Проектная и исследовательская работа

МОУ «Моргаушский лицей». Республиканский конкурс по английскому языку «Единство в различии: Россия. Чувашия. Великобритания». Руководитель: Ванюшкина Л.В.

The nations honour their traditions, this  way they strengthen the world.

  Have something for your children to inherit.

                                                                          (A. Men, Russian priest)

The world is amazingly variable. Each country, as well as each person are surprisingly individual in the traditions, historical experience, culture, outlook. We differently look at the same things, sometimes for the decision of a global problem it is difficult to come to one opinion. Then, probably, in a century of globalization it is necessary  for all people and the countries to have one culture, the identical traditions, similar outlook. Can  it be so, that people will think equally and  have mutual understanding? In fact, according to a bible legend, once on the Earth there was a universal language. Whether it is possible to unite people of all countries and cultures, what it will result? Historical experience confirms, that every nation is united by its own spirituality, moral rules, national language, culture, history, ancestors. National cultural wealth  is the base for independence, unity and freedom of the countries. Lack of the given foundations leads to the disappearance of these countries from the face of the Earth. Not without reason in the nature if one biological kind (culture) disappears, this chain conducts behind itself disappearance of a lot of kinds of animals. We think also, that levelling of culture, language of people will result disappearance  of people.

The Chuvash people have  long  history, they  have been living for hundreds years in the neighborhood with different nations, but preserved its unique culture. The ancestors of modern Chuvashes, the Bolgar-Chuvash and Khazar tribes were the first Turks to migrate to the East Europe, Black Sea region, Lower Volga and Caucasus in the beginning of common era. They came as a part of Huns, founded the Great Bolgaria, Suvar kingdom, Khazar kaganate, Volgian Bulgaria. Our  culture contain many language and culture antiquities, which help to reveal the historic particularities of ancient Turkic language community. Being the first Turkic tribes, who settled down for agricultural set-up, Chuvash entered into relationships with many ancient civilizations of China, Central Asia and Caucasus (Chinese, Sogdian, Greko-Baktrian, Horezmian), as well as with Bysance and Kiev’s Russia. Chuvashia is “A  land of one hundred thousand words, one hundred thousand songs and much more  embroidery works”. National costume expresses the images and symbols of the ancient world. Chuvash embroidery, resembling the ancient runic writings, is a treasure, contains a whole symbolistic language, linked to agricultural set-up and cosmogonic representations of ancients, an evidence of history of the Chuvash people. Not casually  the  Chuvash  hushpu  and tuhia  look like Amazon women’s clothes. In Chuvashia folk art developed from home industries. Its best-known branch is the carving of objects (drinking cups, jugs, mugs, spoons, dippers, etc.) from a single piece of wood. Important features of Chuvash culture include different forms of folklore (songs, tales, and legends). Pagan chuvash people are the only Turkic nation who have taken orthodoxy. Early Chuvash animism was influenced by Zoroastrianism, Judaism. Chuvash honored fire, water, sun, and earth, and believed in a variety of good and evil spirits. By the middle of the eighteenth century, most Chuvash had converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity under the influence of Russian settlers and missionaries. Cheboksary, the capital of Chuvashia, is situated on the river Volga. Why do they call Cheboksary “The pearl of Povolzhie”? It is the unique city, the past and the present of which are equally interesting, where you can find unique museums and monuments, where the Russian and Chuvash cultures have been bound for centuries that today they just supplement one another.  Chuvashia is widely known by the International M.D. Mikhailov opera festival and International ballet festival. All-Russia festival of national creativity “Springs of the Volga region” has taken roots in the affable capital of Chuvashia and nowadays, it collects annually many  participants from all regions of Russia. Many holidays, having appeared in places of compact residing, turned into republican and even All-Russian festivals - Chuvash “Kemel sasa (Silver voice)”, Tatar “Urmai mony”, Russian “Sound, Russian province!”. So, the Chuvash people were one of the few, who preserved their ancient culture, language and faith, coming from deep antiquity till 20-th century, that is why maintaining and preserving Chuvash culture, which is a relict, is an important task not only for the small Chuvash community, but for all nations.

         In the United Kingdom, surely, more than in any other European country, there are strong traditions and habits in everyday life and social regulations. The British are  so proud of  being different (peculiar) from any other nation (left side road traffic, system of measurement, currency). The culture is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, being a major power, and, its composition of four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales—each of which have preserved and distinct customs, cultures and symbolism. As a direct result of the British Empire, British cultural influence (such as the English language) can be observed in the language and culture of a geographically wide assortment of countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the United States, and the British overseas territories (sometimes known as the Anglosphere). The common trait of separated “Islanders” people is believed to influence the character of Englishmen – they are so conservative to bring any slight changes their current life. Nevertheless as the British influence on its empire, the empire also influenced British culture, particularly British cuisine. Innovations and movements within the wider-culture of Europe have also changed the United Kingdom. The Industrial Revolution, with its origins in the UK, brought about major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation, and had a profound effect on the socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world. More recently, popular culture of the United Kingdom in the form of the British invasion, Britpop and British television broadcasting, and British cinema, British literature and British poetry is respected across the world. From the time of the Scientific Revolution, England and Scotland, and thereafter the United Kingdom, have been prominent in world scientific and technological development. Since Newton's time, figures from the UK have contributed to the development of most major branches of science. Examples include Michael Faraday, James Joule, naturalist Charles Darwin, author of “On the Origin of Species”. Other British pioneers in their field include; Joseph Lister (Antiseptic surgery), Edward Jenner (Vaccination), Florence Nightingale (Nursing), Richard Owen (Palaeontology), Howard Carter (Modern Archaeology).

English cuisine  has improved the dishes of all countries. The greatest popularity  have English meat dishes, for example, roast beef, beefstake are included into the menu of restaurants of all European countries.  Historically, British cuisine means "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavor, rather than disguise it." However, British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those that settled in Britain, producing hybrid dishes, such as the Anglo-Indian Chicken tikka masala, hailed as "Britain's true national dish". Well known British dishes include fish and chips and the Sunday roast. Each country within the United Kingdom has its own specialities: English cuisine for example: bangers and mash, Cheshire cheese and the Yorkshire pudding; Scottish cuisine includes Arbroath Smokie and Haggis; Irish cuisine features the Ulster fry and Irish Stew and Welsh cuisine is noted for Welsh rarebit. The British are the nation of sport-lovers. It proves to be true that many kinds of sports have been invented in this country. The national sport of the UK is football, having originated in England, and the UK has the oldest football clubs in the world. The home nations all have separate national teams and domestic competitions, most notably the Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Scottish Premier League. Other famous sporting events in the United Kingdom include the Wimbledon tennis championships, the Grand National, the London Marathon, the Six Nations rugby championships, the British Grand Prix, The Open Championship, The Ashes cricket series and The Boat Race. A great number of major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including football, squash, golf, tennis, boxing, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, field hockey, snooker, billiards, badminton and curling. Festivals and holidays are the integrant part of British culture and traditions, they rank with outrageous tourist attractions. The most known in the world Festival of Flowers takes part in Chelсy in May. The most grandiose and solemn holiday of the country - birthday of  the Queen, passes in London in the middle of June. In Edinburgh every summer (in August) the International festival of music and a drama is held, etc. As for the national dress in Britain, unfortunately the English don't really have a traditional National Dress as such. With the revival of Irish dancing, the traditional Irish costume has become associated with the bright flamboyant costumes worn by traditional Irish dancers. One of the most famous national costumes in the world is that worn in Scotland, the kilt, however some people say that the kilt is not as traditional as some would have it. On an example of Britain it is visible, that the severity and force of traditions conducts to power and influence of the country in the world, despite of its territorial sizes The world achievements  are mostly obliged to the British-born people in different branches.

“ Sacred” Russia, our Motherland took the role of preserving the orthodox values long ago. The principle of national and religious patience was  the main in forming the national state. The Russian Federation   stands out as a multicultural nation and the unique Eurasian mentality. The privilege, and an appeal   of our country is in our diversity of national crafts (for example, forms of Russian handicraft  Gzhel, Khokhloma, Pisanka and Palekh), ceremonies, customs. Russian culture started from that of the East Slavs, with their pagan beliefs and specific way of life in the wooded areas of Eastern Europe. Kievan Rus' had accepted Orthodox Christianity from the East Roman Empire in 988, and this largely defined the Russian culture of next millennium as the synthesis of Slavic and Byzantine cultures. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Russia remained the largest Orthodox nation in the world and claimed succession to the Byzantine legacy in the form of the Third Rome idea. There is a rich history and elaborate religious symbolism associated with icons. Icon paintings in Russia attempted to help people with their prayers without idolizing the figure in the painting. At different points of its history, the country also was strongly influenced by the European culture, and since Peter the Great's reforms Russian culture largely developed in context of the Western culture. Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages. Old Russian folklore takes its roots in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs and now is represented in the Russian fairy tales. Epic Russian bylinas are also an important part of Slavic mythology. Russia owes much of its wit to the great flexibility and richness of the Russian language. Chastushka is  a type of traditional Russian poetry. Usually humorous, satirical, or ironic in nature, chastushkas are often put to music, usually with balalaika or accordion accompaniment. Typical ethnic Russian musical instruments are gusli, balalaika, zhaleika, balalaika contrabass, bayan accordion, Gypsy guitar and garmoshka. Folk music had great influence on the Russian classical composers, and in modern times it is a source of inspiration for a number of popular folk bands. Russian folk songs, as well as patriotic songs of the Soviet era, constitute the bulk of repertoire of the world-renown Red Army choir and other popular Russian ensembles.

Russian literature is considered to be among the most influential and developed in the world, contributing many of the world's most famous literary works. A. Pushkin, considered to be the founder of modern Russian literature and often described as the "Russian Shakespeare". It continued in the 19th century with the poetry of M. Lermontov and A. Nekrasov, dramas of A. Ostrovsky and A. Chekhov, and the prose of N. Gogol, I.Turgenev, L.Tolstoy, F. Dostoevsky, M.Saltykov-Shchedrin. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in particular were titanic figures, the greatest novelist. And this list can be continued   by creators of a Silver age. At the start of the 18th century the reforms of Peter the Great and the work of M.Lomonosov gave a great boost for development of science and innovation in Russia. In the 19th and 20th centuries Russia produced a large number of great scientists and inventors. N. Lobachevsky,  developed the non-Euclidean geometry. D. Mendeleev invented the Periodic table, the main framework of the modern chemistry. P. Yablochkov and A.Lodygin were great pioneers of electrical engineering and inventors of early electric lamps. A. Popov was among the inventors of radio. Many famous Russian scientists and inventors were émigrés, like Igor Sikorsky and Vladimir Zworykin, and many foreign ones worked in Russia for a long time, like Leonard Euler and Alfred Nobel. The greatest Russian successes are in the field of space technology and space exploration is due to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical austronautics.

Russian cuisine widely uses fish, poultry, mushrooms, berries, and honey.

Black bread is relatively more popular in Russia if compared with the rest of the world. Flavourful soups and stews include shchi, borsch, ukha, solyanka and okroshka.  Pirozhki, blini and syrniki are native types of pankakes. Cutlets pelmeni and shashlyk are popular meat dishes. Ethnic Russian clothes include kaftan, kosovorotka and ushanka for men, sarafan and kokoshnik for women, with lapti and valenki as common shoes.Matryoshka doll is a recognizable symbol of Russia, while the towers of Moscow Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow are main Russia's architectural symbols. Cheburashka is a mascot of Russian national Olympic team. Mary, Saint Nicholas, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint Alexander Nevsky, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Saint Seraphim of Sarov are Russia's patron saints. Chamomile is a flower that Russians often associate with their Motherland, while birch is a national tree. Russian bear is an animal symbol and national personification of Russia. The native Russian national personification is Mother Russia, sometimes called Mother Motherland. "West and East, Pacific and Atlantic, Arctic and tropics, extreme cold and extreme heat, prolonged sloth and sudden feats of energy, exaggerated cruelty and exaggerated kindness, ostentatious wealth and dismal squalor, violent xenophobia and uncontrollable yearning for contact with the foreign world, vast power and the most abject slavery, simultaneous love and hate for the same objects...the Russian does not reject these contradictions. He has learned to live with them, and in them. To him, they are the spice of life." -George F. Kennan, Memoirs. Russian culture is non-individualistic. The power of an individual in Russia is much less than in the west and most deals are pushed through family, friends and acquaintances. Russian saying is, "One is not a soldier in the battlefield". In Russia, one still needs to know people in power to make things work. This is why they maintain more friendships than an average westerner. Hospitality is a great Russian virtue. An invitation to a Russian's home is a real treat and education into the true meaning of hospitality. Bread symbolizes key aspects of the national self-image. It is the mark of hospitality, as in khlebsol ("bread-salt"), the ancient custom of welcoming a visitor with a round loaf with a salt cellar on top. This tradition can be observed at political and diplomatic events when a host receives an important guest. In broader terms, bread is the symbol of life; in times of hardship it is the primary food, and being "without bread" signals starvation. Other foods are also important symbols: black caviar, which signifies luxury and plenty; mushrooms and berries, the gifts of the forest and dacha; bliny , pancakes served before Lent; the potato, staple of the diet; and vodka, a symbol of camaraderie and communication.

Russia has had a thousand-year history of growth and contraction, political consolidation and disintegration, repression and relaxation, messianism and self-definition, and varying forms of socioeconomic interdependence with other nations. For many centuries, the question of whether Russian culture is more "eastern" or "western" has been a burning issue. Situated at the crossroads of important cultures and civilizations in every direction, the Slavic groups and other peoples of Russia have profoundly influenced and been influenced by them. Russian culture has a long history and tradition and Russians are very proud of it. For our multinational country a variety of national creativity, ceremonies, customs, crafts   is not only a priceless heritage. This is  our national advantage.

Belief in kindness and justice, charity and peace are the bases for every nation. So we mustn’t  divide the world according to civilizational and religious differences. It’s not the collision, but the demand of modern life. Thus, we do a conclusion, that the culture of people and the countries carries out a key uniting role in the world, promotes rapproachement and mutual understanding between people, to the statement of principles of the consent and tolerance. Different cultures, different traditions, variety of opinions and outlooks. The different periods of history, an originality of national crafts, dishes, national dress and national creativity. Each culture in our  opinion is enriches and grows in knowledge of history and culture of other people. So let each of us promote preservation  traditions, this  way they strengthen the world.

Bolshesundyrskaya secondary school,

Morgaushski region

Dance is Mother of all languages

Tsvetkova Marina, Nikolaeva Elena, Petrova Anastasia.

Class 7

Teachers: Vanyushkina L.V; Kirillova G.V.

Tsvetkova Marina, Nikolaeva Elena, Petrova Anastasia.

Class 7, Bolshesundyrskaya secondary school, Morgaushski region

Dance is Mother of all languages.

Teachers: Vanyushkina L.V; Kirillova G.V.

All illnesses of humanity, all tragic misfortunes filling historical books, all political errors, all failures of great leaders arose only from the inability to dance.

 (Jean  Batist Moliere)

Just imagine that the God mixed all the languages again! We are sure people in the world  could understand each other anyway. Even at the dawn of the human civilization, when there  any written language did not exist, there was a language - language of body, language of dance. Dance is one of the ancient forms of human culture. The assumption that the dance appeared to be the first kind of art, is shared by some anthropologists. R. J. Collinwood writes that “any language is… the special form of body gesture, and, in this sense, it is possible to say that dance is the mother of all languages”. It  can be proved by the fact that dance and motions were used for the course of the entire history of humanity as the method of establishing of contact, deliverance from the accumulated stress in the cultures of different peoples. For the duration of millennia in the different cultures there were ritual dances for the celebration of victories, mourning or celebration of death, treatment of the sick.

In our school dance club “Rainbow” we learn and perform dances of different peoples of the world.  It makes us to learn and understand their culture, traditions, their language. When we for instance perform the Chuvash folk dances we seem to appear  at “Akatui” (spring field work festival), “Surkhuri” (Christmas), “Shchavarni” (pancake week).The Chuvash mainly dance on weddings, entertainments and other events. To these celebrations musicians are always invited: violinists, gusly players, pipers , etc. who play national motives cleanly on original tools so pleasant for the Chuvash. Our people perform national dancings to accompanishment of  a violin, a psaltery, bubbles and so forth. Constant attributes here are embroidered towels and Bread. We feel pride of our  homeland – Chuvashia when we dance quiet Chuvash dances, expressing tenderness, smoothness, beauty and diligence of our modest women. The skill of Chuvash dancers causes admiration in the entire world. “The Chuvash woman dances, as if the swan swims”. We also enjoy our national dances and improve our skills in Bolshesundyrskaya  folk  group “Yanash”, which took part in International  Dance Festivals in Sweden and Hungary.

Russian nature is especially vividly presented  in spread and rhythm of  its folk dances: khorovod, barynya, pereplyas. We adore freedom, width and expanse of Russian spirit. Russian dances seem to be as ancient as life itself. Russians  eulogized their homeland  in bylinas and dances, inherited from generation to generation.  Khorovod  history is in legends, and all folk legends tell us about old and present time. There are no days and years, but only deals of our ancestors. Russian dance  not only contains emotions, gives pleasure to both performers and  spectators, but also brings up inner strength, artistic taste and love for beauty. Our dance teacher Elena Anatolyevna often refers to movements of the artists from the  world-known ansemble named after B. Moiseev. Once we happened to visit the concert of this group in Cheboksary and were enormously impressed.

The most expressive  dancing culture of Englishmen in our opinion was preserved in jig. Jig is an ancient people dance of Celtic origin, which, until now is alive in Ireland and Britain. Initially the Irish peasants danced it. They wore  wooden shoes   and danced  it as entertainment. Jig is also considered to be the dance of English sailors. During   sails  when they  went on a deck to be kneaded, they tapped and shuffled legs about the  floor, beating off  to  rhythm. The main feature of an early kind of dance was that  dancers moved legs only, the top part of the  body remained motionless. Frequently, direct on a deck, competitions on the best «dancer » were arranged.

In XVII century  jig became popular saloon dance in many countries of the Western Europe. And, in each country music for jig was written with the  specific features.

Tapping in jig reminds us of the Russian ” trepak”.  As for jig, it was so unusual and new for us, but it is so energetic. We have broaden our minds and decided  to learn it perfectly well to be able to perform it at the next dance contest.

So, dancing art exists from the ancient times. In many countries dance is an essential part of culture, accompanying various social and religious events. In the dances it is possible to see the spiritual life of nation. Dance  is an universal language expressing mood, feelings, intentions with the help of rhythmic steps and moving. Wherever you find yourself – in  village streets or an elegant ball, or in street carnival in Buenos-Ayres – music and dance create the atmosphere, where the dancer can show his or her individuality, telling about him- or herself   by the means of dance, without words. And  that “language”, which exists and is transferred from generation to generation, is understood by everybody. It proves our statement that dance is mother of all languages. This is stimulus for the strengthening peace throughout the world.