unit three cultural patterns and processes

enthocentrism

the tendency of ethnic groups to evaluate other groups according to preconced ideas originating from their own culture

cultural landscape

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

sequent occupancy

the notion that successive societies leave behind their cultural imprint, a collection of evidence about human character and experiences within a geographic region, which shapes the cultural landscape

ethnicity

the state belonging to a group of people who share common cultural characteristics

race

social contrust that categorizes individuals based on perceived physical traits

ethnic neighborhood

a cultural landscape within a community of people outside of their area of origin

relocation diffusion

the spread of culture traits through the movement of people

expansion diffusion

the spread of a cultural trait outward from where it originated

contagious diffusion

the process by which an idea or cultural trait spreads rapidly among people of all social classes and levels of power

hierarchical diffusion

the spread of an idea or trait from a person or place of power or authority to other people or places

lingua franca

common language used among speakers of different languages

colonialism

the practice of claiming and dominating overseas territories

imperialism

the push to create an empire by exercising force or influence to control other mations or peoples

urbanization

urban growth and development

cultural comvergence

the process by which cultures become more similar through interaction

cultural divergence

the process by which cultures become similar due to conflicting beliefs or other barriers

language family

a group of languages that share a common ancestral language from a particular hearth, or region or origin

language branch

a collection of languages within a language family that share a common origin and separated from other branches in the same fanily several thousand years ago

language group

languages within a language branch that share ancommon ancestor in the relatively recent past and have vocabularies with a high degree of overlap

ethnic religion

a religion that is closely tied with particular ethnic group often living together in a particular place

acculturation

the process by which people within one culture adopt some of the traits of another while still retaining their own distinct culture

assimilation

a category of acculturation in which the interaction of two cultures results in one culture adopting almost all of the customs, traditions, language, and other cultural traits of the other

syncretism

the process of innovation combining different cultural features into something new

multiculturalism

a situation in which different cultures live together without assimilating