“Žlahta, strgana plahta?” Slovenian Attitudes Towards the Family as Perceived by Slovenian and Polish Respondents

Abstract

The article deals with attitudes towards the family – one of the semantic categories we discovered in our research, based on survey data, into the linguistic-cultural stereotype of Slovenians. In the research, we used the methodology of the linguistic image of the world, – including stereotypes. We divided the material into the following groups: 1) type of attitude; 2) starting a family, family members, and family size; 3) other. The model that emerged during the research confirms both positive and negative evaluations of the Slovenian family from the Slovenian perspective of, and mainly positive and balanced (distanced) evaluations from a foreign (Polish) perspective. The autostereotyped perception is characterised by strong self-criticism. In their evaluation, Slovenians mention both close, intimate relationships (as evidenced by descriptions showing strong attachment to family and tradition) and distant ones, which, according to the respondents, stem from, among other things, frequent divorces, break-ups, or disputes over inheritance.