Are Russians Impolite? Reasons for Such Stereotyping and a Look Into Russian Politeness in Comparison with English.
Are Russians Impolite? Reasons for Such Stereotyping and a Look into Russian Politeness in Comparison with English.
Despite the fact that the phenomenon of politeness is widespread in the entire world, after looking into different cultures it is possible to notice that in each one it reveals itself in various ways; it can have a small number of differences or it may differ starting from the basics. This is determined by a range of cultural specifications, customs, and way of life (Wierzbicka 2003). The essence of politeness is usually lies much deeper than in speaking syntax and language structure. An ignorance of given actions can result in misunderstanding and cultural stereotyping, which is highly dangerous to communication (Leech 1983). Therefore given topic was chosen. There was a chance for me of getting to know a few different cultures, among them Russian and English. I was born and grew up in Lithuania, and due to certain historical facts (USSR occupation till 1990) part of our culture and communication elements were influenced by Russia, I also had a chance of meeting and communicating with a number Russian people, and because during my childhood TV was broadcasting only Russian channels, films and TV shows, I got acquainted with its cultural specifications. After coming to UK for the first time, a few years ago a contrast between these two cultural communication features was experienced; an impression that English people are really very polite was made, and that compared to them Russian people are relatively rude. However, after spending more time in England more differences were discovered, not only in communicational but in cultural terms as well, which define communication impulses. And even though English language seems to be very warm and polite, its indirectness serves as a barrier that allows to keep distance from the others; meanwhile, despite the fact that at first sight Russian directness may seem offensive, after getting to know it better
Despite the fact that the phenomenon of politeness is widespread in the entire world, after looking into different cultures it is possible to notice that in each one it reveals itself in various ways; it can have a small number of differences or it may differ starting from the basics. This is determined by a range of cultural specifications, customs, and way of life (Wierzbicka 2003). The essence of politeness is usually lies much deeper than in speaking syntax and language structure. An ignorance of given actions can result in misunderstanding and cultural stereotyping, which is highly dangerous to communication (Leech 1983). Therefore given topic was chosen. There was a chance for me of getting to know a few different cultures, among them Russian and English. I was born and grew up in Lithuania, and due to certain historical facts (USSR occupation till 1990) part of our culture and communication elements were influenced by Russia, I also had a chance of meeting and communicating with a number Russian people, and because during my childhood TV was broadcasting only Russian channels, films and TV shows, I got acquainted with its cultural specifications. After coming to UK for the first time, a few years ago a contrast between these two cultural communication features was experienced; an impression that English people are really very polite was made, and that compared to them Russian people are relatively rude. However, after spending more time in England more differences were discovered, not only in communicational but in cultural terms as well, which define communication impulses. And even though English language seems to be very warm and polite, its indirectness serves as a barrier that allows to keep distance from the others; meanwhile, despite the fact that at first sight Russian directness may seem offensive, after getting to know it better
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