Regional Stereotypes Outside the U.S.

[flodnak]

Norwegian regional stereotypes go something like this:

The North: Country hicks. (It’s inevitable, isn’t it?) Fisherman, sheep farmers, or (if Sami) reindeer herders. One Norskie friend once said, “After all, before electricity came, all there was to do in Northern Norway in the winter was get drunk, get laid, or get religion”; another friend shot in “Yeah, and now you can also watch television.” Net importers of government money in the form of 60,000 jealously guarded subsidies. You know all the jokes about <insert ethnic group here> and their, um, fondness for sheep? For the North, you can tell the same jokes - with your choice of sheep or reindeer.

Central Norway/Trøndelag: Not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Take three years to make up their mind about anything, but once their minds are made up, it will take the Second Coming of Christ to convince them otherwise. Fond of strong drink, especially of the (illegally) homemade variety. All the men have moustaches, and so do some of the women.

The West: Inbred. Suspicious of outsiders. Speak dialects that are impossible to understand, probably on purpose. Religious. Mental stability suffers due to excessive rainfall and never seeing the sun for more than five minutes at a time.

Bergen: Same as the rest of the West, but add: Love their city. Love it, love it, love it. Love it so much they will continue talking about it long after their companions have started piercing their own eardrums with drinking straws in a desperate attempt to escape. They believe they are not religious, but they are; they just substitute their city for God.

The Southwest: Very religious, very suspicious of outsiders, very… oh, hell, just take everything I wrote about the West and magnify it. Main city in this region, Stavanger, has become Norway’s oil capital and is now believed to be infested with Texans, who scare the locals.

Oslo and Environs: Yuppies and yuppie-wannabes. Obsessed with money. Not as sophisticated as they desperately believe they are. Ignorant of what’s going on in the rest of the country. Irreligious. City is infested with immigrants and their children, who smell bad, have too many kids, force their daughters to marry their cousins, eat weird food so hot it damages your innards, and are solely responsible for any increase in the crime rate… but damn, do they work cheap.

Rest of the Southeast: country hicks all over again. Kind of like the North, but without the reindeer. Also fewer sheep. Everyone is either a farmer or commutes to work in Oslo.

[Malacandra]

Another Brit stereotype: Essex. Essex men are loud, brash, wide boys who work cash-in-hand and don’t pay tax, consequently have plenty of pocket money for classless trashy goods, including deeply unfashionable cars with go-faster bits and Essex girls. Essex girls wear white shoes, dance round their handbags, and bang like a shithouse door in a gale. Slightly older Essex girls have several children, no two by the same father; an Essex single mother could have five sons all called Wayne, and if she wants a particular one, she just uses his last name.

Just across the water, the Belgians and Dutch get along like a house on fire (ever seen a house on fire?). What’s eight metres long and smells of chips? A coachload of Belgians. What’s eight metres long and smells of shellfish? A coachload of Dutchmen. (And I’m quietly confident that Flemish and Walloon Belgians are just as bad.)

[Eurograff]

@acsenray

Interesting. So can you point me to more information (or at least list) the tribes and regions?

Certainly! There’s surprisingly little information on the net about old Finnish regions, if you consider that this is stuff “every Finn should know”. Anyway, Flags of the world site has a nice [map of our old regions](http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/fi(h.html) and if you click a particular region there, it gives a detailed info of their history.

There seems to be an attempt in Wikipedia to further document the history of Sweden and its former eastern part. Nice short summary can be found in Historical provinces of Finland with a very accurate map. Notice the distinction between dukal and countal dignity in the provinces’ coats of arms: it gives away the four original regions, namely Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi, after which the whole country is named, and which was later known as Southern Finland in many maps; it’s centered around the traditional capital Turku/Åbo), Satakunta (or Satakunda, for centuries later, it was Northern Finland in international maps), Tavastia (Häme, nowadays, your average stereotypical Finn is Tavastian) and Karelia (Karjala, they are influenced by Russians and the Orthodox church). Other provinces are newer, although they all already existed in the 1500s. Nyland or Uusimaa people are blend of Tavastians and Swedish immigrants, added into mixture is a bunch of “Proper” Finns, Estonians, Danes and even Germans and French. Savonia is a cross between Tavastians and Karelians formed in the late Middle Ages - since we’re talking stereotypes, it’s generally agreed that they got the worst of both. Aland is rumoured to be actually Swedish, while Ostrobothnia was administratively part of the great Bothnia region which also encompassed much of northern Sweden. North of the Bothnias, Lappland was all the way through late 1700s a common land, not administratively part of any country and only inhabited by the Sami people and their reindeer. Finnish-speaking Lapps are descendants of Samis and Bothnians, also herding reindeer. The provinces of Sweden article explains this better when looked from the western side of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Finally, part of Finland is majorly Swedish-speaking. Of the traditional regions, this includes most of Nylandia, southern half of Ostrobothnian coast, and southwestern archipelago near Turku. Aland is completely Swedish, but the current capital city Helsinki has been majorly Finnish since about 1900. Here’s one map about those areas, and here’s WP’s take of the linguistical division.

Hope these give some insight into Finnish provincial differences during the time the country was ruled by foreign powers. Obviously the original tribes living in what is now Finland and elsewhere in Northern Europe during Iron Age did not control such vast areas, they were more likely only a few communes strong (interestingly the name Satakunta means, roughly, “one hundred communes”). But for those we only have some archeological evidence, literacy only arrived Finland along with the conquering armies. By that time the large tribes had already formed, more or less to the extent that can be seen in all those historical province maps.

[party_store]

@TheLoadedDog

Whilst I’d agree with Cunctator on refuting the second part of your ex’s argument, she’s otherwise right. Australian regional accent differences are slight, but Sydney’s would qualify as being the “least Australian”. We don’t have that broad nasal twang that Americans are sold (Steve Irwin is based in Queensland). It’s not an English affectation though. It’s a result of the huge migrant population here over the last fifty years. This does include a lot of English migrants of course, but also Italians and Greeks in the early days, then SE Asians and Middle Eastern folk later on. The main one, though, is the New Zealanders. The Sydney accent is, to make a sweeping generalisation, an Australian accent that is leaning strongly towoards being a New Zealand one. It’s fast, clipped yet somehow breathy, and many vowels are sublimated into a schwa. I certainly know that in my case, if I went to the US, I might not be identified as Australian right away. The stronghold of the Australian accent as stereotyped in America remains Queensland, particularly rural and outback Queensland.

I call bullshit on this. Australians love to pretend there is some regional accent that can be distinguished U.S.-style if only you listen carefully enough, but in reality, the primary accent difference is one of urban vs rural, and even this is so far from universal as to be almost irrelevant. You can say Sydneysiders sound the least Australian, but this theory ignores entirely the vast amounts of people in areas such as Penrith or Campbelltown. A rural Queenslander is just as likely to sound like someone from Wilcannia. I will admit that the first time I went to Queensland I did hear a slight accent, but that’s also because I was looking for it. I could find any number of people in Balmain speaking just as broadly as those in Fortitude Valley, and I’d probably notice a broader accent amongst those from Wagga than I would speaking to a University of Queensland student.

Consider meeting John Howard and Kevin Rudd for the first time. I do not believe there is anyone who could pick, from vocal features alone, which one was the Queenslander. Similarly, the broader voice of Kerry Packer could fool anyone into believing that he was from the more remote regions of the nation. And consider the accents of Kath and Kim, who are meant to be suburbanites of Australia’s apparently most cultured city, Melbourne.

The truth is, despite pretensions to the contrary, Australians do not have broad regional accents outside of a very general urban/rural divide, and this divide is so blurred as to, in itself, offer very little guidance. If I listened to a Bostonian, an Alabaman and a Midwesterner, I would likely be able to make a reasonable guess as to their origins. If I listened to a Sydneysider, a Brisbanite and someone from Darwin, unless I knew the places I was meant to be matching people up to (so as to make an educated guess), I would have little chance at identifying their respective residences.

[elmwood]

@Scott Plaid

I seemed to vaguely recall being told that Austrians (the place Gov. Terminator is from) are (considered to be) dumb hillbillies.

A few days ago, I was wondering how Germans generally view Austria in general. Americans often think of Canada as a kinder, gentler version of their country, and I’ve heard the same with the Australian view of New Zealand. What about Germany’s view of Austria in general?

[Grey_area]

I can only think of two for South Korea right now but…
Seoul: Stuck up rich folks.
Pusan: Loud, hot-tempered, alcoholics with possible links to the mob.

[jsc1953]

@mike1dog

It may be slightly off the subject, but in Mississippi, we have stereotypes about different regions of the state…

Wow…stereotypes nested within stereotypes — Mississippi being probably the archetype for all Southern US stereotypes.

Along those lines…(and I’m really enjoying this thread, btw): I always like this passage, the opening of Heinlein’s short story And He Built a Crooked House

@Robert A. Heinlein

Americans are considered crazy anywhere in the world.

They will usually concede a basis for the accusation but point to California as the focus of the infection. Californians stoutly maintain that their bad reputation is derived solely from the acts of the inhabitants of Los Angeles County. Angelenos will, when pressed, admit the charge but explain hastily, “It’s Hollywood. It’s not our fault-we didn’t ask for it; Hollywood just grew.”

The people in Hollywood don’t care; they glory in it. If you are interested they will drive you up Laurel Canyon “–where we keep the violent cases.”

[Kyla]

@fetus

From the short time I spent in Israel, it seemed like the general image of the Tel Aviv young person is similar to the American stereotype of the young white Californian: neo-liberal, new-agey, secular, pot smoker, etc.

Yeah, Tel Avivim are supposedly all party animals who spend their days on the beach and at the mall and their nights at the discos.

People in Jerusalem are all supposedly conservative and obsessed with religion. There’s a very good Israeli film, the title of which has escaped me, that takes place during the SCUD bombing of Tel Aviv in the first Gulf War. The protagonist’s sister urges her to come with their family to Jerusalem to get away from the bombing, and the protagonist says “Jerusalem? I’d rather face the bombs.”

The stereotypes of people living in the Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories depends on one’s own point of view.

[TheLoadedDog]

@party store

I call bullshit on this. Australians love to pretend there is some regional accent that can be distinguished U.S.-style if only you listen carefully enough, but in reality, the primary accent difference is one of urban vs rural, and even this is so far from universal as to be almost irrelevant. You can say Sydneysiders sound the least Australian, but this theory ignores entirely the vast amounts of people in areas such as Penrith or Campbelltown. A rural Queenslander is just as likely to sound like someone from Wilcannia. I will admit that the first time I went to Queensland I did hear a slight accent, but that’s also because I was looking for it. I could find any number of people in Balmain speaking just as broadly as those in Fortitude Valley, and I’d probably notice a broader accent amongst those from Wagga than I would speaking to a University of Queensland student.

Consider meeting John Howard and Kevin Rudd for the first time. I do not believe there is anyone who could pick, from vocal features alone, which one was the Queenslander. Similarly, the broader voice of Kerry Packer could fool anyone into believing that he was from the more remote regions of the nation. And consider the accents of Kath and Kim, who are meant to be suburbanites of Australia’s apparently most cultured city, Melbourne.

The truth is, despite pretensions to the contrary, Australians do not have broad regional accents outside of a very general urban/rural divide, and this divide is so blurred as to, in itself, offer very little guidance. If I listened to a Bostonian, an Alabaman and a Midwesterner, I would likely be able to make a reasonable guess as to their origins. If I listened to a Sydneysider, a Brisbanite and someone from Darwin, unless I knew the places I was meant to be matching people up to (so as to make an educated guess), I would have little chance at identifying their respective residences.

In your examples, you’ve chosen non-representative samples (very working class areas of Sydney, or tertiary students in Queensland, or seasoned politicians with an education who have been public speaking for years). On the other hand, if you take broad samples from the various capital cities and regional areas, then the results become a lot more consistent.

There’s a lot of disagreement whether you can or can’t tell Australian accents apart. The differences are slight compared to more established countries, but I’m on the side of them certainly being there. Sometimes you have to listen for it, true. Often you’d have no idea of where a person comes from - again true. But there are people who only have to open their mouth, and you can pick their city or state.

If you listen to Daryl Somers, it soon becomes clear he’s from Melbourne as soon as he says Malbourne or record elbum. Does everybody from Melbourne do this? Probably not, but transposing the ‘e’ and’a’ sound is a Victorian thing, and if somebody does do this, then they’ve probably given themselves away.

Do people in Campbelltown have the Sydney accent I described? Probably not - but if I was in Alice Springs, and a twenty year-old from Canterbury-Bankstown opened his trap, I reckon my “from Sydney, mate?” would be responded to with a “yehbroiamhowdyouknowthat,hey?”

The most distinct one is the Adelaide / South Australian accent - people with this simply cannot pronounce their L sounds very well: They say they’re from "South Austraya, and talk about a place called the “Adelaide Hiwws”. Once again, not all do it, but if somebody does, you’ve probably pegged 'em (you might be fooled by John Hewson).

[jsc1953]

@Malacandra

Essex girls…dance round their handbags.

Is that good or bad? Perhaps a translation to American would be helpful.

(I love British colloquialisms. OwlStretchingTime was great for that…haven’t seen him around here lately.)

[irishgirl]

One of my best friends is from Adelaide, so that’s the Australian accent I’m most used to. Another friend is from Brisbane, and even I can tell that although they have similar backgrounds, they most certainly do NOT have the same accent. Much like my posh Dublin friends speak differently to my posh Cork friends, but both manage to sound Irish and posh.

And then I discovered the joy of the NSW outback accent…wherein I couldn’t tell what people were actually saying, because every other word appeared to be an abbreviation, acronym or piece of rhyming slang. I do miss being able to call everyone “darl” though, and the institution of “morning tea” was quite nice.

[irishgirl]

Re:Dancing around a handbag.
It does exactly what it says on the tin.
Girls put their handbags on the floor, and dance around them.

It signifies both a certain type of girl and a certain type of music.
Think girls from the lower-middle class suburbs of an industrial city dancing at the local disco to ABBA.

They don’t carry the bags on their person because they’re probably too drunk to prevent themselves hitting one another in the face, and they’re there to pick up guys so they don’t haveanyone to look after the bags while they dance. They need the bags because they contain cigarettes, which no self-respecting Essex girl would be parted from for more than a minute or two.

[Johanna]

@irishgirl

Re:Dancing around a handbag.
It does exactly what it says on the tin.

I quite understand, a rún. I don’t go out to clubs much; I love to dance, but I never know what to do with my purse. It looks so dorky to dance while holding it; dorkier still is to dance around it like a frickin Mexican hat!

How did that song go…
Oh the reason they shot Pancho Villa
Was he danced on his mother’s mantilla

[jsc1953]

The “Mexican hat dance” image is what immediately came to mind, so I thought…naaaahhhhh…can’t be taken literally. Must be obscure British slang of some sort.

[Mighty_Girl]

@clairobscur

there are such stereotypes in France : the Auvergnat is miserly, the Breton stubborn, the Corsican lazy, the Provencal boastful, and so on… These stereotypes are often used in jokes.

I got all my stereotypes from Asterix when I was studying at the Alliance Française.

@dangermom

Denmark:
I dunno about other areas of Denmark, except that people from Fyn (like me, adoptively) talk funny.

According to my husband (from Fyn by adoption, Copenhagen by birth) The stereotypes go like this:

Fyn: easy-going, relaxed and not terribly hard-working.
Jutland: Hard-working, thrifty, religious, unhappy and not terribly bright.
Copenhagen: Sleek, untrustworthy and pretentious, but smart.
Rest of Sjaelland: Want to be like Copenhageners but can’t afford it or pull it off.

Here in the Dominican Rep. the strongest stereotypes I remember:
Nagua: all the women are sluts.
Baní: hard-working to a extreme, stingy and darn successful.
Cibaeños (valley people): Hard- working, talk funny and think their shit doesn’t stink. Hate the Capitaleños.
Capitaleños (from the capital): Sleek, lazy, ugly and untrustworthy. Hate the Cibaeños.

[Malacandra]

@Johanna

I quite understand, a rún. I don’t go out to clubs much; I love to dance, but I never know what to do with my purse. It looks so dorky to dance while holding it; dorkier still is to dance around it like a frickin Mexican hat!

How did that song go…
Oh the reason they shot Pancho Villa
Was he danced on his mother’s mantilla

Is that to be sung to the tune of the Mexican Hat Dance?

[Johanna]

Yeah, the words were written to fit that tune exactly. It was one of Allan Sherman’s comedy songs back in the '50s or '60s.

[jsc1953]

I realize the OP was looking for non-US stereotypes, but I wanna play…

Southern Californians: what most people think of when they think “California” – beach culture, car culture, vapid, brainless beautiful people. Hollywood celebrities are liberal, but everyone else is conservative (they gave us Nixon & Reagan).

Northern Californians: tree-hugging dope-smoking ex-hippie pinko liberals.

The shibboleth for telling the difference: when asked “how far from point A to point B”, a NorCal will say: “It’s 90 miles; take Hwy 101.” A SoCal will say: “It’s 90 minutes; take the 101.”

[mazinger_z]

I agree that people from Sydney sound the most English from my travels there. All seemed laid back by American standards. All Australians I met in Europe all drank more than anyone else I met.

However, I popped in to call to attention some common points throughout this thread which I don’t think anyone else mentioned yet:

No matter what country, if you’re from the Southeren region, you’re a hick, hayseed, inbred and uneducated, and speak with a drawl or noticeably lazier accent.

No matter what country, if you’re from the city (or capital area), you’re rich, obsessed about money, uppity, and boorish.

Is that the trend?

[clairobscur]

@roger thornhill

I forgive 'em as long as they continue to cook like gods.

No mention of Parisians. Off the scale, I take it?

What could be wrong with Parisians?

In fact, concerning Parisians, there’s more of an actual negative perception (clueless, arrogant, thinking they’re the center of the world, rude) than a stereotype used in jokes but not taken seriously.