Национальный характер: миф или реальность. Часть 1

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Н.А. Сушкова 

НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ХАРАКТЕР: 

 МИФ ИЛИ РЕАЛЬНОСТЬ? 

Учебное пособие  

 

Часть 1 

Издание 2-е, стереотипное 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Липецк – 2020 

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ПРОСВЕЩЕНИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ 

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ  

УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ  ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ 

«ЛИПЕЦКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ 

ИМЕНИ П.П. СЕМЕНОВА-ТЯН-ШАНСКОГО» 

 

ИНСТИТУТ ФИЛОЛОГИИ 

Кафедра лингвистики и  

межкультурной коммуникации 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Н.А. Сушкова 

National Character: Myth or Reality? 

 

Учебное пособие 

Часть 1 

Издание 2-е, стереотипное 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Липецк – 2020 

 

 

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ПРОСВЕЩЕНИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ 

ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ  

УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ  ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ 

«ЛИПЕЦКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ 

ИМЕНИ П.П. СЕМЕНОВА-ТЯН-ШАНСКОГО» 

 

ИНСТИТУТ ФИЛОЛОГИИ 

Кафедра лингвистики и  

межкультурной коммуникации 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Н.А. СУШКОВА 

 

НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЙ ХАРАКТЕР: 

 МИФ ИЛИ РЕАЛЬНОСТЬ? 

Часть 1 

Учебное пособие 

 

Издание 2-е, стереотипное 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Липецк – 2020 

 

УДК 43
ББК 81.432.1-7
С 89

Печатается по решению кафедры
лингвистики и межкультурной 
коммуникации
ФГБОУ ВО ЛГПУ имени 
П.П. Семенова-Тян-Шанского
Протокол № 9 от  24.04.2020  г.

Сушкова, Н.А. Национальный характер: миф или реальность: учебное 
пособие / Н.А. Сушкова. – Липецк: ЛГПУ имени П.П. Семенова-Тян-Шанского, 2020. – 
Издание  2-е, стереотипное – Часть 1. – 68 с. – Текст непосредственный.

ISBN 978-5-907168-93-0 (Ч. 1) 
ISBN 978-5-907168-91-6 

Целью данного пособия является развитие языковой, речевой и социокультурной 
компетенции в ходе обсуждения вопросов национальной идентичности, проблем межкультурной 
коммуникации. Основу составляют оригинальные тексты, которые освещают 
взаимоотношения между представителями разных наций, особенности национального характера 
англичан, американцев, русских. Каждый текст сопровождается упражнениями, 
вопросами для обсуждения, заданиями проектного характера.  
Данное пособие предназначено для студентов, обучающихся по направлению 
45.03.02 Лингвистика (Теория и методика преподавания иностранных языков и культур), 
изучающих английский как основной иностранный язык и владеющих им на уровне B2 
или C1 (Upper-Intermediate или Advanced). Рекомендовано для слушателей программ дополнительного 
профессионального образования соответствующего направления подготовки.


УДК 43
ББК 81.432.1-7     
С 89 

РЕЦЕНЗЕНТЫ:

Ю.В. Маслова, канд. пед. наук, доцент ЛГПУ 
имени П.П. Семенова-Тян-Шанского
Н.В. Барышев, канд. филол. наук, заведующий 
кафедрой иностранных языков ЛГТУ

ISBN 978-5-907168-93-0 (Ч. 1) 
 © ФГБОУ ВО «Липецкий государственный 

ISBN 978-5-907168-91-6
педагогический университет 
имени П.П. Семенова-Тян-Шанского», 2020 
© Н.А. Сушкова, 2020 

UNIT ONE: NATIONALITY STEREOTYPES 

 

Stereotypes: Where do They Root from? 

1. 
Introductory talk. National stereotypes 

have been the subject of many discussions for 

centuries. Even today when the international 

community promotes diversity and encourages 

tolerance, certain people are still tagged accord-

ing to their nationalities. 

What is a stereotype? Can you give any 

examples? Can stereotypes be useful in any sit-

uations? What are the negative consequences of a stereotypical way of thinking? 

Where do stereotypes root from? 

 

2. Read what scientists think about psychological roots of stereotypes and say why 

you think stereotypes are so difficult to change. 

 A set of beliefs or traits that we attribute to a particular group of people is 

called stereotypes. Stereotypes tend to be extreme, are most often negative and false. 

Psychologists believe that we develop stereotypes when parents, peers, co-workers, 

teachers and others reward us with approval for holding certain attitudes and beliefs. 

Due to stereotypes your future perception of any phenomenon will be biased. 

Researchers find that we overestimate the number of times we have observed a 

situation that matches our stereotype. This means that if you hold a stereotype of the 

black as lacking motivation, you will overestimate the number of times you have ob-

served the black not working. The result of it is that your stereotypes are confirmed 

and will persist. Besides, you underestimate the number of times you’ve observed 

the situation that doesn’t match you stereotype. Stereotypes remain very difficult to 

change. 

 

 

3. Read the names of the countries and find them on the map. What do you call 

the people of these countries? Do you have any stereotypes connected with them?  

Switzerland, India, Japan, Scotland, Italy, the United States, Russia, Egypt, 

Greece, Germany, France, the United Kingdom 

 

Focus on Grammar: Articles with names of countries and nationalities 

Names of countries are used without articles. E.g. France, Japan.  

But we use the definite article in names with words “republic”, “kingdom”, 

“states” etc. E.g. the United States of America, the Dominican Republic.  

The definite article is also used if the name of the country is a plural noun. E.g. 

the Netherlands. 

You can use the with some nationality adjectives to mean “people of that 

country”. E.g. The French are famous for their food.  

In the same way you can say: the Spanish, the Dutch, the British, the Irish, the 

Welsh. 

Note that the French/ the English etc. are plural in meaning. You cannot say ‘a 

French/ an English”. You have to say “a Frenchman/ a Frenchwoman” etc. 

You can also use the + nationality words ending in -ese (the Chinese/ the Su-

danese etc.). E.g. The Chinese invented printing. 

These words can also be singular (a Japanese/ a Sudanese). Also: the Swiss/ a 

Swiss (plural or singular). 

 With other nationalities, the plural noun ends in -s. E.g. an Italian/ the Italians, 

a Mexican/ the Mexicans, a Scot/ the Scots, a Turk/ the Turks. [8] 

 

4. Which stereotype do you think is the most widely-spread? the most amazing? 

the silliest? Give a short talk about the most widely-spread stereotype using the ta-

ble. 

 

5. Listen to the conversation between two people of different nationalities. Write 

down the script. Learn it by heart and act it out. 

 

NATIONALITY STEREOTYPES 

I believe that the 

most widely-

spread stereotype 

in the world is 

about…

the British
the Americans
the Germans
the French
the Italians
the Russians

They are be-

lieved/said/

considered/ known 

to be…

reserved/  tra-

dition-loving/

sporty

noisy/

pragmatic/ am-

bitious

punctual/

accurate/

mathematically-

minded

sophisticated/ 

care-free/ amo-

rous/

stylish

hot-tempered/ 

artistic/ pleas-

ure-loving

hospitable/ tal-

ented/ gloomy-

looking

It is because 

they…

cherish their 

traditions

like to show 

their superiority

do everything 

with precision 

and accuracy

initiate all mod-

ern tendencies in 

fashion

gave the world 

a great number 

of renowned 

singers and art-

ists

treat their guests 

as if they were 

close relatives

And I personally…
can’t but like 

it as…

consider it dis-

gusting as…

can’t but follow 

their example

don’t think that 

it’s true as…

admire this 

as…

don’t see any-

thing weird or 

strange in it 

as…

A Scholar’s View on Nationality Stereotypes 

There are experimental ways of investigating stereotypes. One of the most ob-

vious is to ask a group of people what traits characterize the Germans, the Italians, 

the Americans and so forth. Results of such studies on the whole agree fairly well 

with what might have been expected; there is considerable agreement between dif-

ferent people in any one nation regarding the most characteristic traits of other na-

tions. There is even agreement between different nations; for instance, the Ameri-

cans and the English agree with respect to other groups, and even, though less mark-

edly, themselves. The Germans, for instance, are regarded as scientifically-minded 

and industrious by the English and Americans alike; they are also considered solid, 

intelligent, mathematical, extremely nationalistic, efficient and musical by the 

Americans and arrogant, aggressive and over-nationalistic by the English. Italians 

are regarded as artistic, impulsive, passionate, quick-tempered, musical, religious, 

talkative, revengeful, lazy and unreliable by both.  
 
 
 

Jews are believed to be shrewd, mercenary, industrious, intelligent, loyal to 

family, grasping, ambitious, sly and persistent. They are also credited with being 

very religious. The Chinese, as one would have expected, are looked upon with 

more favour by the English, than by the Americans, who consider them supersti-

tious, sly,  conservative, ignorant and deceitful. The French, needless to say, are so-

phisticated, talkative, artistic, passionate and witty, whereas the Russians are indus-

trious, tough, suspicious, brave and progressive. The English consider themselves 

sportsmanlike, reserved, tradition-loving, conventional and intelligent; astonishingly 

enough, Americans agree, adding, however, that the English are also sophisticated, 

courteous, honest, industrious, extremely nationalistic, and, I hardly dare put this 

down, humourless! The Americans consider themselves industrious, intelligent, ma-

terialistic, ambitious, progressive, pleasure-loving, alert, efficient, straightforward, 

practical and sportsmanlike; the English agree that Americans are materialistic and 

pleasure-loving, but also consider them generous, talkative and, most widely used 

adjective of all, boastful. 

The close agreement found in English and American groups is probably due to 

the fact that these stereotypes derive from books, films and other cultural media 

shared by both groups. It is unlikely that a comparison between stereotypes held by 

Spaniards, Turks or Russians would show much agreement with  those given  here.  

To judge by German writings, it   appears   that,   to   the   Germans,   the average 

Englishman is “a clever and unscrupulous hypocrite; a man who, with superhuman 

ingenuity and foresight, is able in some miraculous manner to be always on the win-

ning side; a person whose incompetence in business and salesmanship is balanced 

by an uncanny and unfair mastery of the diplomatic wiles; a cold-blooded, prescient, 

ruthless opportunist; a calculating and conceited egoist.” There is little resemblance 

between this picture of the Englishman, quoted from an account by Harold Nicolson, 

and another one given by him. “The French portrait of the Englishman is a picture of 

an inelegant, stupid, arrogant and inarticulate person with an extremely red face. The 

French seem to mind our national complexion more than other things. They attribute 

it to over-consumption of ill-cooked meat (O tempora! О mores!). They are apt, for 

this reason, to regard us as barbarians and gross. Only at one point does the French 

picture coincide the German picture. The French share with the Germans the convic-

tion of our hypocrisy...” [4] 

 

Setwork 

1. 
Prepare good phonetic reading of the paragraph starting with ”To judge by 

German writings …” up to “… conceited egoist”. 

 

2. Give the English equivalents: 

Надежный, корыстный, скупой, квалифицированный, трудолюбивый, задум-

чивый, прямолинейный, сдержанный, беспринципный, тщеславный, изобрета-

тельность, лицемерие 

 

3. Define the words: 

Investigate, attribute sth to sb, to be apt to do sth, coincidence, conviction, hypocri-

sy, resemblance, consumption, barbarian, ingenuity