Тезисы научно- практической работы «Beware black cats with empty buckets»

Тезисы научно- практической работы «Beware black cats with empty buckets»

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Секция «Английский язык»

THESIS OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH WORK

« Beware black cats with empty buckets»

  Superstitions are a means of explaining events, especially tragedy, accidents, illness, and all the other mysteries. The superstitions are also known as legends, and traditions.  When people do not know the actual reason that something happens, they often latch onto circumstances that appear to cause or relate to their misfortune even though those circumstances might be entirely unrelated. This is especially true with people who have very little education or little scientific knowledge. 

   Another reason why do superstitions exist is that we keep trying to divert redirect back luck, to protect ourselves and those we love from all sorts of danger.

   On occasions, you may have noticed people knocking on wood, throwing salt behind their backs or getting angry with you for opening an umbrella inside the house. Why is this? Are they mad? Are they paranoid? No, they are just superstitious.

   So what is a superstitious person? Basically a superstitious person is someone who truly believes that they can control their  lives by performing little tricks and magic. They will do all sorts of strange things to protect themselves from evil spirits.

   Countless activities are involved in superstitions. For example, eating, sleeping, working, playing, marriage, children, sickness, and dying are all part of them. There are also numerous superstitions connected with animals. Sports also include many superstitions, baseball in particular. There are also many in basketball, tennis, golf, horseback riding, and various other sports. Dates and holidays can also be very superstitious. There are also superstitions about the days of the week. Obviously, there are superstitions for everything in the world.

  Every day a reasonable man spits over the left shoulder, knock on the wood, he is silent on his accomplishments, only that somebody has no evil eye. Why do people trust such circumstances? What makes it do so, and not otherwise? The answers to these questions I will try to find during the course of my investigation.

   The theme of the research work is « Beware black cats with empty buckets».

   The problem is that centuries ago, human beings entered into a superstitious bondage from which they have never wholly escaped. Many men and women today, in spite of the wonders of modern technology, still feel a great sense of helplessness as they attempt to chart their individual fates in an unfriendly environment. And also according to the latest psychological research superstitious people have higher anxiety and greater fear of death, feel less in control and suffer more from depression than non- superstitious people do.

       Topicality of this research work is although many people would eagerly deny about being called as superstitious, in reality they could be quite cautious on situations where irrational beliefs are concerned. The most popular superstition topics are Friday the 13th, the number 13, black cat and many others. But if superstitious beliefs become too extreme, they can also become unsafe.  For example, numerous studies have found that traffic accidents increase significantly on Friday the 13^th.  Belief in bad luck such as unlucky numbers or occurrences (such as breaking a mirror) can lead to anxiety which can in turn lead to stress and even health problems.

      The novelty of the research work is that although many people believe in superstitions they don’t know the origin of superstitions. There are a lot of internet sites devoted to superstitions but many people don’t know how to stop being superstitious.

   Hypothesis is that the recommendations of the research work will help people to stop being superstitious.

   The aim of the research work is to work out useful recommendations of how to stop being superstitious.

   On the basis of this the following tasks were formed:

·        to undertake an analysis of the literature on the historic rise of omens and superstitions, as well as the reasons of  faith in omens and superstitions;

·        to  highlight the most common omens and superstitions in Belarus and the UK;

·        to identify the similarities and differences between the omens and superstitions in Belarus and Great Britain;

·        to make a questionnaire and carry out a survey among our schoolmates.

·        to make an electronic presentation and  a leaflet

   During the research the following methods have been used:

   -description and analysis of the relevant information;

   -generalization;

   -comparison;

   -a public pole.

   The work consists of theoretical and practical parts, introduction and conclusion. It also has a bibliography and an appendix. The information is presented in the logical consistency.

   The theoretical part consists of 3 chapters. The first chapter is called « Theoretical principles of studying of omens and superstitions».  It describes the definition of the terms and their characteristics. In the first chapter there is also the information about   the reasons of omens and superstitions’ appearance.

   A superstition is a belief that is not based on reason or scientific thinking and that explains the causes for events in ways that are connected to magic.

   It is almost impossible to explain exactly how superstition is originated. Maybe the reason is some phenomena of nature, its mystery, frightening people or events. The earliest superstitions were created as a way to deal with ignorance and fear of the unknown. Superstitious beliefs are more common among certain groups of people than others, and vary from culture to culture: For example, the number thirteen is considered by many in western society to be inherently unlucky whereas in Japan the number four is often considered unlucky.

   So, today's sources of superstitions are:

1. The historical superstitions;

2. The pagan rites and traditions, legends (the worship of idols);

3. The fear of unknown;

4. The fear of death;

5. The fear to get a curse, evil eye, illness, etc.

   As we can see, all signs are based on the everyday observation of everyday life. Just many omens are so entrenched in our lives as a kind of custom that we do not think, where and why these signs appeared. Therefore, many omens are considered by the people for superstitions, and therefore they are ignored.       

   Nevertheless, in many countries the people follow the omens, but different circumstances in different countries are different.

   The second chapter is called « The research work on identifying of similarities and differences of omens and superstitions in Belarus and Great Britain ».

   It consists of several chapters, in which the following is described:

   The similarity between English and Belarusian omens and superstitions.   Despite the fact that Belarusian culture is very different from English, and our countries have different historical path, many omens and superstitions are coincided.

   First of all, they are common throughout the world, such as, for example, the happy and unhappy numbers, superstition about mirrors and weather conditions, the ceremony dedicated to general holidays and some signs associated with animals.

   The differences between English and Belarusian omens and superstitions. Every country and every nation has its own superstitions, numerous good and bad luck signs. At the same time, some rituals are identical in different countries, although sometimes they have different meaning. Knowledge of the culture, folklore, traditions and beliefs helps us to take a closer look at the mores of another country, with its history and spiritual lives, enrich your own worldview. The more we know about another country, the smaller is the gap between our mutual understanding and friendly relations.

   The third chapter is called « How to Stop Being Superstitious».

   Have you become a slave to superstitions? Do you run to the other side of the street when you see a black cat? Have you ever cracked a mirror, and felt devastated that your life was going to be horrible for the next seven years? If this sounds like you, then it's time to break those superstitious habits and to learn that you have the power to make your own luck.

   The practical part consists of two chapters: a questionnaire and a brochure “How to stop being superstitious”.

   It is known that Belarusians are very superstitious and attentive to various signs. I decided to check this opinion and conducted a survey among the students and teachers of our school, as well as our parents.

   The questionnaire consisted of 5 questions. It shows that 70 percent of respondents said that they believe in all superstitions or some of them, and the least superstitious are teenagers. I compared my results with the results of a similar survey in the UK. It is obvious that in the UK a totally different situation has formed- teenagers are more superstitious than adults.

   Interestingly according to the survey in the UK, women are more superstitious than men, and depending on the kind of activity the most superstitious are health workers, students and people of creative professions.

   I decided to find out in which superstitions exactly students and teachers of the Gymnasium and our relatives believe. It turned out that the most popular one is the superstition that if a black cat crosses the road, it will bring misfortune- 80% of the respondents voted for it, 20% of the respondents believe that breaking a mirror gives 7 years of bad luck.

   According to the survey the majority of people believe in bad superstitions. And do they do something to protect themselves? Do they believe that it will protect them?

   More than half of the respondents have different talismans. Probably because the talismans for these people are the things which remind them some pleasant moments in their life or the person who presented them. Psychologists believe that holding such items in hands can be overcome with excitement and nervousness, although these items do not have any magical properties. 

   Thus, we have found out that the view that Belarusian people are very superstitious and attentive to the different signs is right and proved it in the practical part of my work. 

   As a conclusion it may be stated that:

·        While some superstitions have the same meaning in Britain and in Belarus, some are extremely different

·        The most superstitious people in Belarus are adults (70 percent of respondents said that they believe in all superstitions or some of them), and the least superstitious are teenagers.

·        The most popular superstition is about a black cat crossing the road – 80% of the respondents voted for it.

·        Despite the fact that most respondents do not do anything to protect themselves from bad luck, more than half of them have talismans.

·        People in our country are more superstitious than the British are.

·        The given recommendations helped people to Stop Being Superstitious