|
 |
Most Infuriating Myth about your Country? | ||
Tags: Stereotypes | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5766 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes  Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 49 of 177 23 June 2009 at 7:25pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Sheep, Sennin. Ireland has ... Sheep. And a lot of people named Paddy. Edited by Bao on 23 June 2009 at 7:25pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| RBenham Triglot Groupie IndonesiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5643 days ago 60 posts - 62 votes Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Indonesian | Message 50 of 177 24 June 2009 at 4:56am | IP Logged | ||
|
A lot of people entertain false beliefs about Australia, but most of them are not particularly irritating.
For example, a lot of non-Australians think Australians are good at sport. This is true to the extent that our sportspeople are relatively successful, but in fact our participation rate is rather low. Also, people have this image of Australians being stockmen or farmers and living in the bush, when we have one of the most urbanized populations in the world. Oh, and we drink a lot of been (oops! that one's true).... In Australian cities, kangaroos hop down the street. (Well, I have seen them in Canberra; but that is rather a special case. Even so, they don't hop down the street for very long if they do at all....) Other misconceptions I have encountered that are irritating include: Australia is in Europe (sometimes due to confusion with Austria; sometimes due to our being predominantly European in appearance...I have even encountered people in Indonesia who think the US is part of Europe...). Australia is part of the United States. Australia is part of (or a colony of) the United Kingdom (well, we actually gained our independence in 1901...). Australia has territorial designs on Irian Jaya/West Papua.... I have got this one a couple of times in Indonesia, apparently due to a confusion. Part of what is now Papua New Guinea was once the Australian territory of Papua, unlike the "New Guinea" part which was administered by Australia as a trust territory on behalf of the UN. Recently, Indonesia has renamed the province formerly known as "Irian Jaya" as "Papua". However, this "Papua" is the western half of the island, whereas the former Australian territory is in the south-east. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Le dacquois Diglot Groupie France Joined 5647 days ago 54 posts - 69 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, German | Message 51 of 177 24 June 2009 at 9:19am | IP Logged | ||
I think this is something that Australia shares with Great Britain. The performance of the Brits at the last Olympics was phenomenal and if I remember correctly they came fourth only after the mighty China, the USA and Russia. Considering the country only has roughly sixty million-ish folk, that's not bad. So, on the face of it you'd think it would be a country full of sporty people. Hmmmm... However, it merely represents a monetary investment and committment to sport for talented athletes. If you looked at some of the bodies on display where I come from you'd think twice about considering the Brits as a sporty bunch. It's no secret our obesity rate is one of the world's worst and also the heart disease that goes along with it. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Louis Triglot Groupie Italy Joined 5730 days ago 92 posts - 110 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish | Message 52 of 177 25 June 2009 at 4:57am | IP Logged | ||
|
Since the United States is so large and culturally diverse, I'll narrow the question down to my specific region within the US: New England. I live in the de facto capital, Boston. And the myths about Boston are quite funny, and surprisingly accurate!
1) Ever since former President George W. Bush's crack about John Kerry being a "Massachusetts liberal," people assume I am left-leaning too! (I'm personally more of a rightist, but I know how disastrous political discussions get on this forum) 2) Another myth is that Bostonians are "stuck-up" and highly cultured. Let's just say people who adhere to this myth have never set foot inside an Irish pub in Southie after a Red Sox game (win or lose)... 3) Pardon the vulgarity, but people from Massachusetts are referred to as Massholes by other New England states, and the rest of the country. Although it is meant to be derogatory, we usually just laugh and embrace our reputation as being rude bastards! 4) Since Boston is frequently regarded as "America's College Town," we Bostonians have a reputation of being highly intellectual. Although Massachusetts students do receive the highest standardized test scores in the nation, we tend to be quite humble about it (maybe it's the social liberalism rubbing off). 5) Okay, this one is not really a myth. But our sports teams are indeed the best in the country! 
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Le dacquois Diglot Groupie France Joined 5647 days ago 54 posts - 69 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, German | Message 53 of 177 25 June 2009 at 9:59am | IP Logged | ||
|
I've always fancied a trip to Boston. Maybe it's something to do with the Celtic heritage. I entertain fantasies of drinking a cold one in the Cheers bar with the theme music in full flow and maybe striking up a conversation with Kirstie Alley...
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5838 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 54 of 177 25 June 2009 at 3:08pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Louis, interesting info about New England! I think the parts of the US are more fascinating to hear of than the country as a whole. I'd love to hear the myths about other parts of the US since I've only been one place in the US, briefly for work.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Lizzern Diglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5909 days ago 791 posts - 1053 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English Studies: Japanese | Message 55 of 177 25 June 2009 at 8:03pm | IP Logged | ||
tmi, mate, tmi. Scandinavians in general are known for behaving like absolute morons when drunk (and sometimes when sober) if they're in another country where they can safely do what they want without anyone back home ever finding out about it. A Greek friend of mine collectively referred to the female variant of this sort of person as "Danish women", which is fine by me lol, cause I'd hate for people to think all Norwegian women are the way some people behave when on vacation in the south of Europe, so blame it on the Danes I say! :-) The above is not a myth at all, it's based on an awful lot of truth, which is a real shame. Most of us are normal, honest... On the other hand, an Italian friend told me they think of Norway as having polar bears roaming the streets and only a couple of snow-free months a year (if we're lucky). Which is basically the stereotype that some of us from the south have about Svalbard (an island off the coast of Norway, way up north). Another myth is that we're all really shy and reserved. Couldn't be more wrong, we're just not as zany around strangers as we are around people we know. Liz 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| pmiller Account terminated Groupie Canada Joined 5674 days ago 99 posts - 104 votes Speaks: English* | Message 56 of 177 25 June 2009 at 8:36pm | IP Logged | ||
|
The World is Fat
It's true that America still has a higher percentage of very fat people ("obese", BMI>30), at least compared to other Western countries, but we're by no means unique: https://apps.who.int/infobase/report.aspx?rid=118 If you include the merely overweight (BMI>25), America's relative position improves quite a bit: https://apps.who.int/infobase/report.aspx?rid=118&Def_Code=c d.0704&Survey_Year_End=2005&genGraphButton=Generate+Graph If you then project out to the year 2015, it looks scary all across the world: https://apps.who.int/infobase/report.aspx?rid=118&Def_Code=c d.0704&Survey_Year_End=2015&genGraphButton=Generate+Graph Fat isn't funny anymore - it's a serious worldwide epidemic of disease, leading to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and alzheimers. And it's no longer the exception: it's the new norm. Obesity has just exploded over the last 35 years. Each generation eats worse than the last. Less vegetables, fruit, nuts and quality meat and fish; more sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, flour, bread, pastries, ice cream, cake and junky meat (sausages, hamburger, tacos, burritos, corn-fed beef, "farmed" fish, etc.) Meanwhile, we exercise less, walk less, get less sleep and endure more anxiety and stress at work, in traffic, and even at home. And if you're not fat now, just wait a few years. I think you'll be very surprised, and utterly shocked at how hard it is to take off even a few pounds once you've put them on. And god forbid you ever need one of the many medications that have the "unfortunate side effect" of making you HUGE. But in the meantime, we can all laugh at those stereotypical "fat Americans"! :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
