The Reflection of National Character in Proverbs and Folk Sayings of the Russian, English and German Language

The paper is aimed at exploring such concept as national character that is of extreme importance nowadays regarding the influence of globalization which, on the one hand, provokes intensive collaboration between the representatives of different cultures and countries, on the other hand, imposes a threat to ethnic identities that in the end strive for isolating and preserving their culture. Three main sources that contain specific traits of a particular nation are examined in this paper: international jokes, national classical literature and folklore. Folklore is the most reliable source for studying national character. The empirical basis for this research is proverbs and folk sayings of the Russian, English and German languages. As for the procedure of this research, most suitable Russian, English and German elements of folklore are chosen and put into the framework of ten universal values (self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, power, security, conformity, tradition, benevolence and universalism). The next step lies in the description of the reflection of these values in the folklore elements and comparison of these reflections. The final step incorporates relevant conclusions. Key words: national character, ethnic idea, psychological make-up of a nation, ethnic stereotypes, auto- and hetero-stereotypes, universal values