Unit Three: Cultural Patterns and Processes (AP HUG)

acculturation

the adoption of cultural traits (like language) by one group under the influence of another

animism

most prevalent in Africa and the Americas, doctrine in which the world is seen as being infused with spiritual and even supernatural powers

artifact

any item that represents a material aspect of culture

buddhism

system of belief that seeks to explain ultimate realities for all people- such as the nature of suffering and the path toward self-realization

caste system

system in India that gives every Indian a particular place in the social hierarchy from birth- individuals may improve the position they inherit in the caste system in their next life through their actions, or karma; after many lives of good karma, they may be relieved from the cycle of life and win their place in heaven

christianity

monotheistic universal religion that uses missionaries to expand it's members worldwide (also most widespread religion); three main categories are roman catholic, protestant, and eastern orthodox

creole

a pidgin language that evolves to the point at which it becomes the primary language of the people who speak it

cultural complex

the group of traits that define a particular culture

cultural extinction

obliteration of an entire culture by war, disease, acculturation, or a combination of the three

cultural geography

the subfield of human geography that looks at how cultures vary over space

cultural hearths

locations on the earth's surface where specific cultures first arose

cultural imperialism

the dominance of one culture over another

cultural relativism

understanding a culture on its own terms rather that judging it by the standard or customs of one's own culture

cultural traits

the specific customs that are part of the everyday life of a particular culture (language, ideology, behavior, technology, government)

culture

a total way of life held in common by a group of people, including learned features such as language, ideology, behavior, technology, and government

customs

practices followed by the people of a particular cultural group

denomination

a particular religious group, usually associated with differing Protestant belief systems

dialects

geographically distinct versions of a single language that vary somewhat from the parent form

diaspora

people who come from a common ethnic background but who live in different regions outside the home of their ethnicity

ecumene

the proportion of the earth inhabited by humans

environmental determinism

a doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions

esperanto

a constructed international auxiliary language incorporating aspects of numerous linguistic traditions to create a universal means of communication

ethnic cleansing

the systematic attempt to remove all people of a particular ethnicity from a country or region either by forced migration or genocide

ethnic neighborhood

an area within a city containing members of the same ethnic background

ethnic religion

religion that is identified with a particular ethnic or tribal group and that does not seek new converts

ethnicity

refers to a group of people who share a common identity

ethnocentrism

an evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions of one's own cultural standards and traditions

evangelical religion

religion in which an effort is made to spread a particular belief system

folk culture

refers to a constellation of cultural practices that form the sights, smells, sounds, and rituals of everyday existence in the traditional societies in which they developed

fundamentalism

the strict adherence to a particular doctrine

gender inequality index

a UN index (created in 2010) which measures a country's loss of achievement due to gender inequality, based on reproductive health, employment, and general empowerment

genocide

a premeditated effort to kill everyone from a particular ethnic group

ghetto

a segregated ethnic area within a city

global religion

religion in which members are numerous and widespread and whose doctrines might appeal to different people from any region of the globe

hinduism

a cohesive and unique society, most prevalent in India, that integrates spiritual beliefs with daily practices and official institutions such as the caste system

indo-european

language family containing the germanic and romance languages that includes languages spoken by about 50% of the world's population (english, spanish)

islam

monotheistic religion based on the belief that Allah is the only god and that Muhammad was Allah's prophet; based in the ancient city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Muhammad

isoglosses

geographical boundary lines where different linguistic features meet

judaism

the first major monotheistic religion, based on a sense of ethnic identity, and its adherents tend to form tight-knit communities wherever they live

language extinction

occurs when a language is no longer in use by any living people (thousands of languages have become extinct over the eons since language first developed, but the process of language extinction has accelerated greatly during the past 300 years)

language family

a collection of many languages, all of which came from the same original tounge long ago, that have since evolved different characteristics

language group

a set of languages with a relatively recent common origin and many similar characteristics

lingua franca

an extremely simple language that combines aspects of two or more other, more complex languages usually used for quick and efficient communication

literacy

the ability to read and write

local culture

a set of common experiences/customs that shape the identity of a place and the people who live there- often the subjects of preservation or economic development efforts

local religions

religions that are spiritually bound to particular regions

minority

a racial or ethnic group smaller than and differing from the majority race or ethnicity in a particular area or region

missionary

a person of a particular faith who travels in order to recruit new members into the faith represented

monotheism

the worship of only one god

multicultural

having to do with many cultures

official language

language in which all government business occurs in a country

pidgin

language that may develop when two groups of people with different languages meet, it has some characteristics of each language

pilgrimage

a journey to a place of religious importance

polyglot

a multilingual state

polytheism

the worship of one or more god

popular (pop) culture

dynamic culture based in large, heterogeneous societies permitting considerable individualism, innovation, and change; having a money-based economy, division of labor into professions, secular institutions of control, and weak interpersonal ties and producing and consuming machine-made goods

race

a group of human beings distinguished by physical traits, blood types, genetic code patterns, or genetically inherited characteristics

romance languages

any of the languages derived from Latin, including Italian, Spanish, French, and Romanian

shaman

the single person who takes on the roles of priest, counselor, and physician and acts as a conduit to the supernatural world in a shamanist culture

sino-tibetan

language area that spreads through most of southeast asia and china and comprises chinese, burmese, tibetan, japanese, and korean

stimulus diffusion

when a specific cultural element is diffused to another culture that gives it a new and unique form

syncretic

traditions that borrow from the past and present

toponyms

place names given to certain features on the land, such as settlements, terrain features, and streams

tradition

a cohesive collection of customs within a cultural group

transculturation

the expansion of cultural traits through diffusion, adoption, and other related processes

universalizing religion

religion that seeks to unite people from all over the globe