Филологический класс (Jun 2022)
The Content of Auto- and Heterostereotypes of Modern Russian and Chinese Students
Abstract
The article analyzes the content of auto- and heterostereotypes of Russian and Chinese students. The purpose of the study is to identify the specificity of auto- and heterostereotypes of the Russians and the Chinese in their linguistic consciousness in order to determine the common and different aspects in the content of the images. The urgency of the study arises from the fact that in the process of intercultural communication, stereotypes can lead to the idealization or, conversely, to the rejection of the representatives of another culture. The main research method is a free associative experiment, as well as analysis and classification of the responses obtained. The words China, Chinese, Russia, and Russians were chosen as stimuli. The experiment involved 120 Russian and 120 Chinese students aged 18–25. At the first stage of the study, the most frequent associations to the stimulus words were identified, then all responses were subjected to content analysis and divided into thematic groups “Geography”, “Population”, “Culture”, “Language”, “Economy”, “History”, “People (appearance, character)”, “Personal attitude to the country”, “Other”. Then a comparative analysis of auto- and heterostereotypes of Russian and Chinese students was carried out. As a result of the analysis of thematic groups, it was revealed that the autostereotypes of Chinese students are exclusively positive, and the autostereotypes of Russian students are predominantly positive, since they include a small number of negative responses. Autostereotypes of Russian and Chinese students are represented by a wider range and variety of responses than heterostereotypes, which is associated with a more detailed acquaintance with the described fragment of reality. During the experiment, almost 2 times more responses of the Russian students were received than the responses of the Chinese students, which indicates the evaluative nature of the Russian culture. Mismatched elements of the content of auto- and heterostereotypes of Russians and Chinese students were also revealed. The results of the study can be used in the training courses of intercultural communication, ethnopsycholinguistics, and in the practical work of employees of centres for sociocultural adaptation of foreign students.
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