APHUG ~ Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes

Acculturation –

Adoption of cultural traits by one group under another's influence.

Animism –

Belief that natural objects/events have spirits and conscious life.

Artifact –

A historical object, either natural or human-made.

Assimilation –

When a cultural group blends into another.

Baha'i –

A faith from Iran teaching unity of all religions, no literal heaven/hell.

Behaviors –

Actions of humans or animals.

Beliefs –

Ideas people accept as true.

Bilingualism –

Fluency in two languages with different structures.

Buddhism –

Religion teaching enlightenment through suppressing desire.

Confucianism –

Chinese ethical system emphasizing harmony, respect, and education.

Contagious diffusion –

Rapid spread of a trend or idea in a population.

Creole –

A language developed from mixing two others.

Cultural determinism –

Idea that culture shapes identity more than biology.

Cultural diffusion –

Spread of cultural elements between societies.

Cultural ecology –

Study of human-environment relationships.

Cultural geography –

Study of how cultures vary across space.

Cultural hearths –

Origin points of major cultural developments.

Cultural landscape –

Visible imprint of human activity on land.

Cultural relativism –

Evaluating cultures by their own standards.

Cultural transmission –

Passing culture from one generation to the next.

Culture complex –

A related set of culture traits descriptive of one aspect of a society's behavior or activity

Culture region –

Area where people share cultural traits.

Culture system –

A collection of cultural traits shaping a group's identity.

Culture trait –

A single cultural practice, like wearing a turban.

Daoism –

Chinese philosophy emphasizing harmony with nature.

Dialect –

A regional variation of a language.

Diaspora –

A group dispersed from its homeland but retaining culture.

Eastern Orthodox –

Branch of Christianity from the Byzantine Church.

Environmental determinism –

Idea that environment controls cultural development.

Ethnic religion –

A religion tied to a specific group and location.

Ethnocentrism –

Belief in the superiority of one's culture.

Extinct language –

A language no longer spoken.

Folk culture –

Traditions of small, isolated rural groups.

Folk culture region –

Area where people share folk customs.

Folk life –

Material and non-material culture of traditional societies.

Geographic region –

A defined area of Earth's surface.

Hagerstrand, Torsten –

Geographer who studied cultural diffusion.

Hierarchical diffusion –

Spread of ideas from authority figures downward.

Hinduism –

Indian religion emphasizing reincarnation and many deities.

Humanism –

Belief in self-realization through reason.

Independent inventions –

Similar cultural developments occurring separately.

Indo-European language family –

Largest language family, covering Europe & parts of Asia.

Islam –

Religion of Muslims, based on the Quran.

Isogloss –

A boundary separating different language uses.

Judaism –

Monotheistic religion of the Jews, based on the Torah.

Language –

System of vocal communication.

Language families –

Groups of languages with shared origins.

Language sub-family –

Smaller language group within a family.

Lingua franca –

A common language for speakers of different languages.

Linguistic fragmentation –

Many languages spoken by small groups.

Linguistic geography –

Study of language distribution.

Mahayana –

Buddhist branch emphasizing universal salvation.

Marxism –

Economic theory emphasizing class struggle.

Material culture –

Physical products of human activity.

Migrant diffusion –

Spread of ideas that fade in their original area.

Monotheistic religion –

A religion with only one god.

Multilingualism –

Use of multiple languages in a society.

Non-material culture –

Cultural elements like values and norms.

Norms –

Social rules and expectations.

Official language –

Government-designated language for public use.

Pidgin –

Simplified language for trade between groups.

Popular culture –

Widespread cultural traits in large societies.

Protestants –

Christians who broke from the Catholic Church.

Regional identity –

Awareness of cultural belonging in a region.

Relocation diffusion –

Spread of culture through migration.

Roman Catholics –

Largest Christian branch, rooted in Rome.

Sauer, Carl –

Geographer who wrote on agricultural diffusion.

Shamanism –

Religion where shamans mediate spirit and human worlds.

Shiite –

Muslim sect believing Ali was Muhammad’s rightful successor.

Sikhism –

Indian religion blending Hindu and Islamic elements.

Standard language –

Officially recognized language used in government/media.

Stimulus diffusion –

Spread of an idea, but with modifications.

Sunni –

Largest Muslim sect, differing from Shiites on leadership.

Symbolic landscape –

A landscape representing cultural meaning.

Symbols –

Objects or designs representing ideas.

Syncretism –

Blending of different cultural elements.

Tantrayana –

Buddhist branch focusing on emotional transformation.

Time-distance decay –

Weakening of an idea as it moves farther from its origin.

Toponymy –

Study of place names.

Traditional religion –

A historic, unchanged religious practice.

Transculturation –

Cultural exchange between equally advanced societies.

Universalizing religion –

A religion seeking to appeal to all people.