Extralinguistic issues in

cross-cultural
communication: stereotypes
Handout 1. Activity 1.
Read the passage filling the gaps with the words provided in the box.
There are more words than you need.
What Is a Stereotype?

assumption, gender, specific, generalities, interaction, backgrounds, prejudices, justifiable, stereotype,

The definition of a _______1_______ is any commonly known public belief about a certain social
group or a type of individual. Stereotypes are often confused with _______2________, because, like
prejudices, a stereotype is based on a prior _______3________. Stereotypes are often created about
people of specific cultures or _______4_______.
Almost every culture or race has a stereotype, including Jewish people, Blacks, Irish people, and
Polish people, among others.
 Stereotypes are not just centered on different races and backgrounds, however. _______5________
stereotypes also exist. For example, if you say that men are better than women, you’re stereotyping all
men and all women. If you say that all women like to cook, you are stereotyping women.
Many writers see stereotypes as rigid _________6__________ that members of society impose on
others with whom they are unfamiliar or do not understand. The less we know about the other, the more
we hang on stereotypes. If the stereotype is well-grounded and justifiable it may help to orient oneself in
a certain situation, but if it is unjust and loaded with negative emotions, it will harm the
_________7___________ without question.
Stereotyping can lead to _______8________ form a young age. Stereotyping is encouraging
bullying behavior that children carry into adulthood.
Activity 1.
The definition of a stereotype is any commonly known public belief about a certain
social group or a type of individual. Stereotypes are often confused with prejudices,
because, like prejudices, a stereotype is based on a prior assumption. Stereotypes are often
created about people of specific cultures or races.
Almost every culture or race has a stereotype, including Jewish people, Blacks, Irish
people, and Polish people, among others.
Stereotypes are not just centered on different races and backgrounds, however.
Gender stereotypes also exist. For example, if you say that men are better than women,
you’re stereotyping all men and all women. If you say that all women like to cook, you are
stereotyping women.
Many writers see stereotypes as rigid generalities that members of society impose on
others with whom they are unfamiliar or do not understand. The less we know about the
other, the more we hang on stereotypes. If the stereotype is well-grounded and justifiable it
may help to orient oneself in a certain situation, but if it is unjust and loaded with negative
emotions, it will harm the interaction without question.
Stereotyping can lead to bullying form a young age. Stereotyping is encouraging
bullying behavior that children carry into adulthood.
 Handout 3. Activity 3. Match the stereotypes with the countries.
# Stereotypes Country
The … are considered to be quiet, uncommunicative and a bit unsocial, which may be caused by their previous
1 living in wild nature, namely forests. … listen very carefully. They seldom interrupt the speaker; they usually wait
for him/her to finish and then speak. … don't often address one another by each others' first names unless they
are close. They are highly competitive – they host championships in almost anything. Litter is rare. People wait Italians
their turn in queues. Young people offer seats to the elderly on public transport and nobody would put their feet up
on the seats of a train without first removing their shoes. Even though many … suffer from depressions, they do
not like showing anger in public. They tend to bottle up their emotions with obvious effect. It is a country, where
wearing your heart on your sleeve is the real taboo.

The … are said to be reserved in manners, dress and speech. They are famous for their politeness, self-discipline
2 and especially for their sense of humour. … people have a strong sense of humour which sometimes can be hard
Finns
for foreigners to understand. Favorite topics for conversation is the weather, definitely. As this is impersonal topic.
The … are reserved as already mentioned and they don´t like speaking about themselves and their private life.

3
The … are said to be quite lazy, they like the siesta. The … way of life is somewhat slower than the rest of Europe, French
especially in the south. This may be seen as lazy, but when the … work, they work hard. … in general are a very
friendly, warm and fun-loving race. In general the … have a very modern outlook on clothing. They are keen on
designer clothes but quality is more important than a designer name. … made clothes tend to be high quality and
reasonably priced.
4
The … very religious, and patriotic, love freedom. The … are a bit lazy and always
complaining. Never expect, that if you ask somebody in that country how he or she is,
Spanish
you will get a simple “I‘m fine” answer. Most probably you will get a long list of lists of all
the failures and bad luck that the person encountered recently. Unfortunately
complaining very often stops them from doing. But what is important – the … are aware
of that and even make jokes about it. Some European nations see the … as car thiefs and
there is even a joke: If your car was stolen, you should go to that country. It surely would
be there. They will do anything for their family and friends, they would give them the last
shirt off their backs or sit down with them to eat a barrel of salt. They are a little worse
when it comes to equal rights; although they open doors for women, they make it difficult
for them to achieve career success.

5
The … are sociable and friendly. They often gesticulate and talk loudly, are short tempered and
always start discussions about the most banal topics. … are good lovers but bad workers. Spaghetti,
British
mafia, musical accent, gestures, romantic, loud, fashion, chaos - these are all words often used to
describe …. They are chaotic. Nothing in that country is well organized or easy-to-use. You have to
fight to get the smallest scrap of information. Don't be surprised to see … fighting to get into the
buses or jumping the queue to be served first at the coffee bar. This country’s slow-moving and
stressful bureaucracy has made them more pushy and resourceful. The way they speak is completely
original. The most important elements of communication are the gestures: the way they move their
hands, hold their heads, move their shoulders, their facial expressions. They simply cannot talk
without their hands. They speak very loudly in public whether on the bus, in the street or on the
phone. Don't worry, they are not all deaf. A lot of foreigners think they are fighting when they talk
that way but it's just the way they are.

6
The … are friendly, helpful, romantic, sophisticated. The … will say “not bad” even if they win the Poles
lottery! They are not loud, and they are reserved in their expressions. The … strike a lot, smoke a lot
and are hypochondriacs (pharmacy can be found almost in every street!). The … do not like
foreigners and their president.