Unit 3 AP Human Geography Vocab

Acculturation

prolonged contact between two or more countries may result in people within one culture adopt some traits from the other culture

Artifact

Visible, physical objects created by a culture

Assimilation

One culture abandons their original culture in adopt another culture

Built environment

Human made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity

Creole

A pigeon language that develops into a new combined language with native speakers. Frequently developed through settings of colonization or slavery.

Cultural convergence

Process of two or more cultures coming into contact with each other and adopting each other’s traits to be becoming more alike

Cultural landscape

A natural landscape that has been modified by humans reflecting their cultural beliefs and values

Cultural relativism

An unbiased way of viewing another culture. The goal of this is to promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one own culture.

Culture

The shared beliefs, values, practices, behaviors, and technology of a society

Cultural trait

Visible and invisible attributes that combine to make up a group‘s culture

Dialect

Variations in accent, grammar, usage and spelling and develop out of geographic distance or isolation

Ethnic neighborhood

People of the same ethnicity that cluster together in a specific location, typically within a major city

Ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures in terms of one’s own standards and often include the belief that one’s own culture/ethnic group is better than others

expansion diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait through the interaction between people

Gendered space

Place in the cultural landscape utilized to reinforce or accommodate gender roles for men and women

Globalization

The trend towards increased, cultural and economic connectedness between people, businesses, and organizations throughout the world without regard to borders or barriers

Hierarchical diffusion

the spread of a cultural traits from the most interconnected, powerful, wealthy people/organizations down to others

Isogloss

Geographic boundary within which a popular linguistic feature occurs. Lines that divide dialects

Language branch

Collection of languages that share a common origin from thousands of years ago but are now separated from other languages in their family

Language family

largest group of related languages which are connected through a common, ancient ancestry and traced back to a common heart

Lingua Franca

a common language is used by speakers of two different languages for communication usually for business, trade, commerce, or popular culture

Material culture

Physical objects, architecture, tools, art, buildings, and written records produced or used by humans

Mentifact

The idea, belief, value, and knowledge of a culture

Multiculturalism

the acceptance and tolerance of many different cultures which exist in close proximity to one another

Orthography

relating to drawing perspective or correct spelling of words

Pidgin

an extremely simplified limited non-native language used by two people that speak two different languages

Pilgrimage

a journey to a holy place

Placelessness

Loss of uniqueness of a place in the cultural landscape so that one place looks like the next or does not inspire any strong, emotional, or cultural ties

relocation diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait through the migration of people, as people migrate, they take their cultural traits with them

Sequent occupancy

The idea that societies or cultural groups leave their culture imprints when they live in a place each contributing to the overall cultural landscape overtime

Sociofact

The ways in which a society behaves and organizes institutions

Stimulus diffusion

As cultural traits spread they are modified due to a cultural barrier, taboo, or difference

Syncretism

When 2 cultures traits blend together and form a new cultural trait

Toponym

Place names that can uncover historical information about a place and its origins