Unit 3: AP Human Geography

Culture

 the traits, customary beliefs, and social forms that connect a group of people

Folk Culture

traditional practice primarily by small, homogenous groups living in isolated rural areas

Popular Culture

Large heterogeneous societies that are found in urban areas

Hearth/Origin

Center of innovation

Ethnocentrism

biased way of viewing a culture

Cultural Relativism

unbiased way of viewing another culture

Norms

rules or standards of behavior shared by members of a social group

Taboo

behaviors discouraged by culture ex. food

Land Use

how land is used within a given area

Built Landscape

features and patterns that reflect humans and the use of natural resources

Cultural Landscape

the visible human imprint on environment

Sequent Occupance

societies or cultural groups leave their cultural imprints when they live in a place, each causing the overall cultural landscape over time

Ethnicity

group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth

Race

group of people who are perceived to share a physiological trait ex. skin color

Nationality

group of people who share legal residency in a specific country 

Ethnic Enclave

Clusters of people of the same culture, but surrounded by people of a culture that is dominant in that region

Homogeneity

quality/state of being all the same/all of the same kind

Heterogeneity

quality/state of being diverse in character or content  

Sense of place

Unique attributes of specific location

Placelessness

lack of sense of place (occurs more now due to globalization, popular culture, & time-spaced convergence)

Placemaking

way elements of a culture are expressed in the physical world

Colonization

action or process of settling and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.

Language

system of communication through speech, movement, sounds, or symbols, that a group of people understands to have the same meaning

Religion

linked to ethnicity or membership in a group of people who share characteristics

Centripetal Force

force that tends to unify people

Centrifugal Force

force that tends to pull people apart

Linguistic Fragmentation

# of languages and dialects used by large portions of a nation's population

Relocation Diffusion

spread of cultural trait by people who migrate & canary their cultural traits with them.

Expansion Diffusion

spread of cultural traits through direct or indirect exchange without migration 

Contagious Diffusion

cultural trait that spreads continuously outward from its hearth through contact among people

Hierarchical Diffusion

spread of culture outward from most interconnected places or from centers of wealth & importance

Reverse-Hierarchical Diffusion

trait that diffuses from a lower class to a higher class

Stimulus Diffusion

people in culture adopt an underlying idea or process from another culture, but modify it

Acculturation

ethnic to immigrant group moving to a new area & adopting the values & practices of larger groups that have received them, while maintaining major elements of their own culture

Assimilation

when ethnic group is no longer distinguished from the receiving group

Multiculturalism

coexistence of several cultures in 1 society with ideal cultures being valued & worthy of study

Syncretism

2 cultures traits blend together & form a new cultural trait. Most common; religious syncretism

Nativism

the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrant

Language Family

common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history

Language Branch

family-related through common ancestral language that existed several thousands of years ago

Language Group

share a common origin in relatively recent past & display many similarities in grammar & vocabulary

Lingua Franca

language of international communication such as English 

Creolization

language that results from mixing colonizers languages with the indigenous language that’s dominant

Dialects

regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary

Isogloss

every word that’s no used nationally has some geographic extent within the country & therefore has boundaries

Endangered Language

1 that children are no longer learning, & remaining speakers starting to use it less frequently

Isolated Language

unrelated to other languages & have become unattached to language families because the speakers do not interact with other languages

Extinct Language

 not spoken anymore in daily use

Pidgin Language

often emerges when 2 or more languages coexist in a small geographic area

Universalizing Religion

global & appeal to all people

Ethnic Religion

appeal primarily to 1 ethnic group

Branch

large & fundamental division within a religion

Denomination

unites # of local congregations in a single legal & administrative bod

Congregation

local assembly of people brought together for common religious worship

Islam

Core belief involves performing 5 acts- Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawn of Ramadan, & Hajj

Buddhism

believe that everyone needs to endure sufferings, then after enduring suffering you can reincarnate

Christianity

founded by the teaching of jesus & he died on the cross in Jerusalem

Judaism

religion based on the belief that there is only one God

Sikhism

believe there is only one God & that all religions are good

Hinduism

Ancient hearth unknown & Ethnic religion based in India

Christian Churches

In the hearth of Christianity the buildings are more decorative and topped with prominent domes but in more rural areas minimal decoration

Islamic Mosques

The mosque has a specific direction it faces and where it located as well

Sikh Gurdwaras

is the golden temple in India and has the holiest book

Jewish Synagogues

 is like the Jewish meeting place so that Jews can pray to their god (Yahweh) and read scriptures

Buddhist Pagodas

This religious building is used mostly for individual prayers

Hindu Temples

Hindu functions are mostly done at home but the temple is built for individual worship

Utopian Settlement

a community built to reflect the ideals of particular religious or social groups

Pilgrimage

journey for religious purposes to a place considered sacred 

Describe the characteristics of cultural landscapes using the terms below.

• Linguistic/cultural/religious  characteristics

• Sequent Occupancy

• Architecture