Stereotypes of Your Country

Bosnians - Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats - are the subject of most ethnic jokes throughout the former Yugoslavia and extending, in some cases, even farther.

The jokes are traditionally about Bosnian peasants and although Bosniaks were and have largely urbanized (Bosnia traditionally had mainly Muslim cities and a mainly Christian countryside) the characters in the jokes are generally associated with the Bosniak nation.

The most common characters are Mujo, either of several of his friends, and his female companion, Fata. These characters are somewhat different in jokes told by neighbors and jokes told by Bosnians.

Mujo, for example, is typically somewhat clever but without any "street smarts" in Bosnian jokes, but when the character is used in - for example, Serbian or Croatian jokes - he's primitive and very stupid. Fata, the female character, is the opposite. In Bosnian jokes she tends to be a little clueless but when her character is used by other nations she's generally the smartest one in the joke.

For example, a Bosnian joke:

Mujo and Fata are fishing when they catch a golden fish - and the fish says to them: Throw me back, and you can have any wish. So they do, and Mujo wishes he was an Emperor and Fata was his Empress. Nothing happens, so dissapointed they go home as peasants - even worse, peasants without a golden fish. When they wake up the next morning, to their amazement, they are inside a grand castle! They just indulge in every luxury - lying in their giant, comfortable beds while servants feed them grapes and massage their feet. Suddenly a butler bursts through the bedroom door and says, "My God, Ferdinand and Sofia! Hurry or we'll never get to Sarajevo on time!"

And now a Croatian joke:

Why do people think Bosnians are stupid? Because everyone knows Mujo and Fata are stupid and this is what they name their babies.

And now a Serbian joke:

Mujo and Fata, together with a Serbian and Croatian friend, are at the train station waiting when the train pulls up, slows down a little, but doesn't stop! Suddenly Mujo screams: HURRY! and grabs Fata's arm and starts dragging her, she is screaming at him to stop. The Serbian and Croatian friends are running too, everyone trying to make it to the train. Soon the Serbian gives up, and stops. Then the Croatian gives up, and stops. Mujo keeps dragging Fata and running, and they make it! He throws Fata up onto the drain and drags himself up behind her. A group of bystanders at the station look at the Serbian and Croatian men and ask, "How does Mujo and Fata make it and you don't?" And the Serbian man replies, "I don't know. They were only supposed to drop us off at the station."

And now a Slovenian joke:

A Bosnian interviews for a job in Slovenia. �Where are you from?� asks the employer. �From Bosnia!� �Oh, I know,� says the Slovene, �you Bosnians are known to be lazy.� �Oh no, sir,� responds the Bosnian, �those are the Montenegrins. We Bosnians are stupid!�

So that's how it goes. There are jokes against Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs as well but they don't really have universal characters or universal popularity. So, sadly, it's reserved for us.

A Stereotype for the US is people think we are all fat. Thats not true! Only 50-60% of the population is.

In Britain we have tons of sterotypes.

I think many foreigners dont understand how many regional differences in the US there are.  We are the fattest nation but where I live I see less fat people than I have in other countries...then I go visit family in North Carolina and I see fat people EVERYWHERE!

Originally posted by dorian In Greece there are a lot of jokes about Pontian-Greeks and especially about their alleged stupidity. Of course this is not true but it has fun amongst Greeks. � There is a kind of "animosity" between the Athenians and�Salonicans and Macedonians in general. Here in Athens we�say jokes�about the dialect they speak (especially some words that people from Salonica don't pronounce like we do). We often say jokes about the dialect of the Cretans.

pontian greek?aahhhh we have same jokes about living trabzon area turks and laz
    

Also in Peru, they have stero-types towards Ecuadorians. They use to fight over a "drink of wine" called Pisco to say who created it. THat said, they call each other many names. My parents always say that all Ecuadorians are small tiny people. ANd that they are "monos" meaning in Spanish they are monkeys!!

Originally posted by Bashibozuk   We have jokes about people from specific regions of Turkey. For example Laz people of Northeastern Turkey, are always presented as fools. There is a famuous Laz character, named Temel, his friend Dursun, and more than half of Turkish anectodes are about their funny adventures.....

In Greece most of anecdotes are about Pontian Greeks !
They used to live in quiet the same area (Pontos),and they are presented in the same way
But the 2 friends are "Yiorikas" and "Kostikas" (George and Constantine in Pontian dialect)

They used to live in quiet the same area (Pontos),and they are presented in the same way

Hey digenis i want to ask something about pontian Greeks about how they tell a joke. Do they tell jokes that if you lissing you think they are telling a true happend story, i mean they tell it dead-sirious but on the end they start laughing :D Our people from pontian, black sea region do exact that way :)

Also are they considered brave, men of their words also under Greeks? as it is by Turks






Edited by DayI - 21-May-2006 at 16:21