CROATIA/HRVATSKA

Verna Hämäläinen

Gudrun Hammer

Ilena Maslać

Lisa Pöschlmayer

General Info

Republic of Croatia/ Republika Hrvatska

Declaration of Independence: 8 October, 1991

Capital City: Zagreb Population: 4.4 million Official Language: Croatian President: Stjepan Mesić

Activity 1Goran IvaniševićIvano BalićJanica KostelićDavor Šuker

Activity 2Croatian Inventions?

Cultural Traits

Family attachments Nepotism Direct culture Gestures Concept of time Humour Catholic attitudes Antipathy towards Serbs/

Nationalism Regional differences

Family Attachments

strong family ties Croatians marry usually

quite young a big celebration with

lots of people invited

divorce rate is not high average of 1.5 children

per woman

Direct Culture

Level of relationship is important to consider

Exaggerations Very emotional and

high-tempered Nepotism

Business Etiquette

Do not rely too much on schedules

Small talk very important Never jump straight into

business Building relationship

initially more important than business

Gestures/ Body Language

Croatians use their hands and arms when talking

Love talking a lot and loud

Concept of time

Flexible and slower

concept of time “Relax, we

still have time“ Tend to

miss deadlines Punctuality is not

one of the Croatians’ strengths

Religion

90% Roman Catholic, 10 % others Croatians feel very catholic and the

vast majority of them practises the religion too

Herzegovinian Croatians and Dalmatians feel the most catholic of all Croatians - history

Communistic Yugoslavia and Tito's antipathy towards catholic church

Relations to Vatican

Humour

the south and the coastal areas irony, cynicism, or dark humour most jokes are sexist or about

Bosnians or regional mentality make fun of people’s mistakes,

lack of judgement or serious thoughts, reversal of fortune, regional mentality, frivolity, drunkenness, and lack of professionalism

Nationalism/Antipathy towards Serbs/Regional Differences

very proud and aware of their national identity

antipathy towards Serbs is due to the recent war

regional identity is important

difference south-north historical influence on the

regional mentality

Do’s / Don’ts

Praise and know about: Croatian cuisine: food, cooking and wine Croatian cuisine Croatian sports Their clean and beautiful environment

Do not Criticize Croatia’s role in the Croatian War

of Independence Make comparisons between Croats and

Serbians Criticize catholic church

Activity 3Try to read these Croatian sentences:

Laku noć. – Good night.

Dobar dan. – Good afternoon.

Ne govorim hrvatski. – I cannot speak Croatian.

Studiram engleski. I am studying English.