Before the mid-20th century, the Jews in Žemaitija were the most numerous and economically and culturally significant minority, with close contacts with the Žemaitijans. The paper focuses on the stereotypical characteristics of Jews as reflected in Žemaitijan dialect texts from an ethnolinguistic point of view. The analysis of these characteristics provides knowledge about the evaluated nation from the perspective of the evaluating nation. The research into stereotypical images of Jews rests on the view that they consist of a specific set of certain common characteristics and traits, and an analysis of linguistic expression provides more detailed information about them. The research has revealed that the ethnic stereotype of Jewish people in Žemaitijan dialect texts is quite positive.
Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 15 (2007): Baltijos regiono istorija ir kultūra: Lietuva ir Lenkija. Karinė istorija, archeologija, etnologija = History and Culture of Baltic Region: Lithuania and Poland. Military History, Archaeology, Ethnology, pp. 155–169
Abstract
The article is devoted to the new ethnographic and social research results on the Karaitic religion’s minority in Lithuania and Poland. After the last partition of Poland in 1795 main part of Karaites lived in Russia and was given some privileges by the tsars too. When Poles regained their independence and created new Polish Republic Karaites declared full loyalty towards it. During II World War Karaites were not ex-terminated by the Nazis like Jews although they easily could be taken for Jews because in Karaitic liturgy Hebrew language is still present. Today in Lithuania there are two main Karaitic centres: in Trakai and Vilnius with two churches still open. While visiting Trakai it is worth to see Karaitic wooden houses with three windows situated next to a road being a sign of presence of Karaitic community composed of 154 persons.