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National Stereotypes

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National Stereotypes

Although nowadays the cultures of the World become more and more familiar to each other, the problem of the existence of national stereotypes still remains (actual). As the existence of these stereotypes can underlie both funny and tragic events during the interaction of different cultures, it is necessary to understand whether positive or negative role of them prevails. Nevertheless before paying attention to this problem, an important remark is needed. When we talk about national stereotypes, we should always keep in mind that they can be divided in two categorical groups. First group contains those stereotypes which actually are realized by some nation as the part of this nation’s culture. Unlike them the second group consists of the “extra-cultural” stereotypes, possessed by other nations. Of course, the difference between those groups lies not in the efficacy of influence on the behavior of nations, but in the vector of this influence. First group constitutes self-consciousness while the second group is charged with content of expectations in case of an opposite side of intercultural interaction. Now as the dual nature of national stereotypes is clear we can focus on their role. On the one hand it is obvious that they can have a positive effect. Among the examples the good fame earned by Germans as the accurate people can be named. Moreover the discussion of national stereotypes can serve an excellent beginning for a conversation. It is not a big secret that journalists often use the questions about the stereotypic vision of not-native culture while they are interviewing celebrities etc. who visit other countries. On the other hand the history of the humanity is full of stories about the sad consequences of the incorrect use of national stereotypes. For many times stereotypes turned out to be the foundation of political, social and religious conflicts. The Second World War can be described as the most sorrowful of them. Summing up, the national stereotypes can be described as the complex phenomenon of the human culture. They surely might be acknowledged as the original part of the unique legacy of the humankind, but to make it happen, mankind still needs to grade the negative aspects of the potential of using these stereotypes. The easiest way to reach this purpose is to raise the tolerance among people so that we could enter the bright super-cultural future together.

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