APHG Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes

Acculturation

The adoption of cultural traits, such as language, by one group under the influence of another

mentifact

The central, enduring elements of a culture expressing its values and beliefs, including language, religion, folklore, and etc.

Sociofact

The institutions and links between individuals and groups that unite a culture, including family structure and political, educational and religious institutions

culture hearth

a center where cultures developed and from which ideas and traditions spread outward

culture complex

A related set of cultural traits, such as prevailing dress codes and cooking and eating utensils.

cultural relativism

the practice of judging a culture by its own standards

Creole

A language that results from the mixing of a colonizer's language with the indigenous language of the people being dominated.

Colonialism

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.

Isolated Language

A language that is unrelated to any other languages and therefore not attached to any language family.

Kurgan Hypothesis

A theory of language diffusion, which holds that the spread of Indo-European languages originated with animal domestication; originated in the Central Asian steppes; and was later more violent and swifter than proponents of the Anatolian hypothesis maintain.

Language Branch

A collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousand years ago. Differences are not as extensive or as old as with language families, and archaeological evidence can confirm that the branches derived from the same family.

language family

A collection of languages related to each other through a common ancestor long before recorded history.

linguistics

the scientific study of the structure, sounds, and meaning of language

ethnic religion

A religion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which its adherents are concentrated.

multi-linguality

speaking more than two languages

standard language

The form of a language used for official government business, education, and mass communications.

Missionary

An individual who helps to diffuse a universalizing religion.

Secularism

A doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations.

artifact

an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.

built environment

The man-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter to neighborhoods to the large-scale civic surroundings.

Core-domain-sphere model

The place where concentration of culture traits that characterizes a region is greatest

cultural convergence

The tendency for cultures to become more alike as they increasingly share technology and organizational structures in a modern world united by improved transportation and communication.

cultural perception

The varying attitudes and ideas that culture groups have regarding how space, place, and territory are identified and used.

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape

culture realm

A cluster of regions in which related culture systems prevail.

cultural divergence

the restriction of a culture from outside influences

culture trait

an activity or behavior in which people often take part

culture region

An area in which people have many shared culture traits

custom

The frequent repetition of an act, to the extent that it becomes characteristic of the group of people performing the act.

Diffusion

The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

indigenous culture

a culture group that constitutes the original inhabitants of a territory, distinct from the dominant national culture, which is often derived from colonial occupation.

accent

A way of pronouncing words that indicates the place of origin or social background of the speaker.

Anatolian Hypothesis

Theory that the movement of Indo-European languages in Turkey (Anatolia) followed the spread of plant domestication technologies

centrifugal force

an apparent force that acts outward on a body moving around a center, arising from the body's inertia.

Creolization

foreign influences are absorbed and integrated with local meanings

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Dialect

A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

extinct language

A language that was once used by people in daily activities but is no longer used.

heterogeneous

composed of unlike parts; different; diverse

homogeneous

of the same kind; similar

Ideogram

a pictorial character or symbol that represents a specific meaning or idea

Indo-Europeans

Many people and languages of Europe, Iran, and northern India share a common linguistic traits due to being part of this ancient group.

Institutional language

A language used in education, work, mass media, and government.

Isogloss

A boundary that separates regions in which different language usages predominate.

language

A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.

Language Group

A collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary.

linguist

a person skilled in foreign languages

lingua franca

A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages

Literary Tradition

A language that is written as well as spoken

Agnosticism

Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Atheism

Belief that there is no god.

branch

A large and fundamental division within a religion

Caste

The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law.

Cosmogony

A set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe.

Denomination

A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body.

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

material culture

the physical things created by members of a society

popular culture

Culture found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics.

sequent occupance

the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape

Taboo

A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.

Uniform Landscape

The spatial expression of a popular custom in one location being similar to another.

Logogram

A symbol that represents a word rather than a sound

placelessness

the loss of uniqueness of place in the cultural landscape so that one place looks like the next

mono-linguality

Speaking only one language

bi-linguality

The ability to speak two languages

official language

The language adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents.

Pidgin

A simplified form of speech developed from two or more languages

polyglot

speaking several languages

slang

an informal, often short-lived kind of language used in place of standard words

Syntax

Sentence structure

Vernacular

Everyday language of ordinary people

working language

A language that is used by an international organization or corporation as its primary means of communication for daily correspondence and conversation.

Fundamentalism

Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect).

Ghetto

During the middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a city in which members of any minority group live because of social, legal, or economic pressure.

Hierarchical religion

A religion in which a central authority exercises a high degree of control.

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Pagan

A follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times.

Pilgrimage

A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.

Polytheism

Belief in many gods

Religion

the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

sacred space

The place where religious figures and congregations meet to perform religious ceremonies.

sect

A relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination.

Shamanism

an animistic religion of northern Asia having the belief that the mediation between the visible and the spirit worlds is effected by shamans

Solstice

The two days of the year on which the sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the equator

Syncretism

a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith

Universalizing Religion

A religion that attempts to appeal to all people, not just those living in a particular location.

assimilation

the process through which people lose originally differentiating traits, such as dress, speech particularities or mannerisms, when they come into contact with another society or culture (usually a dominant one). Often used to describe immigrant adaptation to new places.