Multicultural Society

Multicultural Society

Pictures

Compare these pictures. Speak about different cultures and traditions.

I can see people of different cultures in the pictures.

Picture 1 (indiáni)

In the first Picture I can see Indians in their typical clothes. The Indians are native inhabitants of American continent. I know their culture just from films because I have never been there.

Picture 2 (škót)

In the second Picture I can see a typical Scotch man in kilt playing bagpipes. Scottish people are said they are very mean. A traditional Scottish meal is called „haggis“. It is prepared of the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep and boiled in a sheep´s stomach.

Scotland has many whisky distilleries and a lake called Loch Ness, famous for the Loch Ness monster also known informally as „Nessie“. It is said to be a large animal like a dinosaur.

Picture 3 (japonky)

In the next Picture I can see Japanese in traditional clothes. I don´t know much about Japanese traditions. Just maybe some words „Samurai- a warrior, sushi – Japanese meal, Aikido – martial arts, kamikaze – self-destructive Japanese pilots.

Picture 4 (slovenský folklór)

In the last Picture I can see typical Slovak folklore. There are people in a traditional folk costumes. We have got many folk traditions in our country. Many people dance in folk groups and there are several folk festivals in different towns.

2. Talk about customs and traditions typical for Slovakia. Compare two of them with those from other countries you are familiar with. E.g. GB and the USA. Think of public holidays, feasts, weddings, green- ribbon parties, birthday parties, etc.

In Slovakia we have many traditions and customs. We celebrate Christmas, Easter, local feasts of Saints, we have huge weddings with many guests – especially in Eastern Slovakia, our graduates celebrate their study by green-ribbon parties etc.

I can compare two typical holidays that are rather different in Slovakia and GB and the USA.

Christmas – in our country the typical Christmas meal is fried fish with potato salad and sourkraut soup. We find our Christmas gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve. We are all together.

 Easter traditions. Water and whips are typical for Slovak Easter and it´s not my cup of tea.

Christmas in GB – people decorate Christmas tree, buy Christmas presents/gifts. Children expect Santa Claus. For Christmas dinner British families have stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes and Christmas pudding. They find their gifts on 25th December in the morning.

24th December – Christmas Eve

25th December – Christmas Day

26th December – Boxing Day

Easter in GB – they decorate Easter eggs and hide them in their houses and gardens for children. They don´t have Easter Monday traditions, that exist in Slovakia with water and whips.

The other typical holiday in GB and the USA are:

St. Valentine´s Day – 14th February, it´s a day of lovers. People send nice postcards to their boyfriends and girlfriends.

Halloween- people have pumpkins with candles in front of the doors. Children wear fancy dress costumes.

Guy Fawkes Night in November – it has roots in English history. There are bonfires and fireworks in almost every town and village in Britain.

For the USA are typical:

Independence Day – on the 4th of July, and Thanksgiving Day  - the fourth Thursday in November.

Give some pros and cons of living in a multicultural society.

The term multicultural society describes a society which is composed of different cultural groups of people who respect and tolerate each other.

Typical multicultural countries are GB, the USA, Canada, Australia. London and New York are so called „melting pots of nations“.

But xenophobia and racism are big problems nowadays and can lead to serious incidents.

On the other hand we can learn a lot about other cultures, their traditions and customs.

Think about Slovak society and name the nationalities and minorities living here. Compare their ways of life.

The majority of Slovak population are Slovaks. But we have also several minorities: Hungarian, Ukrainian and Roma (Gipsies).

In Slovakia Romas live among other people but somewhere, especially in Eastern Slovakia in so –called colonies. Some of them are really ordinary people – they work, study, bring up children. But mostly they are lazy, don´t work, live in terrible conditions and are criminals. Many people do not trust them and are afraid of them.

Nowadays the big minority in Slovakia are Chinese and Vietnamese. They are mostly traders and shopkeepers. Almost everywhere we can find one or two Chinese shops at least and we see them selling goods on the outside markets. Their goods is not expensive but also of bad quality. But many people prefer shopping at Chinese´s. I don´t think they are discriminated in Slovakia.

3 Simulation

Use your own experience and speak about international cuisine, their traditional dishes, methods of cooking, ingredients, etc.

What would you recommend to try and why?

Many Slovaks like popular national cuisines like Italian (pizza, pasta), Hungarian (goulash), Mexican, Greek, Chinese.

I prefer.........................