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Language stereotypes | ||
Tags: Stereotypes | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| zarathustra Groupie Canada Joined 5806 days ago 57 posts - 59 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian | Message 1 of 118 25 January 2009 at 2:39pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm interested to know what sort of stereotypes people have of the following languages and those who learn them. What do you guys think?
French: German: Russian: Italian: Spanish: Chinese: Japanese: Arabic: Feel free to add any others to the list. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| qklilx Moderator United States Joined 6186 days ago 459 posts - 477 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 118 26 January 2009 at 4:56am | IP Logged | ||
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These are stereotypes I hear about or observe often. I do not believe very many of these myself.
French: Learner wants to be more romantic and wants to learn French more than anything else German: Sounds ugly and angry (I had this thought until I heard German spoken outside of music) Italian: Ends every word or phrase with "ah!" Spanish: Learner just wants to graduate from high school or college Chinese: Learner wants to guarantee a spot in the Chinese market in a few years Japanese: Learner is a Japanophile, animefreak, slight deviant to western culture, and in some subcultures the learner is called a "weeaboo" and assumed to be a "furry" Korean: Speech is very whiny or angry, learner wants to understand K-dramas without subtitles, loves the singer Rain Any language not heard of or studied that often (usually most any language not mentioned in this post, save for maybe Italian): Learner is weird, crazy, intelligent, a genius, a hard worker, highly motivated, geared for success, a failure in the making, pretentious, or cultured, depending on who you talk to Actually come to think of you can study any language other than Spanish and the last bit applies to you. :/ 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Hollow Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States luelinks.netRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6539 days ago 179 posts - 186 votes Speaks: French*, English*, SpanishB2 Studies: Korean | Message 3 of 118 26 January 2009 at 5:22am | IP Logged | ||
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haha weeaboo
qklilx, I have that exact same stereotype about Korean learners my contribution: when I think of German, I think of: A rough language, some Army sergeant in the second world war yelling orders; or, depending on context, a tall blond haired man in a white turtleneck holding red wine and talking politics 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| .automne Diglot Groupie Norway Joined 5828 days ago 56 posts - 57 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English Studies: French | Message 4 of 118 26 January 2009 at 9:40am | IP Logged | ||
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Russian: Journalist/foreign correspondent.
Arabic: The cultured mercenary. Norwegian: Someone who is serious about death metal music, and wants to understand lyrics written in the language of ragnarok. -.- 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Starfallen Groupie United States Joined 5817 days ago 43 posts - 49 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 5 of 118 26 January 2009 at 10:01am | IP Logged | ||
Oh yeah, the otaku stereotype. I think this stereotype might be worse for men since there's also the added stereotype of doing it simply to pick up women...actually I think this stereotype is often aimed at men studying any Asian language. That they are "creepy playboys" who think western women aren't "submissive enough" or can't get a date. Edited by Starfallen on 26 January 2009 at 10:07am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6436 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: EnglishC2, Korean*, GermanC1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 6 of 118 26 January 2009 at 10:16am | IP Logged | ||
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These will be the "typical Korean" stereotypes
French: language of elegance and love for semi-ditzy/semi-romantic (+effeminate if a guy) people or designers/artists/etc. German: harsh and rough language for engineers/mathematicians/boring people Russian: I don't think many Koreans have much opinion about this, except harsh and rough like German Italian: Language of eloquence, grace, elegance and elitistic pursuits. Spanish: a really fast language for panchos, tortillas and sombreros and "El condor pasa" Chinese: language for money and business Japanese: a cute language Arabic: language for people who want to get easy passes for university exams OR weirdos The following descriptions are my stereotypes French: a language full of nasal and undetermined consonants and vowels... sorry I'm not a fan of French German: awesome, cool and artistic language Russian: exotic, exotic, exotic Italian: the most beautiful and artistic spoken language ever Spanish: a very very passionate, chic and "sensual" language Chinese: a language with a cool and harrowing writing system, with the most unpredictable grammar and expressions Japanese: no comment Arabic: a lovely chant-like and spiritual language Edited by Jiwon on 26 January 2009 at 10:17am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Yukamina Senior Member Canada Joined 6264 days ago 281 posts - 332 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean, French | Message 7 of 118 26 January 2009 at 10:22am | IP Logged | ||
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Japanese: People think it's just like Chinese.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sennin Senior Member Bulgaria Joined 6034 days ago 1457 posts - 1759 votes 5 sounds | Message 8 of 118 26 January 2009 at 11:23am | IP Logged | ||
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My typical reactions are as follows...
French: I wonder to if the person goes for the chic factor (50% probability), or is genuinely interested in some aspect of the culture German: Pragmatic and rather boring, nonetheless wise choice Russian: Hopeless romantic, wishing for a return to the the "good old times" (TM) Italian: Some adventurous bloke, willing to go off the beaten track Spanish: The path of least resistance. However, I think it is also off the beaten track (this may sound bizarre to all the guys in the US). Chinese: The real geek, worthy of awe if he doesn't quit after two months of study Japanese: Most likely anime geek but other minor obsessions with Japan are also possible Arabic: Kind of weird choice, I don't think it sounds sexy. And my special contribution: Bulgarian: I feel sympathetic for this bloke/gal, who is making an effort to learn my language. Also slightly embarrassed, because I know he/she will be faced with a lot of rude and impatient people. Edited by Sennin on 26 January 2009 at 11:33am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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