AP Human Geography: Culture, Language, and Diffusion

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering cultural patterns and processes, language classifications, types of diffusion, religious geography, and historical influences of imperialism and colonialism.

Culture

The shared beliefs, practices, behaviors, tradition, and technology of a society.

Cultural traits

Visible and invisible traits that combine to make up a group’s culture.

Cultural norms

Agreed upon practices that guide a culture's behavior.

Taboo

Behaviors discouraged by a culture.

Homogeneous

Similar, of the same kind.

Heterogeneous

Diverse characteristics and kind.

Globalization

A trend towards connectedness and similarity between people, organizations, and the world.

Uniform landscape

Repetitive urban architecture design.

Placelessness

Loss of uniqueness in a place, occurring when the cultural landscape becomes too similar.

Ethnocentrism

Judging others’ cultures and standards, and believing your culture is superior.

Cultural relativism

Unbiased thinking of others’ culture, understanding that different culture is okay.

Artifacts

Visible, physical objects created by people of that culture.

Mentifacts

Ideas, beliefs, and knowledge shared by people of that culture.

Sociofacts

The way society organizes themselves, including government, religion, school, land use, and gender.

Local / cultural lens

Culture characterized by small, similar homogeneous groups of people living in rural areas that most likely will not change, with architecture using natural resources and land use focused on agriculture unique to a specific location.

Global / popular lens

Culture characterized by large, heterogeneous groups of people that adapt to trends quickly, shrinking time-space compression, using manufactured resources for architecture, and creating placelessness and urbanized uniform landscapes.

Cultural hearth

Origin or start of culture; geographic origin of a culture or cultural trait.

Cultural diffusion

Dispersal or spread of culture.

Isogloss

Geographic boundary within which separates a dialect feature.

Pidgin language

Non-native blend of 2 languages for communication.

Creole language

Pidgin speaking that develops into a new language.

Lingua franca

Shared language used by speakers of separate languages for communication.

Dialects

Variations of spelling, grammar, and accents that develop because of different geographical distances.

Official language

Government authorized language as an official form of communication.

Language family

Largest group of related languages, connected through common ancient ancestry.

Language branch

Collection of languages that share a common place of origin and disperse from there.

Language group

Languages that share a more recent past with overlapping vocabulary.

Language / dialect classification

Small variations in groups of language depending on the geographic location.

Relocation diffusion

Cultural trait or culture spreading through people migrating and taking their ideas with them (people move).

Expansion diffusion

Cultural trait or culture spreading through interaction between people (ideas move).

Contagious diffusion

Widespread, rapid spread traits globalized.

Hierarchical diffusion

Traits spread down from powerful people.

Reverse hierarchical diffusion

Traits spread from less fortunate people and grows up.

Stimulus diffusion

Trait modified to appeal to cultural differences.

Cultural landscapes

A natural landscape that has been modified by humans to reflect their cultural beliefs and values.

Ethnic neighborhoods

Neighborhood, district or suburb which retains some cultural distinction from a larger surrounding area.

Sequent occupacy

The idea that societies and cultural groups leave their imprints when they leave a place, contributing to the overall cultural landscape.

Sense of place

A strong feeling of identity that is deeply felt by inhabitants and visitors of a location.

Regional pattern

Patterns of language, religion and ethnicity that contribute to a sense of place, enhance placemaking, & shape the global cultural landscape.

Cultural realm

Areas of the world that share cultural traits.

Kurds

A cultural group exhibiting ethnic homogeneity, religious homogeneity, a unique flag, pride in “Kurdistan”, and the status of a stateless nation/no country.

Centripetal force

Characteristics that unify a country and provide stability.

Centrifugal force

Characteristics that divide a country and create conflict.

Friction of distance

As a cultural trait diffuses, the people who adapt it alter it.

Cultural convergence

2 or more cultures coming into contact and adopting others’ traits to become more alike.

Cultural divergence

Cultures become less similar to resist combining cultures with others.

Multiculturalism

Acceptance of cultures living together in close proximity.

Ethnic religion

Religion where members are born into it and that has strong geographic ties.

Universalizing religion

Religion that is open to all regardless of ethnicity, language, social status, or nationality.

Acculturation

2 cultural traits blending, however one is used depending on when its applicable.

Assimilation

1 culture abandons their own and adopts a new culture.

Syncretism

2 cultural traits blending together to become something new.

Effects of diffusion (Acculturation, Assimilation, Syncretism)

Processes of cultural interaction: acculturation (two traits blend, one used when applicable), assimilation (abandoning one's culture to adopt a new one), and syncretism (two traits blend into something new).

Trade

People interact to exchange/buy/sell goods.

Imperialism

The dominance of one political community over another.

Colonialism

Using military to conquer another territory.

Neo-colonialism

Imperialism being pursued by political, economic, and cultural influence.