International Journal of Philology

The basis of the formation of ethnic consciousness are both innate and acquired in the process of socialization subconsciously conceived ideas, knowledge about objects, behaviors, life situations of a particular ethnic group – ethno-cultural stereotypes that are acquired through language, personify the results of cognition of reality human consciousness cultural traditions and habits that characterize the mono-ethnic environment.The formation of ethno-cultural stereotypes is produced by a number of factors: cultural and religious traditions, customs, certain historical events, norms of behavior, etc., which allows for the different nature of their origin. Language plays a leading role in the context of the formation of stereotypical representations, because it is through linguistic interactions that the individual determines the identity of any image to the stereotype. Because ethnic stereotypes are inextricably linked to the linguistic and cultural environment, they can be defined as a fragment of the linguistic and cultural picture of the world, a linguistic and cultural phenomenon, natural and inevitable as long as peoples and ethnic groups exist. The author distinguishes between «national stereotype» and «cultural stereotype» (which coexist as a part and whole, where the national stereotype is connected with the state and is a sociological concept, while the ethnic stereotype is connected with the cultural heritage of the ethnic group and is a cultural concept) and emphasizes the positive role of the latter in intercultural communication: ethnic stereotypes help to overcome cultural shock in an unfamiliar ethnic environment and gain basic knowledge about other nations and their cultures. As ethnocultural stereotypes are only one of the factors of successful intercultural communication, the problem of constructing adequate behavior based on the latter remains relevant

ethnic stereotype; linguistic and cultural picture of the world; ethnic consciousness; intercultural communication