English, Scottish, Irish, American

2A National Stereotypes: truth or myth?

Try to match the speakers 1–4 with their nationality. Use what they say about people from their country to help you.

Write down at least one -negative and two +positive characteristics about each nationality. Does each person think they are typical or not? Why (not)?

Speaker 1. I think above all we are strong individualists. We want as few rules as possible governing our lives. We are also very hard-working. People here live to
work and don’t work to live. We are also very optimistic, and we think that if we work hard, we can achieve anything. On the negative side, I think we are extremely materialistic. The measure of success for most people here is money. We are extremely concerned with ‘things’ – possessions and the bigger the better. Personally, I think I have inherited the typical optimism and drive, and I’m also an individualist, so I think I’m probably quite typical, but I hope I’m less materialistic than many of my countrymen seem to be.
E.g. Donald Trump: “We’re going to make our country rich again.” The goal of success is framed as becoming rich. “I’m really rich.”

Speaker 1. (American)
(+) Individualistic, hard — working, optimistic.
(-) Materialistic.
He is quite typical but he hopes he’s less materialistic than other Americans.

Speaker 2. Generally speaking, I think we’re very sociable and easy-going, and we’re great storytellers. People are also quite religious and family oriented, we’re also very patriotic. Maybe this is because we’re a small country and so many of us live abroad. Historically, there has always been a lot of emigration. Weaknesses? I think we can be very melancholic and nostalgic, you only have to listen to our music to hear this – it’s often quite sad and slow. It’s probably because of our climate and our history. The stereotypical image is that one minute we’re laughing and telling you a funny story and the next minute we’re crying into our beer. Which reminds me that we also drink quite a lot. I think I’m quite typical in many respects, although I’m not particularly melancholic.

Speaker 2. (Irish)
(+) Sociable and easy-going, great storytellers, religious and family-oriented, patriotic.
(-) Melancholic and nostalgic, drink quite a lot.
She is quite typical but she is not particularly melancholic.

Speaker 3. It’s difficult to generalize about us as a people, especially as our big cities now have such a multiethnic population, but I would say that we’re basically very tolerant and open-minded. We’re not nearly as insular (unwilling to meet new people or to consider new ideas) as we used to be. We defend the things that we believe in – when we have to –and we avoid taking extreme positions, which I think is another strength. One of our main weaknesses, though, is that we can be quite self-satisfied and arrogant towards foreigners. Just think of our inability, or our unwillingness, to learn foreign languages! I’d also say that that we can be lazy, and we’re a bit careless about the way we dress, and also we drink too much. I don’t think I’m very typical, though I do definitely have one of the weaknesses – but I’m not going to say which!

Speaker 3.(English)
(+) Tolerant, open-minded, avoid extreme positions.
(-) Self-satisfied and arrogant towards foreigners, lazy, careless about the way they dress.
He is not very typical but he admits that he has one of the weaknesses. He doesn’t want to say which one.

Speaker 4. As a nation, we’re very proud of our identity and our cultural heritage. We’re an inventive people, but we often feel marginalized and forgotten by our bigger neighbour, England, that is. We’re very sociable and like to have a good time. We’re also great travellers, and people often compliment us on the good behaviour of our sports fans abroad. On the other hand, we do have a tendency to melancholy – maybe it’s something to do with the weather; you know, we tend to think that life is hard. There’s also a negative attitude towards our neighbour – and this can range from humorous comments to actual violence. And although we are keen travellers, we can be quite negative towards foreigners. Some people would like to see the country kept only for us, without apparently understanding how negative that could be. I don’t think of myself as a typical example. I love the country, and think it has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, but I feel that we tend to focus too much on the wrongs done to us in the distant past, rather than trying to move on.

Speaker 4.(Scottish)
(+) Proud of their identity and cultural heritage, inventive, sociable, great travellers.
(-) Melancholic, negative attitude towards England, sometimes negative towards foreigners.
She is not typical but she loves her country and thinks people should focus less on past problems and move on.