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Writing
Listening and speaking America as seen by Britons/ England as seen by Americans
1st interview 2nd interview
Discussion Work in pairs
Speech patterns:
5 National Stereotypes Reading and speaking Vocabulary notes
On National Stereotypes Everyone, in every country, tends to have a stereotype (a standardized mental picture) of people in certain other countries. For example, if we think about the Dutch, we are apt to have a picture of windmills and of tidy women sweeping the streets. If we think about the Scots, we are apt to have a picture of men dressed in kilts and people who are thrifty. Almost every nation has a reputation of some kind. The French are supposed to be amorous, light-minded, fond of champagne; the Germans dull, formal, punctual, fond of military uniforms and parades; the Americans boastful, energetic, gregarious and vulgar. The British, like the people of every country, tend to be attributed with certain characteristics, which are supposedly typical. They are reputed to be cold, reserved, rather haughty people. They are considered steady, easy-going, and fond of sports. While there may be some truth in these pictures, they certainly do not give an accurate impression of life in those countries. Perhaps, with thought, we can recognize that most of people’s stereotypes of other nations come from storybooks or tourist guides or political propaganda. While some national stereotypes are harmless or favourable (“the Dutch are clean”, etc.), history records that others have encouraged hatred, oppression, injustice, and war. The problem basically comes from man’s need to generalize, to make some kind of order out of a universe which seems confusing and chaotic. But at the same time as man makes a general statement about a large group of people or things, he runs the risk of overgeneralizng or oversimplifying. Sociologists have established that the tendency to oversimplify exists more strongly among the young, the uneducated, and the illiterate. However, almost all of us, regardless of our education, tend to create national stereotypes and cling tenaciously to our prejudices. To illustrate this point, we shall take a look at the findings of a survey carried out by the market research firm, Parkland Research Europe. This organization carried out a detailed study of European attitudes by questioning 185 business executives, lawyers, engineers, teachers and other professional people from seven European countries. These were: Germany; France; Britain; Switzerland; Italy; the Netherlands; Belgium. The resulting publication, Guide to National Practices in Western Europe, gave some idea of what Europeans think of each other. It revealed many widely-held stereotypes, but also came up with a few surprises. In the chart below, some of the data from this survey is summarized. GERMANS Liked themselves best of all. Most Europeans agreed that the Germans had the highest proportion of good qualities. They considered themselves very tolerant, but nobody else did. They saw themselves as fashionable. Others found them 'square'. FRENCH Not really admired by anyone except the Italians. Other Europeans found them conservative, withdrawn, chauvinistic, brilliant, superficial, hedonistic. Also, not very friendly. The French agreed on the last point! BRITISH Mixed reactions. Some found them calm, reserved, open-minded, trustworthy; others deemed them hidebound, insular and superior. Everyone was unanimous that the British had an excellent sense of humor. The British most admired the Dutch. SWISS Showed considerable lucidity and powers of self-analysis. Saw themselves as serious, trustworthy, but too money-minded and suspicious. Most Europeans agreed. The Swiss liked the Germans best. ITALIANS Generally considered by everyone to be lazy and untrustworthy, and the Italians agreed. Most also found them to be vivacious, charming, hospitable and noisy. The Italians admired the French and the Dutch. Hardly anyone loved the Italians except the French. DUTCH Most admired people in Europe — except by their neighbours — the Belgians. Everyone agreed that the Dutch are hard-working, thrifty, good-natured, tolerant and business-minded. The Netherlands, however, was not considered a good place to live in. BELGIANS Least admired in this group. They see themselves as easy-going and diligent workers. Other Europeans consider them undisciplined and narrow-minded — and lousy drivers. 2. Answer the questions.
3. Make up your own questions about the results of the research. For example: What do Europeans think about the Germans? Are the French the most popular people in the group? etc. 4. Rewrite each of the groups of sentences as one sentence. Use and, but, because, so, while, though, or. Make other changes if necessary.
5.Enjoy some bits of humorous story and comment on stereotypes of each country mentioned in it. Think about the title of the story. broke into print – напечатали, опубликовали, издали experiences – приключения, переживания, впечатления, пережитое habitat – среда обитания affair – дело, занятие, связь bore (bear) – зд.: нести, иметь Upon their return from an elephant hunt in the African jungles, five sportsmen representing five different nations, broke into print with their experiences. The Englishman called his book: “What the British Empire Has Done for the Elephant.” The German used this title: “The Elephant, His Habitat and Habits. His place in Germany’s Commercial Expansion.” The Russian put it this way: “Two Years’ Study of the Elephant – Is There Such an Animal?” The Frenchman’s idea was this: “The Elephant and His Love Affairs.” The American’s story bore the title: “Bigger and Better Elephants.” Discussion
money business family love education Choose two or three nationalities from the list and compare them in relation to these five topic areas. Work in pairs. The Russians; the Chinese; the Americans; the British; the Germans; the French; the Italians; the Japanese; the Tatars; the Udmurts; the Armenians; the Azerbaijani; the Uzbeks; the Bashkirs (any other nationality at option). Suggested speech patterns: For the Russians, the most important thing is … . Then come … and … . For the Americans, their … comes first, followed by … . The next important thing for the Russians is … . The same is true for (of) the Americans. To (on) the contrary, the Americans put bigger value upon… Russians, by contrary, don’t think much of… Writing
Useful vocabulary to carry out /to conduct - проводить research on/into interethnic relations – исследование межнациональных отношений a study of smth. – исследование, изучение чего-л. a poll – опрос; голосование a survey – опрос; исследование to question - опросить to interview – проводить опрос a questionnaire - анкета to fill in a questionnaire – заполнить анкету to collect data / to gather data – собрать данные to present (to report) the research findings – представить данные, результаты the data gathered through research show (indicate) that… - собранные в ходе исследования данные показывают, что… the findings (results) suggest (show, indicate, reveal) that – результаты показывают, что… The suggested beginning of your report: I have carried out a (detailed) study of regional ethnic attitudes by questioning 10 people of different age, education, career and nationality. The data of this survey is summarized in the chart. The suggested conclusion: Interestingly/surprisingly/unexpectedly/expectedly, according to the results, the most admired in this group are …. They had the highest proportion of good qualities. The least admired people are…In my opinion, the results prove (reject, support) the fact (the idea) that there are national stereotypes in our region. … 6 Prejudice Reading and speaking Vocabulary notes prejudice - предубеждение, предрассудок, предвзятое мнение; вред, ущерб can’t stand – не переносить, не выносить, не мочь терпеть suck-up – чванливый, заносчивый snobbish - чванливый posh – нормативное произношение, аристократический акцент bloody – очень; чертовски violent – вспыльчивый, буйный, жестокий interfere – надоедать, докучать, вмешиваться a load - горстка swill – пить с жадностью, лакать worse off – в более затруднительном положении tripe - рубец black pudding – кровяная колбаса equality - равенство bumpkin- мужлан genuine- искренний; подлинный, настоящий
North and South In every country there are regional differences. People living in one region make jokes about the characteristics (real or imagined) of people living in another. Television is breaking down regional differences, but the jokes and comments continue. In Britain there are many jokes which begin 'There was an Englishman, an Irishman, a Scotsman and a Welshman, and ...'.In England itself there are myths about every region, but the broadest differences are those between the North and the South. There are real geographical and economic variations; the North can be characterized as more industrial, cooler, hillier and more working-class, the South as middle-class, more suburban, flatter and wealthier. There are also the often irrational things the English say about each other. Several people were asked to comment on the differences. Perhaps the most interesting comment was made by a woman from Lancashire (in the North), who said: 'Southerners? I can't stand them. They're stuck-up and snobbish. But at least they're not as bad as bloody Yorkshiremen!' As Yorkshire is also in the North, it shows that the most violent prejudices are very localized. Here are some of the comments we collected. What some Northerners say: 'If you go into a pub in the South, everybody ignores you. The North is much more direct and friendly. We're real people.' 'You know the old saying ... people in the North earn the money, people in the South count it.' 'As you go North, the beer gets better.' 'I think there's more sense of community. Perhaps we interfere more — but we help each other too.' 'Southerners? They don't like getting their hands dirty. They stand around in wine bars, covered with talcum powder and after-shave, talking posh.' 'I was born in Manchester, but I live in the South. You know, I think things are better in the South for women. Northern men seem to want to get down the pub on their own and avoid women. Men in the South help more in the home — that's a statistic. Northern men are more...' more macho.' 'They think they're better than us — just because they talk posh. They're a load of snobs.' 'In Yorkshire we say what we mean. Southerners think we're bloody rude, but we're more blunt and honest. They smile in your face and stab you in the back.' If you go to London, keep your hand on your wallet. They'd rob their own grandmothers.' 'Liverpudlians are the funniest people in the country. They've got this marvellous natural sense of humour.' 'The North may be dirtier — but don't forget "where there's muck there's brass".' (i.e. where there's dirt, there's money). What some Southerners say: 'Actually some of my best friends are Northerners, but of course they're not typical Northerners, if you know what I mean.' ‘The North? A load of men with heavy colds, standing round in pubs wearing cloth caps, swilling beer and playing darts.' 'They spend their money on beer and Bingo. We probably earn less, but we spend it on our houses. When they come down here, they think we're all rich. We're probably worse off then them.' 'I used to work in Yorkshire. They're all bloody rude, and bloody mean.' ‘They live on sticky buns, tripe and black pudding. The food's much more varied down here.' 'I really think the North's more conservative... I'm not talking about politics, but their attitude to life. Things change more here.' ‘They say we "talk posh" - we just speak better English, that's all.' 'There's more equality of the sexes in the South. Northerners treat women like doormats. Mind you, the women go round in curlers all day on Saturday - or they used to ten years ago.' They've got a massive inferiority complex. They imagine that we're all either stockbrokers, or country bumpkins with straw in our mouths. The prejudice comes more from them. They don't see that we're just like them.' 'I'm a Southerner - but I do find the North much warmer... the people, that is, not the weather... and friendlier... more genuine, I think.'
Down, massive, are, and, down, are, perhaps, itself, but, the. 1) In every country there … regional differences. 2) There are real geographical … economic variations. 3) Television is breaking … regional differences. 4) There … also the often irrational things the English say about each other. 5) In England … there are myths about every region. 6) … the most interesting comment was made by a woman from Lancashire. 7) They've got a … inferiority complex. 8) We probably earn less, … we spend it on our houses. 9) 'There's more equality of … sexes in the South. 10) Northern men seem to want to get … the pub on their own and avoid women.
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