Are Russians Impolite? Reasons for Such Stereotyping and a Look Into Russian Politeness in Comparison with English.

In this essay we will be discussing the new age of rudeness that has suddenly been bestowed on people all over the world. Especially in the area where the author lives it is quite noticeable with everyone from airport security to public figures. The major issue that the author has is that people in general if given a stressful situation will fall to rudeness and anger if not treated correctly. This article attempts to persuade the reader that people in this day and age are belong more rude, she does this by giving examples about personal experiences she’s had and ones that she’s witnessed in the world. I believe that it is shown beautifully through her words and stories and it really gets someone to think about personal experiences that

Politeness is able to show a person’s feelings towards others and awareness of a social custom. There are many purposes of politeness including: creating a public self image, creating solidarity, threatening people to send a negative message, not threatening people or upsetting them, indicating social relationship, showing awareness of social context, and power dynamics. The value of polite speech in a culture has the purpose of creating solidarity. Polite speech in a specific culture is very important and should be practiced as much as possible.

Humans have several ways of communicating with one another, whether that is written, spoken, facial expressions, or through body language. We use all of these forms all the time, it would be impossible to live a day without speaking, writing or reading, making facial expressions, or using any body language to communicate with others. While all these forms of communication are commonly known, another form, not as intuitively obvious, is silence. Like all forms of communication, silence will change with reference to different cultures. Just as different cultures speak differently or have different languages, and have different body languages, cultures also have different meanings behind silence. Native American cultures have been described as reluctant to speak or lacking in personal warmth simply because their culture views silence differently than most Americans. Apaches use silence for situations of uncertainty and unpredictability, Americans prefer that silence does not happen at all but will accept it for situations of comfort or in some cases when they want to avoid small talk with strangers. These difference in the use of silences are simply due to the cultural differences between Apaches and Americans. As Apaches’ use of silence reflects their cultural values of recognition and respect, Americans use, or lack of use, of silence reflects their cultural values of directness and urgency.

Communication involves more than exchanging words between people. Gestures, postures, facial expressions and even eye contacts are important during communication. Both verbal and nonverbal cues are important during communication and can help a person understand the speaker or listener’s emotions, attitudes or status. Understanding the existence of various cultures is necessary since different cultures have varying ways of communication (Lustig & Koester, 2012). Therefore, a communication style that is perceived as bad by a culture may be good in another culture. Besides, characteristics that may be essential for a particular culture may be quite irrelevant for another. In line with this dissimilarity, individuals need to adapt carefully and understand communication preferences and desires among cultures.

The following paper is an analysis of different societal conditions that impact the individual’s manners and the civility of the interaction between members of the society. The studies that were reviewed in the following paper cover many variables and scenarios that may affect the way a person interacts with another member of society.

People from different background use and interpret communication method in different ways. Ethnicity and background influence how we use communication and our understanding to it. Many factors such as culture, age, gender dialect can determined our interaction with others because English may not be their language, culture can play a major role on how we communicate with people. In some culture for instance, it is not acceptable to give direct eye contact to an elderly person when they are communicating with you. However, in some culture not giving eye contact will be term as being rude. Also, different people from different background

Conversation is a ritual every person must encounter throughout their lives in order to function properly with one another in today’s society. However, every individual has a “different idea about what’s appropriate” when approaching someone in any sort of conversation; that is why we are referred to as individuals (Tannen 327). There are thousands of diverse languages to speak to one another with, in fact that means there are thousands of different ways to offend each other with our words. Within those languages there are several contrasting gestures that can offend any single person, such as the amount of times individuals apologize in one meeting, giving criticism too harshly, or thanking someone so often it does not seem genuine. In the article “What Do You Mean,” Deborah Tannen touches upon apologies, criticism, and thank yous in further detail to explain where individuals go wrong within conversation and how they can fix their actions. Individuals find it satisfying to please others by being polite because it is the ‘right’ thing to do, however like myself others need to stand up for themselves and get directly to the point now in order to avoid conflict later in life.

People respond to courtesy and feel comfortable when they know they have your respect. This helps them to be open and willing to ask questions when they don't understand something. By making people feel comfortable, you help them to be better listeners. Avoid words that require a dictionary when communicating cross-culturally. Pepper your communication with words that everyone understands.

Judge Paul Heath Till’s essay “Morals, Manners, Customs, and Public Perception” has a very unique structure that helps the effectiveness of the authors argument. He starts off by giving reasons why people are lacking manners in everyday life. He also gives definitions of the words manner, manners, moral, and customs and then goes further to discuss the true meaning of these words. He also relates his life experiences and his personal beliefs to the topic at hand.

This is a useful trait to have in almost anyone’s life. It helps to put others at ease, to help them like you. The less that someone dislikes you the less likely they are to go out of their way to make your life harder or to perhaps attempt to end it. Being polite can solve a whole host of problems before they start, to persuade people to help you or to at least not hinder you. Mannerisms as a whole are important simply because while they are not entirely necessary there are many cases where having them is going to be more helpful than the gun that might have been at their waist, violence cannot solve every

Washington, George. Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. Miami, FL: BN Pub., 2007.

There are many similarities as well as differences between Russian and American women. Both groups of women consider the family as the basic social unit. However, the composition of the family differs. In Russia, the women are expected to marry and have children. Urban couples usually only have one child, whereas rural families sometimes have more (“Russia”). In America there is traditionally a mother, father, and two or more children. Recently the number of married couples without children, single-parent households, and un-married couples has greatly increased. One out of every three children born in the USA is born from unmarried parents; they might even possibly be cared for by the

In her article Sex Politeness and Language, Janet Holmes explained how politeness is usually defined as non-intruding; however, politeness is a countenance of respect to another individual and it is also an expression of concern. Sex Politeness and Language, focuses on analyzing linguistic politeness, and explores what politeness really is and how it is used. In her article, Holmes gave the example of: “would it be a terrible imposition if I asked you to wash the dishes?” (Holmes, 283) this question seems to be polite, but it really isn’t because it has an ironic tone to it. “Would it” sounds like an indication of indirect command to wash the dishes; in addition, it could be compared to someone saying, “would it kill you to wash the dishes.” This quote evidently reveals impoliteness, and how the choice words can affect the tone of meaning. However, the question does not indicate clear impoliteness, but there is indirectness which indicated a different layer of meaning. Ultimately, Language is a factor of

In russia it is respectful to be respectful, while people in the streets expect to be respected, if you don’t let them be respectful it is disrespectful(ediplomat). When walking in America people smile to be respectful, in russia it is common and not disrespectful to not smile(ediplomat). When at a dinner or a party do not eat before the host, if you do it considered disrespectful(ediplomat). When entering a friend’s or any other house that is not owned by that person should take your shoes

Many of the latter are very minute details that an individual may act without realizing how rude they may seem. Which is why it is very important to research the customs of a different culture before interacting with each other.