NATIONAL STEREOTYPES AND RITUALS: STABILITY AND MODIFICATION IN A POLYETHNIC SOCIETY

Bstract . The problem of preservation and modification of national identity and culture is examined. Nowadays, when countries are opening their borders and we can witness the formation of multiethnic states, the interaction of national cultures and the formation of multiethnic states are not surprising at all. All this has led to the modification of certain stereotypes and personality traits and has caused the formation of new stereotypes and personality traits relevant for people of different nationalities who have long shared the same territory. The nature of relationship between the Russian and Kazakh ethnic groups which bears on the formation of mentality of both ethnic groups as a result of which a common conceptual basis relevant for the speakers of these languages comes about are analyzed. Considering hospitality as the common trait of the Russians and Kazakhs, we have attempted to determine the extent to which the outlook of these ethnic groups has changed in the process of mutual cultural interaction and, most importantly, how the change in thinking occurs. Sociolinguistic and statistical analysis of the survey data of the two ethnic groups from Russia and Kazakhstan provides data on possible modifications of ethnic stereotypes of the Russians who have been living in Kazakhstan for a long time.

mentality, culture, multiethnic society, Russian ethnic group, ethnic stereotypes, modification