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WORKSHOP:
Comparative Cultural Studies 2
Culture and OthernessChair: Marianne de Jong (University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa)
Cultural Values through Language
Privalova, Irina (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia)
In her paper "Cultural Values through Language," Irina Privalova discusses correlations between cultural values, generalizations, and stereotypes. While agreeing to the premise that generalizations about a group do not necessarily describe individuals in that group, Privalova argues that despite the diversity of individual characteristics and attributes it is possible to make generalizations about people of a culture because there are still mainstream values that reflect the essence as well as particularities of the culture. Certain ways of thinking, acting, and communicating are a direct result of cultural values. Privalova exemplifies her theoretical proposition based on empirical evidence from data acquired from 1) Participant observations by the author, who had an experience of work as a cross-cultural coordinator in pre-service trainings for US Peace Corps volunteers; 2) Materials of Russian-American cross-cultural seminars; and 3) Interviews with the participants of those seminars. In addition, Privalova explores national values and beliefs reflected in the types of communication strategies used by specific ethnic groups.
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