Lietuvio stereotipas paauglių rašto darbuose

BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 NIDA PODERIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas KEY WORDS: student language, stereotype, language worldview. INTRODUCTION The concept of national identity is based on images existing in the cultural consciousness of the nation, including stereotypes. Stereotypes affect the cognitive processes of the individual, they 1 are used when it is necessary to choose one or another way of behaviour in the social environment, because “reality is always interpreted from the perspective of socially defined perception” (Tumer, Oakes, Haslam 1992: 22). In ethnolinguistics, a national stereotype is usually defined as a schematic image in the mind of a representative of one’s own or another nation formed in a linguistic cultural community, attributing to him certain character traits and cultural characteristics (Gudavičius 2007: 156; Rutkovska, Smetona, Smetonienė 2017: 26). As Kazimieras Župerka (2017: 5) notes, “the traits attributed to a nation (i.e., what the ‘average’ Lithuanian is) are perceived only as recognition of more prominent interests”. The aim of this article is to discuss, based on the data of the study of the writing works of adolescents of the early age group (11-13 years), what stereotype of Lithuanian is formed in the worldview of students. To achieve this goal, the following tasks are posed: 1) to find out how adolescents understand the national stereotype; 2) to examine the relationship of adolescents with Lithuanian stereotype; 3) 2 analyze the content of Lithuanian stereotype; 4) to compare the data of the survey with the data of ethnolinguistic studies conducted on the same topic in groups of older people. The choice of the research object was determined by the lack of empirical research on the theme of national identity and national stereotypes in the early adolescence age group. Researching the content of national stereotypes, identity expression change in linguistic cultural 1 There are four definitions of stereotype in the International Dictionary of Words. In this article, the term stereotype is used in its second meaning: “a simplified, schematized, emotionally colored image of an object functioning in public consciousness” (TŽZ 2005: 704). 2 Language worldview – the understanding of the world in language, including objects and phenomena kategorizavimą, pasaulio elementų ryšius, žmogaus santykį su pasauliu (Gudavičius 2007: 210). Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of the Lithuanian language in the writing of adolescents | 2 In the BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 community, as the research data (Druckman 1994; Barrett, Wilson, Lyons 1999; Šutinienė 2006; Taljūnaitė 2006; Akstinavičiūtė, Petraitytė 2007; Gudavičius 2007; Kuznecovienė 2007; Spiriajevienė, Spiriajevas 2015; Žiliukaitė, Poviliūnas, Savicka 2016) show, the age is of particular importance. This is particularly relevant in the case of adolescents, due to the peculiarities of the development of adolescence. Based on Erik Erikson’s theory of personality development, psychologists (Gage, Berliner 1994: 116–119) claim that it is in adolescence that one seeks to understand and establish one’s identity, discover one’s place in the community, comparing oneself with others, self-evaluation with the views of others. Interpreting the data of empirical research, scientists conclude that prejudices and beliefs about the representatives of the nation, the exclusion of one group from others, the use of stereotypes are characteristic of children older than 10 years (Rutland 1999: 65), in addition, children aged 10-12 years begin to distinguish the characteristic įtraukdami socialinius palyginimus. Ankstyvojoje paauglystėje susiformuoja asmens tautinė features of their nation by categorizing, an identity that is created “not by separating, but by joining, through long learning of the principles of the nation’s lifestyle” (Jonutytė 2008: 17), inheriting the values of the national community, behavioural models. In adolescence, the image of the representatives of their own nation, as an “imagined community”, becomes a certain reference point for the formation of the personality’s self-concept and relationship with the national community. 1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study material consists of 62 adolescents (20 – fifth grade, 42 – sixth grade) aged 11–13 years from Lithuanian-language schools in Lithuania. 3 246 works of written language. The students wrote the writing works in February-April 2018, performing tasks that were 1) asked to describe the traits of Lithuanian national character, providing a list of 37 lexical and word combinations, 4 which the students could (but was not obliged to) use; 2) asking 5 how, in the opinion of the students, Lithuanians 3 Kaišiadorių r., Kaunas, Kazlų Rūdos, Kėdainių, Klaipėda r., Kupiškio, Marijampolės r., Rokiškio r., Skuodo, Šalčininkų. The works of the students of Šalčininkai school make up 20% of the total sample. Students were asked to indicate which school and class they attend. 4 Honest, flexible, quick, polite, restrained, impeccable, old-fashioned, sensual, reliable, weak-willed, gloomy, cheerful, sensitive, serious, straightforward, talkative, without a sense of humor, slow, snobby, cunning, greedy, correct, wise, open, friendly, hard-working, unreliable, modest, noisy, punctual, objective, uneducated, extroverted, introverted, unclear, boring, firm (the list was compiled based on Valdas Pruskas (2003: 28) lexicons and word combinations describing national character). 5 According to the data of the study of the written language vocabulary of 3-4 grades pupils (Dobrovolskienė, Plentaitė 2005: 113), the students’ vocabulary is not rich (for example, in narrative types of essays only 3 per cent of the words are used). adjectives). Examples of lexems and word combinations are proposed so that students can use them to describe the stereotype of Lithuanian in more detail. Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanian in the writings of adolescents | 3 representatives BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 of neighbouring countries; 3) requested to describe a representative of another nation; 4) it is proposed to create a portrait of a typical Lithuanian and compare it with the description of a representative of the chosen nation. These tasks were presented to students during the lessons on the topic “Language as a social cultural phenomenon” – learning lexicon (synonyms, 6 antonyms and phraseologisms). The task was performed by students with different learning abilities, their work was not evaluated by marks. Accumulated material of adolescent written language research was analyzed by descriptive analytical and comparative methods. When investigating Lithuanian stereotype in students’ writing works, firstly it was examined how students understand the national stereotype, what is the relationship of adolescents with Lithuanian stereotype. In distinguishing the elements of the content of the Lithuanian stereotype, the methodology of Jerzy Bartminskis (Gudavičius 2007: 157–158) was used, which was based on the ethnolinguist Aloyzas Gudavičius (2007: 158–146), when investigating the stereotype kalbinėse bendruomenėse. J. Bartminskis tyrė tautinius stereotipus pagal apibendrintus tautos features of the representative of the nation. 2) (parameter of sociality) and 4) ideological charakterio bruožus (psichinės ir intelekto savybės); 3) santykį su kitais žmonėmis position (relationship with the world, homeland, religion). Based on the data of the analysis of the written language of adolescents, two more aspects of the evaluation of the representative of the nation were distinguished: 1) relationship with national identity (language, culture, state, history) and 2) physical characteristics. The content of the Lithuanian stereotype in the writings of adolescents was examined according to the following aspects of evaluation: 1) relationship with material life; 2) mental and intellectual qualities; 3) relationship with other people; 4) the relationship to national identity; 5) physical characteristics. In order to reveal which traits of Lithuanian stereotype are sustainable in the language worldview of different age groups, how the dominants of Lithuanian stereotype content change, the data of the research carried out were compared with A. Gudavičius’ Lithuanian žmonių (35–65 m.) kalbinėje bendruomenėje ir Silvijos Papaurėlytės-Klovienės lietuvio stereotype study of Lithuanian students and the data of the older national character study of Contemporary Lithuanian language texts. A. Gudavičius conducted a survey among 100 Šiauliai University students and 50 older respondents from various professions according to the aspects of evaluation of ethnic stereotype identified by J. Bartminskis. S. Papaurėlytė-Klovienė examined the traits of Lithuanian national character by analyzing data from the textbook of contemporary Lithuanian language, in which the evaluation of the representative of the Lithuanian nation is expressed with the adjective Lithuanian named traits, for example, Lithuanian industriousness, Lithuanian hospitality, etc. National character of Lithuanian language 6 It should be noted that the tasks were not created and performed specifically for this study, but for testing the teaching material for students with higher abilities. Nida Poderienė. Lithuanian stereotype in teenage writing | 4 in worldview the researcher BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 investigated according to 1) relationship with others; 2) with yourself and 3) with your actions. The analysis of the Lithuanian stereotype in the same or very similar aspects made it possible to compare the content of the Lithuanian stereotype in the language worldview of adolescents and people of other age groups, although the empirical research material was collected in different ways. In the article Lithuanian stereotype as a stereotype of early adolescent language; 3) the pasaulėvaizdyje nagrinėjamas aptariant 1) lietuvio stereotipo sampratą; 2) santykį su content of Lithuanian stereotype, distinguishing the most characteristic features. 2. INTERPRETATION OF LITHUANIAN STEREOTYPE IN ADULTS’ LANGUAGE In adolescents, national stereotype is perceived as a generalized picture of a national representative based on traits attributed to national character. In the texts of the respondents, as the analysis of the students’ writing works shows, the concept of national stereotype does not have negative connotations. Noticing that Lithuanians are different, most teenagers consider the stereotype as justified, generalized assessments of the majority of the nation, e.g.: <...> these are just stereotypes, but most people conform to them. 7 <...> of course, not all [Lithuanians – N.P.] are like that, but in general, it can be said that this is exactly the case. The stereotype of the Lithuanian in the worldview of adolescents includes, in the opinion of the students, characteristic features of most Lithuanians, including both their own characteristics as a representative of the nation and their peers, e.g. : Gal mes kiek per kuklūs, bet tikri tvirtavaliai ir gerokai užsispyrę. My friend <...> is cheerful, open-minded. All Lithuanians are like that. When describing the representative of a nation, students rely on social, cultural arguments, e.g. : If necessary, Lithuanians protest, ask the government for support and help. Lithuanians love basketball, and English – football. 7 The article does not correct the students' language. Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanians in the writings of teenagers | 5 Lithuanians have their own BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 holidays like February 16 <...>. Lithuanians and Germans are similar in their diligence, restraint, punctuality, firmness. Both nations like to eat similar food, for example, both Lithuanians and Germans eat stewed sauerkraut with smoked meat or potato dishes with full mouths. The concept of Lithuanian in students’ texts includes ethnic origin, territory, national traditions, historical cultural experience and traits attributed to national character. In the language of pupils, the terms Lithuanian people, Lithuanian residents are used synonymously with the term Lithuanians. When describing Lithuanians, students compare them only with representatives of nations living abroad, in no aspect are Lithuanians compared with persons belonging to ethnic communities living in Lithuania. It can be assumed that for Lithuanian adolescents representatives of ethnic communities are not different, so different that they would be attributed stereotypical traits of another nation. Adolescents do not see a fundamental difference between ethnic Lithuanians and 8 representatives of Lithuanian national communities: in the texts of the pupils’ language, the distinguishing feature of Lithuanians is dependence on the Lithuanian state, e.g. : If someone speaks Lithuanian, he may be Lithuanian, but not necessarily, because there are people who learn Lithuanian from other countries. If you have Lithuanian citizenship, you are certainly Lithuanian, unless you have dual citizenship. It can be said that in the language of students the concept of Lithuanian includes both ethnic and political characteristics of the nation. Most adolescents feel identity with their state, on the contrary, students, as researchers (Spiriajevienė, Spiriajevas 2015: 117) say, national identity loses the dimension of state territory. 3. TO IDENTIFY OR TO BE DIFFERENT: THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE STEREOTYPE The relationship with the Lithuanian stereotype is usually expressed by the personal pronoun. The first person of the personal pronoun or alternately the first and third persons are most often used when students describe the character of Lithuanians, compare Lithuanians with people of other nations, express their opinion on how Lithuanians are viewed by representatives of other nations. Identity with the national community is usually expressed in texts in the forms of personal pronouns we, our, singular and plural first-person verbs, e.g. : 8 Other nations are represented in the students’ texts by representatives of Poland, Russia, Belarus and other countries. NIDA PODERIENĖ. Lietuvio stereotipas paauglių rašto darbuose | 6 BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 Gal mes kiek per kuklūs, bet tikri tvirtavaliai ir gerokai užsispyrę. Our nation has similar traits of character to the German nation, because the Germans are polite, restrained, reliable, serious, hard-working, objective. <...> we are kindhearted, calm, caring, suffering, earthly, extremely attached to nature and ordinary people. Despite all the pluses and minuses, I am proud to be a Lithuanian and not a foreigner. In cases where only negative traits are attributed to Lithuanians, the evaluation of the Lithuanian stereotype is formulated only in the third person of the verb and the pronouns he or they, without identifying with their compatriots, e.g. : In my opinion Lithuanians are selfish <..>. Lithuanians drink too much. My friends aren't all as good as they seem. Some play against one good friend, while another calls her a scarecrow. Therefore, I can conclude that most Lithuanians are double-minded. As you walk you can see that Lithuanians are not the most polite people. This leads to the conclusion that Lithuanians are rude, uneducated. It is also clear from all sides how grim Lithuanians are. They always go frowning, dissatisfied. It turned out that teenagers, who only negatively evaluate the character of Lithuanians, are extremely critical of their peers and adults. Based on the research data, it can be said that most of the students of early adolescence identify with representatives of the Lithuanian nation, attributing their characteristics to the Lithuanian stereotype, expressing their personal relationship with the Lithuanian stereotype with personal pronouns I, we, singular and plural first person verbs. 4. CONTENT OF THE LITHUANIAN STEREOTYPE Data from a study carried out in a group of pupils of early adolescence age show that adolescents evaluate Lithuanian positively – in their language worldview stereotype of Lithuanian is created mainly by attributing positive traits to him. Respondents 9 characterized Lithuanians as 679 Positive and negative traits of Lithuanian stereotype are distinguished according to how adolescents evaluate them. Nida Poderienė. Stereotype of Lithuanian in adolescent writings | 7 descriptions: 48 BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 lexical and word combinations with positive connotations, 19 – naming negative 10 characteristics (see figure 1). It should be noted that as many as 53.4% of students described Lithuanians by attributing only positive traits to them. Positive and negative 1 PAV. Lietuvio stereotipo vertinimas traits were identified by 43.2%, while only 3.4% of adolescents attributed only negative traits to Lithuanians. The content of the Lithuanian stereotype was examined according to 5 criteria (see Figure 2). 10 When describing the stereotype of Lithuanians, the students used almost twice as many lexical and word combinations as was presented in the list of characteristics of task 1. Only positive Positive and negative Only negative Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanian in the writings of adolescents | 8 2 PAV. BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 Elements of Lithuanian stereotype according to frequency of distinguished characteristics In describing Lithuanian stereotype, respondents most often referred to mental and intellectual characteristics and traits revealed through relationship with other people. It can be assumed that the aspect of sociality is extremely important for students of this age, which is why they pay so much attention to evaluating Lithuanian traits that emerge when communicating with other people. The data of the study shows that teenagers also describe representatives of other nations by their relationship with other people. The vast majority of students also attributed mental and intellectual qualities to Lithuanian. A smaller proportion of adolescents indicated the characteristics of a typical Lithuanian, revealing his relationship with national identity and physical characteristics. 4.1. Features of Lithuanian stereotype revealed in everyday activities 56% of the students identified characteristic traits of Lithuanians, revealed through their relationship with material life, attributing most positive traits to the stereotype of Lithuanians. savybių (žr. 3 pav.). 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Criterion 2 Criterion 3 Criterion 4 Criterion 1 1 – by relation to material life 2 – by mental and intellectual qualities 3 – by relationship with other people 4 –in relation to national identity 5 – by physical characteristics Frequency Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanian in the writings of adolescents | 9 3 PAV. Stereotype BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 traits of Lithuanians according to their relationship with material life The most prominent trait of Lithuanians, in the opinion of adolescents, is hard work (53% of respondents indicated). A part of the students attributed willingness (13.6%) and conservatism (13.6%) to Lithuanian. Such traits as orderliness and economy, traditionally attributed to the stereotype of Lithuanians, are not predominant in the written language of pupils: only 5.2% of respondents stated that Lithuanians are orderly, and only 3.4% of pupils mentioned economy in texts. It can be assumed that these characteristics are not significant for adolescents of early age. The workmanship is highlighted in the texts as the most prominent positive trait characterizing Lithuanians. This is one of the main traditional qualities that are cultivated in the family, e.g. : Lithuanians have been hardworking since ancient times, they can do both mental and physical work. Each Lithuanian transmits from generation to generation the basic values characteristic only of our region. Lithuanians know that everything is achieved by work. Even those pupils who evaluate the character of Lithuanians Lietuviai darbštūs, nemėgsta atidėlioti darbų <...>. rather critically, only 3.4% distinguish hard work), used to emphasize that this characteristic is kaip būdingiausią teigiamą bruožą. Lietuvio apibūdinimas tinginys yra veikiau išimtis (nurodė characteristic only of some Lithuanians who do not have ambitions to achieve their life goals, e.g.: honest friendly polite talk modest correct They are lazy and do nothing, do not aim in their life, but want to live better than they live now. hardworking willing conservative orderly austerity Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanian in the writings of adolescents | 16 5 PAV. The BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 most characteristic traits of Lithuanians revealed through their relationship with others When assessing their relationship with other people, adolescents attributed the most positive qualities to the stereotype of Lithuanians: honest (28.8 per cent), friendly (27.1 per cent), polite (27.1 per cent), talkative (23.7 per cent), modest (22 per cent), fair (16.9 per cent). A much smaller proportion of students, when evaluating the stereotype of Lithuanians, attribute negative traits to them. Of the 12 lexical elements with negative connotations, the most frequently used adjectives were greedy (13.6 per cent), selfish (8.5 per cent), jealous (5 per cent). Some traits, traditionally considered positive by Lithuanians, such as shyness, modesty, are not character advantages for adolescents, e.g. : Most people living in Lithuania are shy and very complex about the smallest details. Lietuviai yra <...> kuklūs žmonės, mėgsta pritapti prie kitų. My friend who lives in Sweden is much more free. She communicates more easily, is not modest and shy. It is noteworthy that restraint, traditionally considered one of the most characteristic traits of Lithuanians, is not mentioned as predominant in the speech of pupils (it was mentioned by only 10% of respondents). In the worldview of the pupils, Lithuanian is associated with antonym features, meaning closure and openness, e.g. : Mano nuomone, lietuviai yra darbštūs ir tvarkingi. Tačiau dažnai būna liūdni ir uždaro būdo. NIDA PODERIENĖ. Lietuvio stereotipas paauglių rašto darbuose | 17 BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 Manau, kad dažniausiai lietuviai būna patikimi, tiesūs, gali būti senamadžiai, <...> šnekūs, atviri and funny, snobby. Lithuanians are very polite, straightforward and open. The stereotype traits of the Lithuanian characterizing the relationship with other people, most often students only name as self-evident, without further argumenting why they think so. The stereotype of the Lithuanian, as a set of certain traits, becomes an evaluation criterion when comparing and evaluating the traits of representatives of other nations, e.g. : Latvians are less hospitable than Lithuanians. I think that the difference between Lithuanian and Belarusian children is: we are more free, we have more choices, we are more open and noisy. I think that the representatives of neighboring countries should be similar to Lithuanians and be honest, polite, cheerful, friendly, hardworking, etc. However, compared to Lithuanians, <...> English are rather lazy. Also the people living there are honest, polite, reliable, cheerful, talkative, friendly. It can be seen that representatives of other nations are usually assessed favourably according to their relationship with others, while the assessment of representatives of the Russian nation varies more, both when comparing Lithuanian and Russian traits, and when expressing an opinion on what representative of the Lithuanian nation is in the eyes of Russians, e.g. : The Russian – strong, brave, defends Russia and wages war with other countries, is happy with life and speaks the language of his country – Russian. Russians describe Lithuanians as slow, irritable and warlike. The Russians are trying to change history, claiming that the Lithuanians voluntarily joined the Soviet Union and gave up their language. Comparing the data of studies carried out in groups of adolescents, students and older people (Gudavičius 2007:162), there is an obvious direct correlation in the evaluation of Lithuanian characteristics: all groups of respondents note honesty as a feature of Lithuanian paauglių ir vyresnio amžiaus žmonių dalis nei studentų mano, kad lietuvis yra kultūringas stereotype. In addition, there is a significant difference in the use of the words polite (in adolescents) and polite (in pupils). Noticeable differences in evaluating Lithuanians according to openness – closedness: from three comparison groups, students and older people lietuvį linkę vertinti kaip uždarą, paauglių kalboje antoniminiai bruožai uždarumas ir Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanian in teenage writing | 18 openness varies. Negative BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 traits of Lithuanian stereotype are mentioned less frequently in adolescents’ language. based Pavyzdžiui, kaip ryškiausią neigiamą lietuvio bruožą S. Papaurėlytė-Klovienė (2009: 248), on the data of the study of the textbook of contemporary Lithuanian language, distinguishes jealousy, this trait was attributed to Lithuanians by only 5% of students. In summary, it can be said that in the aspects of relationship with other people, as well as mental and intellectual qualities, adolescents evaluate the representatives of their nation very positively. 4.4. Elements of national identity 36% of adolescents described Lithuanian characteristics, revealed through the relationship with national identity, in their texts. In the written language of pupils, four elements of national identity self-concept can be distinguished: 1) state, 2) language, 3) culture (observance of customs and traditions) and 4) historical self-awareness. National identity, as a distinctive feature of Lithuanians, is referred to in adolescents’ language when describing national character traits, e.g. : Each nation is a unique nation, which is distinguished from other nations by its customs, traditions and people transmits the basic charakterio savitumu. Lietuvių tauta yra didi tauta su didinga istorija. Kiekvienas lietuvis iš kartos į kartą values characteristic only of our land. A Lithuanian knows that everything is achieved by work, honesty, perseverance, he also knows that he has to fight for his nationality, state, himself. Aspects of national identity are raised when distinguishing Lithuanians from representatives of other nations, e.g. : Foreigners are also friendly, cheerful, talkative. I think we differ from them only in language and a few features. Like us, they are the same, only the language and nationality are different, and everything is the same. My friend lives in England and there is something completely different. <...> it has different traditions than us. We live, speak and learn differently, but that makes us Lithuanians. The relationship with the homeland is expressed in the attitudes, manners and behaviour patterns of the individual, inherited through the tradition of the nation’s culture. Antanas Maceina (2002: 225) has an essential insight: “The deepest basis of patriotism is the identity of the nation and the homeland, i.e., its embodiment in us and our dwelling in it. <...> We love our nation and our homeland patys save ir visa tai, kas mums yra sava.“ Emocinį ryšį su tėvyne ir tauta paaugliai išreiškia, because we love our country and our people. : Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanian in teenage writing | 19 BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 Lithuania is important because I live there and it is my homeland. Our language is infinitely beautiful and the least distant from the ancient languages. <...> we are an ancient, royal nation. Pupils most often identified Lithuanian language (8.5% of all respondents) and respect for traditions (13.5%) as the most important characteristics of Lithuanians. Lithuanian language, as a distinctive feature of Lithuanians, respondents indicated when comparing Lithuanians with representatives of other countries, e.g. : They speak a different language. My cousin Ned is an Englishman. He differs from Lithuanians in that he speaks English, but little Lithuanian. Speaking about Lithuanian language as a characteristic attributed to Lithuanians, adolescents emphasize its beauty and antiquity, express the opinion that Lithuanian language is a difficult language. Even when comparing Lithuanians with representatives of other nations, mentioning the language as a distinctive feature, students note that Lithuanian language is difficult, e.g. : Lithuanian language is very beautiful and very difficult to learn. Because in Lithuanian there are many nasals, diphthongs, vowels and consonants. Lietuvių kalba yra sunkiausia kalba, nes Lietuvių kalboje yra daug priebalsių, balsių, mišriuojų diphthongs, semivowels, syllables, etc. And English is very easy. There are no vowels, consonants, etc. Pupils base their opinion about their language on phonetic and spelling examples, i.e. aspects they learn in school, which suggests that the opinions about the mother tongue are formed in school and are established in the worldview of the pupils. It should be noted that Lithuanian language as a feature of national identity is also identified by older students. Linguists (Aliūkaitė, Mikulėnienė, Čepaitienė, Geržotaitė 2017: 174), who have studied the variantity of language in the speech of high school students, note that “general language is "Lithuania". The pupils also consider the observance of Lithuanian traditions and customs as a trait of Lithuanians, which is mentioned in the texts when comparing the differences between their own and other nations. The observance of national traditions is mentioned by the majority of students discussing the Lithuanian type in relation to national identity Nida Poderienė. The stereotype of Lithuanian in the writings of adolescents | 20 (13.5 per cent BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 of all respondents). In the speech of the pupils the observance of national traditions is kalendorinių, religinių ir valstybinių švenčių šventimu, pvz.: illustrated Lithuanians observe traditions. At Christmas there are 12 dishes and there must be herring, at Easter – eggs and white bread, at Easter – a ride to the graves. Lithuania has its own holidays, such as February 16, and for example, the Americans have their own holidays. My friend Masha lives in Russia. We're not alike. She eats different food and likes different. It does not celebrate Christmas on December 25. In the worldview of adolescents, adherence to Lithuanian customs and traditions is associated with behavioral patterns transmitted by the family, which are so sustainable that they most clearly represent the pupils’ relationship with national identity. Historical self-awareness as a feature of national identity in adolescents' bendruomenėje reiškiama didžiavimusi nepriklausomybe, Lietuvos Didžiosios During the duchy period, e.g. : However, although Lithuania is a small country, we regained freedom. <...> how much they [Lithuanians – N.P.] withstood the attacks of both the Russians and the Crusaders. Successful battles, victories, <...> expansion of territory. <...> So in those days Lithuania was bigger and the people were more determined. At that time Lithuania was great. Based on the texts of the students, it can be assumed that the students are not inclined to identify with their weak ancestors, they base their community with their nation on arguments that testify to the strength of the nation. According to A. Gudavičius’ (2007: 158) study, which highlighted the aspect of ideological position (relationship with the world, homeland, religion), students, choosing from the antonym pairs nationalist – cosmopolitan, patriot – non-patriot, noted nationalist, patriot as characteristic nacionalistas, didesnė dalis vyresnio amžiaus grupės respondentų nurodė abu bruožus – traits of Lithuanians. Both the data of A. Gudavičius’s studies of adolescents’ language and those of older people’s groups show that the relationship with national identity is marked in all age groups, although it is not predominant in adolescents’ language when describing the stereotype of Lithuanians. Nida Poderienė. Lithuanian stereotype in teenage writing | 21 BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 4.5. Physical characteristics attributed to Lithuanians For schoolchildren of the adolescent age, as many psychologists say, appearance, physical characteristics are of particular importance. The students attribute to the Lithuanian stereotype only the features that denote beauty and strength. When describing Lithuanians, 35.6% of respondents mentioned physical characteristics. It is remarkable that the pupils value the Lithuanian as a beautiful person, using generalizing lexicons, for example, beautiful, strong, sporty, well-formed nose, mouth – normal. Describing in more detail, they note that the Lithuanian is tall, usually miniature portrait details: brown hair, blue eyes, red lips, white teeth. No text describes Lithuanians as ugly or weak. Based on the material of the study, it can be said that in the worldview of adolescents, Lithuanian is attributed the characteristics of a beautiful, physically strong, healthy person. The portrait of a Lithuanian in the worldview of adolescents is very similar to the picture of a Lithuanian created by Simonas Daukantas (1976: 69) and established in Lithuanian linguistic consciousness as early as the 19th century: “Old Lithuanians, Žemaičiai were blue-eyed, fearful, with a pale face, in Daukanto writings, the picture of a Lithuanian plaukų ilgų ir tamsiai gelsvų, stambūs, sveiki, stiprūs <...>“. Mokinių kalboje, kaip ir S. was romanticized, attributing to the Lithuanian the features of appearance valued by adolescents. There is a lack of empirical data to compare the appearance traits of Lithuanians in the adolescent age group with those of students and older people. Such a comparison would allow to determine how the assessment of physical and character characteristics attributed to the stereotype of Lithuanians correlates. 4.6. The most characteristic traits of Lithuanian stereotype Apart from the most frequently mentioned traits of Lithuanians in adolescents’ texts materialiuoju gyvenimu, 2) psichines ir intelektines savybes, 3) santykį su kitais žmonėmis, according to 1) the relationship with 4) the relationship with national identity and 5) the physical characteristics attributed to Lithuanians, it can be said that the following stereotype of Lithuanians has formed in adolescents’ language worldview (see Figure 6). NIDA PODERIENĖ. Lietuvio stereotipas paauglių rašto darbuose | 22 BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 6 PAV. Lietuvio stereotipo turinio dominantės Based on the data of the study of the language of teenage writings, it can be said that the attitude of adolescents to the Lithuanian stereotype is very positive. It can be assumed that adolescents attribute to the representative of the Lithuanian nation those qualities that they themselves consider valuable. As the most characteristic traits of a representative of the Lithuanian nation, the pupils identified diligence (56%), intelligence (42%) and honesty (28.8%). A large proportion of adolescents attributed to the stereotype of Lithuanians characteristics that are revealed through the relationship with others: friendliness (27.1%), culture (27.1%), cheerfulness (27.1%), gloom (22%). It is noteworthy that in the Lithuanian language of students the descriptions of happy and gloomy vary. Of the negative qualities of Lithuanians, the greatest part of respondents mentioned gloom. Comparing the data of researches carried out in the linguistic communities of adolescents and students and older respondents (Gudavičius 2007: 161–164), it can be said that such qualities assigned to the representative of the Lithuanian nation, such as diligence, intelligence, are the most characteristic features of the Lithuanian stereotype in the language worldview of respondents of all age groups. A much larger proportion of adolescents and older people than students attributed culturedness to the stereotype of Lithuanians. Joy, as a characteristic of Lithuanian people, is mentioned only in the texts of adolescents. hardworking intelligent honest friendly cultured cheerful gloomy Nida Poderienė. Lithuanian stereotype in teenage writing | 23 BENDRINĖ KALBA 91 (2018) www.bendrinekalba.lt ISSN 2351-7204 CONCLUSIONS The study of the written language of pupils of early adolescence (11-13 years) shows that the language worldview of this age group has formed the Lithuanian belonging to the stereotipas. Lietuvį, kaip tautos atstovą, paaugliai identifikuoja pagal etninę kilmę, state, cultural identity. Pupils identify the features of Lithuanian stereotype, the pagrįsdami savo požiūrį socialiniais ir kultūriniais pavyzdžiais. Mokinių tekstuose tautinio concept of stereotype does not have negative connotations. Noting that people are dauguma paauglių tautinį stereotipą laiko apibendrintais valstybės daugumos atstovų different, evaluations. 2.The vast majority of pupils in the early adolescence age group identify with the stereotype of Lithuanian, attributing to it their own and their peers' characteristics. Adolescents express their personal relationship with the Lithuanian stereotype in the forms of personal pronouns I, we, our, singular and plural first person verbs. 3. Most adolescents have a positive attitude to the stereotype of Lithuanians. In the students’ writing works, three times more and much more frequently were named lexems, word combinations that indicate positive traits than negative ones. Among the positive traits of the Lithuanian stereotype, the majority of adolescents note hard work, intelligence and honesty, while among the negative characteristics the pupils distinguish gloom, conservatism and lack of self-esteem. The cheerfulness and gloom attributed to Lithuanians often vary in the texts of respondents, this pair of traits is used so often that in the išskirta kaip viena iš lietuvio stereotipo dominančių. Nacionalinio tapatumo ypatybės paauglių speech they are usually named to distinguish Lithuanians from representatives of other nations. Teens express their connection with their homeland and nation by emphasizing their roots in their country, proud of their Lithuanian language and history. Adolescents attribute to Lithuanian the qualities of a beautiful, physically strong, healthy person. Comparing the assessment of the Lithuanian stereotype in the language communities of adolescents and students and older respondents (35-65 years), it can be said that adolescents assess the Lithuanian stereotype most positively and attribute more positive traits to it than respondents of other age groups. Comparing the traits attributed to the Lithuanian stereotype, it can be said that diligence and intelligence are the most sustainable traits in the language worldview of all age groups. It should be noted that cheerfulness, openness, as attributed to the Lithuanian stereotype, are only recorded in the texts of adolescents. Are Lithuanian stereotype features, determined only from students Nida Poderienė. 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