of the road is a good example to this.
Systems of measurement are another example. The British government has been trying for many years to get British people to use the same scales that are used nearly everywhere else in the world. But everybody in Britain still shops in pounds and ounces.
Слайд 38National Stereotypes
The modern British are not really chauvinistic. Open hostility
to people from other countries is very rare. If there is any chauvinism at all,
it expresses itself through ignorance.
Most British people know remarkably little about Europe and who lives there. The popular image of Europe seems to be that it is something to do with the French.
Слайд 40National Stereotypes
It is probably true that the British, especially the English, are
more reserved than the people of many other countries. They find
it comparatively difficult to indicate friendship by open displays of affection.
For example, it is not the convention to kiss when meeting a friend. Instead, friendship is symbolized by behaving as casually as possible.
Слайд 42National Stereotypes
The British are comparatively uninterested in clothes. They spend a lower
proportion of their income on clothing than people in most European countries do.
Many
people buy second-hand clothes and are not at all embarrassed to admit this.
Of course, when people are ‘on duty’, they have to obey some quite rigid rules. A male bank employee, for example, is expected to wear a suit with a tie at work.
Слайд 43National Stereotypes
But on Sundays the British like to «dress down». They can’t
wait to take off their respectable working clothes and slip into
something really scruffy.
In fact, the British are probably more tolerant of strange’ clothing than people in most other countries.
Слайд 44National Stereotypes
The English people are great pet lovers. Practically every
family has a dog or a cat, or both. They have special dog shops
selling food, clothes and other things for dogs. There are dog hairdressing salons and dog cemeteries.
Millions of families have ‘bird-tables’ in their gardens. Perhaps, this overall concern for animals is part of the British love for nature.
Слайд 46National Stereotypes
The British are always talking about the weather. Unlike
many others, this stereotype is actually true to life. But constant remarks
about the weather at chance meetings are not the result of polite conventions. They are not obligatory. Rather, they are the result of the fact that, on the one hand, to ask personal questions would be rude while, at the same time, silence would also be rude. The weather is a very convenient topic with which to ’fill the gap’.
Слайд 54A picture of the world?
The systems of stereotypes may be
the core of our personal tradition, the defenses of our
position in society. They are an ordered, more or less consistent picture of the world, to which our habits, our tastes, our capacities, our comforts and our hopes have adjusted themselves.
They may not be a complete picture of the world, but they are a picture of a possible world to which we are adapted. In that world, people and things have their well-known places, and do certain expected things.
