%0 Journal Article
%T Sorb self-stereotypes of the Sorb in Upper Sorbian proverbs
%A Bura, Renata
%J Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis
%V 2012
%R 10.4467/20834624SL.12.003.0592
%N Volume 129, Issue 1
%P 49-60
%K Upper Sorbian language, Upper Sorbian phraseology, Upper Sorbian paremiology, national stereotypes, self-stereotype
%@ 1897-1059
%D 2012
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/studia-linguistica-uic/article/sorb-self-stereotypes-of-the-sorb-in-upper-sorbian-proverbs
%X 
	National stereotypes, as with any stereotype, are a simplified representation of the external world. These simplified images find their reflection and are preserved in the language, in words, metaphors, proverbs, and phraseology. In Upper Sorbian paremiology a self-stereotype of the Sorb is found, a man who primarily sees himself in a positive light, as good, honest, devoted and faithful. A “true” Sorb is also hospitable and pious. The most important component of the sense of identity is, however, the linguistic distinctiveness, which is stressed in the proverbs and expressions. The self-evaluation is formulated against a clear stereotype of the German, who is treated as a “foreigner”, as well as a symbol of oppression. This stems from the common history and the co-existence of the two nations. However, the image of the German emerging from the Upper Sorbian proverbs is not exclusively negative. There is no ethnocentrism in the Sorbs’ self-stereotype as, despite stressing their own positive traits, they are objective and have a critical attitude towards their own vices. A clearly negative feature of the Sorbs, which appears regularly in the collected material, is the imitation of German customs. In order to describe such representatives of the Sorbian nation a pejorative ethnonym Němpula is used.