Biegaj, Katarzyna

Bieta, Ewa

Paj¡k, Marta

English

Jagiellonian Univeristy Repository

CHAPTER TWELVEPolish Standards of PolitenessEwa Bieta, Katarzyna Biegaj, Marta Pająk12.1. IntroductionAs Larzen-Ostermark (2008: 536) claims one cannot underestimate “the impor-tance of learning about and knowing your own culture” as it is a prerequisite forrelating it to the foreign culture. “Awareness of one’s own cultural backgroundis considered an inevitable basis for more or less conscious comparisons that thestudents will make when encountering other cultures”Our research has been designed to answer questions asked by one of theUkrainian students taking part in the project:a. What is considered impolite or unacceptable to say or to do in Poland?b. What can make Polish people feel uneasy or offended?Since the question refers exclusively to behaviour, we decided to focus on the“little c” culture defined as: “the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs of a groupof people which results in characteristic behaviours” (Durocher 2007: 145). In or-der to find a reliable answer to the above questions, we designed two questionnairesmeant to investigate Polish people’s beliefs concerning unacceptable behaviour.12.2. The Design of the QuestionnairesTwo separate questionnaires1 were designed – one for Polish people and the otherfor foreigners – in order to compare Poles’ beliefs concerning unacceptable be-haviour with the first-hand experience of foreigners coming to Poland. The ques-tionnaire for the Polish people was meant to:• check their attitudes and reactions to faux pas made by foreigners• find the answer to the question: Do Polish people have a tendency to criticisetheir country? What is their reaction if foreigners do the same?• compile a list of unacceptable instances of behaviour• find out what is the general attitude of Polish people towards foreigners comingto Poland• check how respondents evaluate a set of statements concerning behaviourincluded in the Polish questionnaire.1 For questionnaires see Appendix I and II.138 CHAPTER TWELVETable 1. Age groups.Age group Number of respondents16–20 4521–30 3031–50 1350+ 1312.3. ParticipantsThe questionnaire for Poles was distributed among 101 subjects (79 women and22 men). Age categories were introduced in order to check if there are any differ-ences concerning the perception of the standards of politeness among people ofdifferent age. Table 1 shows the distribution of the subjects in the age groups.Questionnaires were distributed in Kraków and Skoczów (a small town insouthern Poland), among people coming from different walks of life; the choiceof participants was random.The questionnaire for foreigners was distributed in Kraków among exchangestudents learning Polish and foreigners working in Poland. Although a substantialnumber of questionnaires were distributed, unfortunately only 17 were returned.Eleven countries were represented (Belarus, Canada, China, England, Ireland, theNetherlands, Norway, Russia, Tunisia, Ukraine, and the USA).12.4. ResultsDo Poles have a tendency to criticise Poland? What is their reaction if foreignersdo the same?Polish people are believed to have a tendency to criticise their country. The hypoth-esis was that, although it is acceptable for Poles that their fellow citizens criticisePoland, they feel offended when foreigners do the same.The results proved that the overwhelming majority of the respondents (90%)admitted to criticising Poland (see Fig. 1). However, their attitude concerning thismatter is not so straightforward. Opinions vary significantly; 31% claim that thetendency to criticise is something natural for the Polish, whereas 24% find suchcriticism annoying.When it comes to foreigners criticising Poland 41% of the Polish respondentswould feel offended, and 24% would try to prove the foreigners wrong even ifthey agree with some points of their criticism (see Fig. 2).How Poles react to foreigners’ misrepresentations of facts from Polish history?The hypothesis was that Polish people are overly sensitive to the misrepresentationof the facts from Polish history. We have found that no one would take it as an as-POLISH STANDARDS OF POLITENESS 139Figure 1. Do Poles criticise Poland?Figure 2. Poles’ reaction to foreigners criticising Poland.sault, whereas 65%would patiently explain that the foreigner was wrong. It shouldbe stressed that 83% of the respondents would not allow the misrepresentation ofhistorical facts go unnoticed. Only in the case of 10% it would not trigger any kindof reaction.As one of the respondents pointed out, the Polish people’s reaction to themisrepresentation of historical facts may depend on the gravity of the mistake.She writes: “If a foreigner says, “Polish concentration camps,” I’ll definitely reactexplaining that the facts were different. However, I would not care if someone con-140 CHAPTER TWELVEFigure 3. Reasons that Polish people see behind faux pas by foreigners.fused the name of Mieszko I’s wife.”2 Mieszko I’s wife played quite an importantrole in the history of Poland, but it does not seem necessary to know her name.Poles’ attitude and reactions to faux pas made by foreignersThe results of the questionnaire for foreigners revealed that in their opinion Polishpeople attribute faux pas made by foreigners to their lack of knowledge aboutPolish customs. Foreigners assume that Polish people either do not care, or theyfeel offended, but they do not show it.This assumption does not correspond to the results of the Polish questionnaire.61% of the respondents attribute faux pas made by a foreigner to the lack ofgood manners, and 31% to a foreigner not being familiar with Polish customs (seeFig. 3). 49% would explain that such behaviour is unacceptable in Poland, and28% would take it personally but they would not show it (see Fig. 4).Instances of behaviour considered impolite by the respondentsThe respondents were asked to list 10 instances of behaviour that Polish peopleconsider impolite. Table 2 shows instances mentionedmost frequently by the Polesand Table 3 those mentioned by the foreigners. Digits in the right hand columndenote the number of respondents who included given behaviour in their lists.2 Mieszko I was the first historical ruler of Poland, and his wife Dobrawa, a Bohemian princess,is believed to have encouraged Mieszko to Christianize himself and his land in 966.POLISH STANDARDS OF POLITENESS 141Figure 4. The reactions of Polish people towards faux pas made by foreigners.Table 2. Instances of behaviour considered as impolite by the Poles.Swearing, especially in public 76Not giving up your seat for the elderly in public transport 46Lack of respect for elderly people 26Not letting ladies go first 24Burping, smacking one’s lips, slurping and other eating-related sounds 23Drinking and getting drunk in public 22Excessively loud behaviour in public places 21Littering streets and bus stops 21Spitting on the pavement 20Loud conversations on the phone in public places 2012.5. The Questionnaire for Polish People: The Evaluation of TenPotentially Impolite Instances of BehaviourIn one of the questions respondents were asked to evaluate, on a scale from 1 to 5,ten statements concerning behaviour which might be considered impolite.Three kinds of behaviour were evaluated as rude (5 on the scale) by a vastmajority of the respondents, in all age groups. These were (see Fig. 5): being latefor an appointment without notifying (72%), not letting ladies go first (58%), andnot giving up your seat for the elderly in the public transport (51%).Asking someone about their income, asking a woman about her age, andconfusing professional titles while addressing people in official situations wereconsidered tactless (4 on the scale) by the majority of respondents in all agegroups.However, significant discrepancies between age groups can be noticed in theevaluation of four instances of behaviour. Calling people by their first name unlessgiven permission is thought to be rude by the youngest (16–20) and the oldest142 CHAPTER TWELVETable 3. Instances of behaviour considered impolite by the foreigners.Not giving up your seat for the elderly in public transport 5Speaking loudly in public 5When people meet for the first time they call one another “Pani” [Ms] or “Pan”[Mr] if not it will be regarded as rude ( addressing elderly people in an informalway)4Not giving food to your guests / not showing hospitality for your guests 3Talking negatively about the Catholic Church, the Pope 3Not dressing up in a nice restaurant, or wedding etc. 3Not accepting food you are offered when you visit someone 2Being drunk in pubic places 2Not opening the door for women 2Being disrespectful towards a teacher or older person 2Figure 5. Behaviours considered as rude in all age groups.(50+) age groups, whereas the remaining two age groups evaluate it as acceptable.Certain degree of formality i.e. addressing others by using polite expressions like“Pan” (Mr) and “Pani” (Ms), is a cultural requirement in Poland, and the majorityof respondents (35%) insist on observing it. However, it seems that for certain agegroups it is not a priority. As some of the respondents pointed out their reaction tothis kind of behaviour heavily depends on the situation and the people involved.The situation in which a man greets a woman by a kiss on her hand is evaluatedas tactless by the youngest age group, while the older groups consider it as eitherpolite or acceptable. It seems, that for the younger generation, a kiss on the handmay be considered old fashioned and degrading for a woman. A shake hand isa popular way of greeting people among teenagers and young adults, but it mustbe emphasized that a woman should be the first to hold out her hand.POLISH STANDARDS OF POLITENESS 143Figure 6. Not taking off one’s shoes when walking into someone’s house.It is believed that not taking off one’s shoes when walking into someone’shouse is considered impolite in Poland. However, it proves not so obvious for therespondents. 29% of the respondents considered it as acceptable, 23% as neutral,28% as tactless, and only 16% as rude. There is also a discrepancy among agegroups; in general, the youngest group considers it tactless, whereas the remainingones accept it (see Fig. 6).Shaking hands over a threshold or a table, which, according to a Polish su-perstition, brings bad luck, is evaluated as acceptable or neutral by 60% of therespondents and as tactless by 34%.Generally, when it comes to the evaluation of the statements concerning be-haviour, the youngest group has a tendency to pass more severe judgments thanother groups (in 9 out of 10 cases).12.6. The Experience of Polish People Regarding Their Interactionswith ForeignersWhen asked how they would describe their experience regarding interactions withforeigners who come to Poland, the majority of the respondents (67%) judgedthese experiences as positive.22% admitted to have very limited or no contacts with foreigners while only4% described their experience as negative. Some (2%) mentioned language barrieras a serious obstacle which hinders contacts. A significant group of the respondentsstress that the quality of interpersonal relations is determined by the personalities144 CHAPTER TWELVEof the individuals involved in them. One of the comments illustrates this standpointwell: “For me it is not important if someone is a foreigner or a Pole but rather whatkind of person he or she is. Nationality does not play a role for me.”As the results of the questionnaire for foreigners show, a significant numberof them (76%) judge their interactions with Poles as positive, only one person asnegative, and the remaining ones refrained from voicing their opinions.12.7. ConclusionsIt seems that a bi-directional perspective to teaching culture may contribute tocross-cultural understanding, as the work on the project broadened our knowledgeabout and understanding of our own culture. We hope that “knowing why repre-sentatives of the familiar culture and the foreign culture act the way they do willenable a deeper understanding of similarities and differences” (Larzen-Ostermark2008: 536) between Polish and Ukrainian cultures.Wemanaged to compile a list of instances of behaviour unacceptable in Poland,which may serve as guidelines for foreigners coming to our country, thus helpingthem to avoid embarrassing situations. It appears to be important since, accordingto our findings, Polish people tend to attribute faux pas made by foreigners to theirlack of good manners rather than to their lack of knowledge about Polish customs.Moreover, Poles may feel offended when a foreigner criticises Poland, althoughan overwhelming majority of Polish citizens do it among themselves. In spite ofthat, the general attitude of Polish people towards foreigners coming to Poland ispositive; they try to be helpful and show hospitality.QUESTIONS AND TASKS1. To what extent are good manners culturally specific? Are there some universalrules?2. What can be done to avoid embarrassing situations in the intercultural com-munication?3. Look at the list of unacceptable behaviours in Table 2 and 3. Which of themwould be perceived as acceptable in your culture? Try to find some similaritiesand differences between your culture and the Polish one.4. Think of some ways to raise general awareness of the fact that members ofdifferent cultures perceive standards of politeness differently?POLISH STANDARDS OF POLITENESS 145REFERENCESDurocher, D. (2007). “Teaching sensitivity to cultural difference in the first-year foreignlanguage classroom.” Foreign Language Annals, 40, pp. 143–160.Larzen-Ostermark, E. (2008). “The intercultural dimension in EFL-teaching: A study ofconceptions among Finland-Swedish comprehensive school teachers.” ScandinavianJournal of Educational Research, 52, pp. 527–547.APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR POLESPlease fill in the questionnaire.Sex:M FAge: 16–20 21–30 31–50 over 51Please answer the questions from 1 to 9 in the order in which they appear. Thank you!1. Name 10 behaviours which are considered rude or impolite in Poland.2. Do you tend to criticise Poland and Polish people? YES NOPlease choose one answer.3. What is your reaction when another Polish person criticises Poland?a. It is annoyingb. I do not carec. It is something naturald. Other: ........4. If a foreigner makes a faux pas, you will attribute it to:a. Their lack of good breedingb. Their lack of knowledge about Polish customsc. Their negative attitude toward youd. Their negative attitude toward Poles in generale. Other: ........5. A foreigner behaves impolitely toward you. What is your reaction?a. I feel offendedb. I do not carec. I take it personally, but I do not show itd. I explain that such behaviour is not acceptable in Polande. Other: ........6. How would you describe your experience regarding interactions with foreigners whocome to Poland? Please, illustrate with an example if possible.146 CHAPTER TWELVE7. Evaluate the following statements on the scale from 1 to 5 where: 1 = polite, 2 = ac-ceptable, 3 = neutral, 4 = tactless, 5 = rude.a. A person whom you meet for the first time calls you by your first name withoutbeing given permission.b. Someone asks you about your income.c. A younger person does not give up his/her seat for an elderly person in a publictransport.d. A man greets a woman by a kiss on her hand.e. Your guests do not take off their shoes when walking into your house.f. Shaking hands over a threshold or a table.g. Asking a woman about her age.h. Someone is going to be late for an appointment and does not inform you aboutthe fact.i. A man does not let a woman first.j. Confusing professional titles while addressing people in official situations.8. What is your reaction when a foreigner criticises Poland or Polish people?a. When I agree, I join in.b. I do not care.c. I feel offended and explain that s/he is wrong.d. I try to prove the foreigner wrong even if I agree with him/her to some extent.e. Other: ........9. A foreigner misrepresents facts from Polish history. What is your reaction?a. It is not an issue for me. I ignore his/her mistakes.b. I feel offended and try to prove him/her wrong.c. I take it as an assault.d. I patiently explain that s/he is wrong.e. Other: ........APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR FOREIGNERSPlease fill in the questionnaire. Thank you for your participation.Where are you from? ........1. What is considered as rude or impolite behaviour in Poland? Name 10 items.Please choose one answer.2. If you make a faux pas, Polish people will attribute it to:a. Your lack of good breedingb. Your lack of knowledge about Polish customsc. Your negative attitude towards a particular personPOLISH STANDARDS OF POLITENESS 147d. Your negative attitude towards Poles in generale. Other: ........3. What is the most common reaction of the Polish people to a faux pas made bya foreigner?a. They feel offendedb. They do not carec. They take it personally but they do not show itd. They explain that such a behaviour is not acceptable in Polande. Other: ........4. Do you recall any embarrassing situation that resulted from your lack of knowledgeconcerning Polish customs? Please describe it.5. How would you generally describe your experiences with Poles?a. Positiveb. Negative

Polish standards of politeness

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Polish standards of politeness

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