National-geographical stereotypes, or “The Dutch reflected by the mirror of the Russian soul

Abstract

In modern Russia, with the current level of integration, international trade and the blurring of information borders, the culture of the Netherlands was bound to leave traces in the language in the form of a number of recognizable combinations and cliches. This study focuses on the description of lexicographically fixed combinations and attributive from the Internet including the adjectives нидерландский [Netherlandish] and голландский [Dutch] in order to supplement and expand the description of the stereotypical idea of the Dutch in Russia today, as well as to conclude about the presence/ absence of a certain image of the inhabitants of the Netherlands in the Russianspeaking space and/or any stereotypical idea about this country. The national character should be understood as a fragment of the linguistic picture of the world, reconstructed on the basis of linguistic data and stereotypes reflected in culture. Due to historical reasons, but also due to the articulatory complexity, the adjective нидерландский [Netherlandish] has not become widely used in the Russian language. Two types of syntagmas with the adjective голландский [Dutch] were found in the Russian language — with the definition being in the preposition and with the definition located in the postposition. At the moment there is no definite idea of the Dutch as a nation either in the Russian language or on the Russian-language Internet. There are a number of historical expressions and combinations that do not reflect the modern national character of the Dutch. A small number of syntagmas on the topic of economics and finance, where the Dutch appear to be practical, calculating people, as well as on the topic of health, showing them as liberated and free people, in general, corresponds to the image of the Dutch in other countries, but is not sufficient. The image of the Netherlands as a country in the Russian-speaking field is more stable and objective. In the analyzed expressions, the Netherlands is reflected as a country of artists, navigators and builders of red brick, a country with developed agriculture, simple, unpretentious cuisine, as well as modern trends in architecture and design.