Етническият стереотип за българина сред поляците, живеещи в България
Ethnic Stereotypes about the Bulgarians among the Poles Living in Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The theoretical introduction to the article accents on basic characteristics of the concept of stereotype such as: 1) simplifications and generalisations of phenomena; 2) overall spread and high degree of repetition in a definite community or association; 3) schematisation; 4) lacks of changes in the long run; 5) holistic evaluation and emotional attitude to real phenomena; 6) historical determination and relations to national myths and traditions; 7) relation to particular language constructions. The ethnic stereotype is among the most widely used ones. It is built on the dichotomy “native” – “alien”, as well as on the ethnic autostereotype, thus having a predominantly negative connotation. The article is based on observations incorporating anthropological together with psychological points of view to fieldwork investigations of the Poles living in Bulgaria. They have been interviewed between 1996 and 1998 and as representatives of the 2000 Poles residing permanently in Bulgaria and particularly in its big cities because of marriage (i.e. the so called “emigration caused by love”). Their stereotype about the Bulgarian is predominantly negative and is usually argumented with their understandings of him as possessing oriental character features as a result from the Ottoman domination. The content of the stereotype is built on particular definitions of everyday relations such as those among man and woman, husband and wife, the Bulgarian mother-in-law and the Polish daughter-in-law, parents – children, as well as on considerations related to celebrations reflecting attitudes to traditions and folk culture, nature of religiosity, etc. Positively are evaluated those features which are considered to be determined by the Slav origin of the Bulgarians. In the final lines of the article the author builds the hypothesis that probably the basically negative stereotype about the Bulgarians is not predominantly a result of a negative evaluation, but of idealisation of the Pole autostereotype viewed on the background of the Bulgarian identity.

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