Pace of urbanization and thus forming really wide public spaces is very different from historic as well as geographical point of view. In any case this process means that a number of people whose cognitive and communicative habits are adopted to the close milieus where one is personally acquainted with everyone (or with the majority of those people) one has to deal with - have to accommodate oneselves to the milieus where lots of "the others" are to be looked at as abstracted agents. The pace of this accommodation - in both personal and generational perspectives - supposes different strategies both on the side of those passing through this process as well as those already urbanized ones who have to deal with the newcomers. Thus the question.
In Bulgaria words "villager" [селянин], "rural" and "village" [селско] still do have slight negative meaning, as during twentieth century the country struggled to development, industry and innovations - city, modern, etc. - experience. Right now "farmers" and "farming", same as "bio" and "sustainable" design are making a difference in those connotation, therefore rural as natural and native, could also mean "high class" in some cases.
And also, there are new word-forms connected to "villager", "rural" and "village" which mark the stupidity and the bad habits of people who come from small towns and expect to be "known" and that people will consider their misbeaviour. These are like - dump villager [селяндур, пейзан]; a deed made in village way [селяния]...
Thank you, Stela! And what exactly this селяния means? Lack of some "urban" habits or what?
Yes, exactly. Селяния could be both the act and the result - like to park a car inappropriately, or the bad position of the car itself.
"Peasant" doesn't really come up in every day conversation in the U.S. When it used it probably is meant to convey the idea that a person has relatively little wealth.
"Village" is used to refer to a community with a small population and often has a desirable connotation suggesting a the community has charm associated with a lifestyle from older more simple times.
"Rural" means the opposite of urban. It doesn't have a positive or negative connotation and suggests more trees (or crops) and less people,
Vadim
In Australia, peasant would be regarded as a person working the land in a traditional subsistence-style rural economy. Sometimes, it could have a slightly derogatory meaning, implying endless struggle, low economic security and low education. We would not consider that there are any peasants in Australia's non-urban regions - all of which are connected to markets by modern communications, roads and welfare payments. The small numbers of Indigenous inhabitants still living a traditional lifestyle would be called hunter-gatherers as in recent memory they have not tilled the soil or produced crops for market.
Village would normally be used to describe a small self-contained settlement in a developing country. It could be used to describe a small settlement in Australia's non-urban regions, but township would be more commonly used. It is also often used in the sense of "village atmosphere" for outer urban towns with a high level of self-identity and strong community social connections. Also, recently, the term has been appropriated for some huge car-based shopping centres which are also semi-self-contained centres of social interaction and retail trade.
As James has mentioned, rural connotes the opposite of urban. Sometimes it is used to describe areas away from the metropolitan cities, sometimes (as evidenced in the term "rural and regional") it excludes the regional cities, sometimes it is confined to countryside used for farm production (excluding non-farming areas such as state forests and undeveloped land). If we wanted to describe a quaint, under-educated and basic kind of existence, the term rustic or bucolic would be more commonly used. Rustic could be used in a slightly derogatory way, or hayseed even more so.
Wow, bucolic, how very interesting! Jeoff, one more question to you and to James - are the terms like redneck still in more or less common colloquial use? And if yes - are the uses connected to real person's background or are they abstracted to denotate some basic ways and features?
Dear Vadim
Thank you for your response. The term "redneck" is in common usage in Australia, including in everyday street language. It is used particularly by people of moderate political persuasion to describe those of reactionary or nationalist persuasion, in other words, anti-immigration, anti-free trade, anti-ethnic minorities and anti-intellectual. It is a derogatory term. People who are of nationalist or reactionary persuasion would not describe themselves as rednecks but as patriots or working people. My Australian dictionary defines it as a person of "extremely conservative view" but conservative is a malleable word and to try to describe redneck in terms of conservative would start another big conversation. Rednecks would be socially conservative but not economically conservative in the free market sense used by for example the Republican Party in the USA.
Redneck would be used to describe a person's behaviour and political activity. It would be unusual to hear it applied to a well educated person or to a person from an ethnic minority in Australia – it is a term that progressive voters would use to describe Australian-born reactionaries rather than any immigrant community.
One last comment on bucolic. This is not a term in common street talk but could be seen in fiction or non-fiction writing. It implies a peaceful countryside.
Hello, Vadim!
In the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico we do not have "peasants" or "villages". Ours is a tiny island that has "progressed" from extensive ruralness to an accelerated urbanism in less than 80 years. The fields have almost been abandoned and agriculture is failing. We no longer have alimentary autonomy. To be a "peasant" in a "village" is no longer possible, and the cost of agricultural production is so steep that most farms have closed. Our coffee and sugar productions —that were our strong crops— no longer satisfy the local market and the government has been allowing the indiscriminate import of mediocre coffee from Mexico. Citizens are outraged: instead of subsidizing coffee growers and roasters, they are bringing in cheap coffee. Our coffee is still the Vatican's choice as it has been for more than 100 years, but is not enough for us. Incredible!
Best regards, Lilliana
Lilliana
Free trade policies are laying waste to local transactions and local markets in many countries, and are especially destroying local producers. The free trade agenda is being pushed by purist economists and corporations. Your country is not alone!
Dear Lilliana, thank you for your response - but I'm interested not as much in real economic circumstances but rather in the ways people use the words that are somewhat etymologically and culturally connected to the rustic contexts. Are the words like - I don't know - patan. palurdo, redneck, campesino etcnstill used in some evaluative and\or emotional contexts, and if yes - what are these contexts?
Vadim, thank you for the clarification. Usually, it is the economic conditions that set people on a certain role and social position. In the case of the difference between "town" and "country", or "the country" and the "city", as in the famed Raymond Williams's book, people are "tagged", especially those who work on "lowly" chores. This is basically a medieval division that has survived up to now. Nowadays, many people use these words not for indicating your place in either town or country, but your education and manners. The city poor are called "palurdos" (I think this is an Argentinian term) or, in my country, "jíbaros" (in English, "hillbillies").
Best regards, Lilliana
In the Greek context the term "village" (χωριό pronounced cho̱rió) has sometimes a positive communicative meaning (for example we say: "they do not form a cho̱rió" means "they do not like each other". "Villager" has the same negative meaning as in the Bulgarian context. "Rural" has a neutral meaning."Rural" is the adjective of "agriculture".
Thank you, Konstantinos! And are there any emotional (both positive and negative) or derogatory derivatives from these words (I've seen the one about "villager"). Any archaisms that still linger?
Apart from the word "agrotikos (αγροτικός)" to characterize something as rural (which is the adjective of agriculture), we use the word "choriatikos" (adjective of "chorio"-village). The first has a neutral meaning, as a mentioned in my previous answer. Interestingly the second ("choriatikos" - χωριάτικος) has a positive meaning. We use this adjective mainly to characterize high-quality traditional products. I cannot think of any archaism that still lingers.
Hi. This is not my area of study, but I felt compelled to share the Malaysian experience with you. Maybe it could be of use. The word for village in Malay is 'kampung'. "Kampung" has many connotations, depending on context. It evokes the feeling of peace and idyllic for place, simple-mindedness, backwardness and/or genuineness for people, unadulterated for things ("ayam kampung" is what westerners call free range or organic chicken), etc. The spirit of Kampung is closely related to the Malay culture, which is something brave for me to claim because Malaysia is a multi-cultural country. Kampung is a complex concept in Malaysia, I invite you to come to Malaysia to experience it for yourself. Tthe concept of Kampung is becoming quickly eroded due to the rapid economic development in the country, where most kampungs (villages) now are internet-ready and the urban-rural line has increasingly becoming blurred. Finally, I would recommend you to google "Lat, the Kampung Boy" to experience our national treasure, Lat. P/s: Thank you for your interesting question that made me think hard about this concept!
Thank you, Hasniyati. Two questions more, if you please. Is there any kind of downshifting mythology in the urban population in Malaysia - going back to one's roots, simplifying one's contexts etc. And - do the people who's families live in towns for generations tend to feel condescendingly to those who just moved from kampungs?
The answer to the first question: There is never downshifting because I believe that we take the kampung spirit with us when we migrate to the city. Malaysians are very attached to their roots. I must tell you about our 'balik kampung' phenomenon whereby our capital city is literally deserted during major festivals such as Eid, Chinese New Year and Deepavali and school holidays. During these holidays, everyone 'balik kampung' i.e. leave the city to go back to their kampungs for a few days. If you can imagine, Extreme Christmas at least 4 times a year (we have 2 Eids). So, there is never a question of downshifting because kampung is deeply entrenched in our psyches.
The answer to the second question: If I'm allowed to generalise, my answer would be "yes". Especially if the newcomers bring their 'kampung' attitude to the city. For instance, kampungfolks are not used to living in high rise buildings, and some will do things like throwing rubbish from their balcony or put excessive plant pots in the corridor (kampung folks like to garden). However, I think town people are becoming more receptive to kampung folks these days, especially when we have an influx of foreign immigrants/workers who bring their own 'kampung' culture to Malaysia! :)
Thank you, Bimo. Does this Desa notion come from some other language then Malayan? And is it a complete synonym - or are there any differences? Is the presence of water necessary for this Desa? Is it seen more like a personally significant phenomenon or a common ground for a group of people coming from one neighbourhood?
In Galicia (a region of Spain), where I live, the terms rural or peasant have a negative connotation today. Maybe things are changing in the last days due to the increasing unemployment that enhace youngg people to come back to rural areas (following the "come back to nature" philosophy). However, rural is related to undeveloped communities, without access to cultural services, ICT, etc. Especially in the isolated areas where many people live in Galicia. Being a farmer or a peasant means not to have high incomes or good quality of life (despite live in cities is not an example of sustainable or healthy lifestyles). A I said, general perception is changing pace by pace.
Hi again. Thank you Bimo, for adding to the kampung discussion. Vadim, Bimo is right, desa is a synonym for kampung. Both are Malay words, but the usages of those words are different between Malaysia and Indonesia (we share a common language). In Malaysia, desa is more associated with the physical place while kampung has a wider range of meanings as per my discussion. I leave it to Bimo to answer the rest of the questions on desa.
Thank you, Hasniyati!
Thank you, Isabel. And a question more, if you please. Are there any ways (social habits, behaviour patterns, modes of speech etc) which are seen by urban people in Galicia as characteristic of a "peasant"? If yes, what are they and what kind of response do they produce?