AP Hug 3

Acculturation

Occurs when an ethnic or immigrant group adopts enough of the ways of the host society to be able to function economically and socially.

Assimilation

Occurs when an ethnic or immigrant group blends in with the host culture and loses many culturally distinctive traits.

Centrifugal force

A force that threatens the cohesion of a neighborhood, society, or country.

Centripetal force

A force that brings people together and unifies a neighborhood, society, or country.

Creole

A combined language that has a fuller vocabulary than a pidgin language and becomes a native language.

Creolization

The linguistic process where languages converge and create new languages and forms of communication.

Cultural relativism

An approach to understanding other cultures that seeks to understand individuals and cultures from a wider perspective of cultural logic.

Endangered language

A language that is not taught to children by their parents and is not used actively in everyday matters.

Ethnic group

A people of common ancestry and cultural tradition; characterized by a strong feeling of group identity.

Extinct language

A language that has only a few elderly speakers still living or no living speakers.

Ethnic religion

A religion identified with a particular ethnic or tribal group that does not seek converts.

Lingua franca

A language of communication and commerce spoken across a wide area where it is not a mother tongue.

Pidgin

A trade language, characterized by a very small vocabulary derived from the languages of at least two or more groups in contact.

Placelessness

The feeling resulting from the standardization of the built environment; occurs where local distinctiveness is erased and many places end up with similar cultural landscapes.

Proselytic 

Describing a religion that spreads its message to others through missionary work.

Secular

Less influenced or controlled by religion.

Syncretism

The blending of beliefs, ideas, practices, and traits, especially in a religious context.

Universalizing religion

A religion that actively seeks new members and believes its message has universal importance and application.

Accent

A way of pronouncing words

Colonialism

The act of forcefully controlling a foreign territory, which becomes known as a colony

Culture trait

A single aspect of a given culture or society

Culture hearth

A focused geographic area where important innovations are born and from which they spread

Dialect

A regional variation of a language that is understood by people who speak other variations of that language

Glocalization

Adapting global practices to fit local cultural practices and preferences.

Imperialism

The motivating impulse to control greater amounts of territory

Indigenous culture

A local culture that is no longer the dominant ethnic group within its traditional homeland because of migration, colonization, or political marginalization

Language

A mutually agreed-upon system of symbolic communication

Local culture

Rural, ethnically homogenous culture that is deeply connected to the local land; the opposite of a popular culture.

Material culture

The physical, visible objects made and used by members of a cultural group; includes buildings, furniture, clothing, food, artwork, and musical instruments

Monotheistic

Relating to the belief in only one god

Nonmaterial culture

Intangible elements of culture including a wide range of beliefs, values, myths, and symbolic meanings passed from generation to generation within a given society

Orthodox religion

Religion that emphasizes purity of faith and is generally not open to blending with elements of other belief systems

Polygot

A person who is fluent in more than two languages

Polytheistic

The belief in many gods

Popular culture

Heterogeneous culture that is more influenced by key urban areas and quick to adopt new technologies; the opposite of a local culture

Race

Historically defined by the physical characteristics of a group, especially skin color

Religion

A structured set of beliefs and practices through which people seek mental and physical harmony with the powers of the universe

Sacred spaces

Natural or human-made sites that possess religious meaning and are recognized as worthy of devotion, loyalty, fear, or esteem

Sense of place

How a person feels about a particular place and why it is important to them

Sequent occupance

Refers to the fact that many places have been controlled or affected by a variety of groups over a period of time; those groups have reshaped the functions or meanings of those places and left behind layers of meaning

Ethnocentric approach

An approach to understanding other cultures that evaluates them from the perspective of the observer’s culture

Language family

A group of related languages that share a common ancestry