Studied by 2 people
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
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