Many people think that we can learn a lot about the culture of a foreign country simply by living in that country. However, this is not necessarily true. Often, the longer we stay in a foreign country, the more we realize how little we actually know about the culture of that country.
Books and talks about other people’s culture can even be dangerous because they concentrate on cultural differences and exaggerate national characteristics, and sometimes a lot of the information they contain is untrue.
In a survey recently carried out in Britain, people were asked to make a list of anything which they thought was typical of Britain and would interest a foreign visitor there. Most mentioned Shakespeare, the Queen, village inns, English folk dancing, football hooligans, umbrellas, English castles, cricket, and fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. Although all of these features can be found in British culture, they do not reflect the real interests of ordinary British people. They are, in fact, simply stereotypes – that is, general features which people wrongly think are typical. What is surprising is that they were suggested by British people themselves as representing their culture! If people have such a wrong impression of their own culture, how much more false would their impression of other cultures be!
Books and talks about other people’s culture can even be dangerous because they concentrate on cultural differences and exaggerate national characteristics, and sometimes a lot of the information they contain is untrue.
In a survey recently carried out in Britain, people were asked to make a list of anything which they thought was typical of Britain and would interest a foreign visitor there. Most mentioned Shakespeare, the Queen, village inns, English folk dancing, football hooligans, umbrellas, English castles, cricket, and fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. Although all of these features can be found in British culture, they do not reflect the real interests of ordinary British people. They are, in fact, simply stereotypes – that is, general features which people wrongly think are typical. What is surprising is that they were suggested by British people themselves as representing their culture! If people have such a wrong impression of their own culture, how much more false would their impression of other cultures be!
DustLonely (440 bài luận)