AP Human Geography Mega Vocab Test Study Guide
128. Acculturation The process of changes in culture that results from the meeting of two groups, each of which retains distant culture features.
Example: Immigrants in the U.S. often acculturate by adopting American customs, like celebrating Thanksgiving, but still maintain cultural practices from their home countries.
129. Assimilation The process by which a group's cultural features are altered to resemble those of a more dominant group.
Example: Native Americans in the U.S. were historically forced to assimilate through policies like boarding schools.
130. Cultural Landscape An approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular study area.
Example: The Great Wall of China is a significant cultural landscape, reflecting Chinese history and culture.
131. Custom The frequent repetition of an act, to the extent that it becomes a characteristic of the group of people preforming the act.
Example: In Japan, bowing is a custom used for greeting and showing respect.
132. Folk Culture Culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural groups living in relative isolated from other groups.
Example: The Amish in the U.S. maintain a folk culture with distinctive clothing and farming practices.
133. Habit A repetitive act performed by an particular individual.
Example: Brushing your teeth every morning is a habit for most people.
134. Hearth The region from which innovative ideas originate.
Example: The hearth of the English language is generally considered to be England.
135. Maladaptation A trait that is more harmful than helpful to a culture or society, often a result of cultural diffusion.
Example: In some regions, the introduction of non-native species of plants and animals has led to environmental maladaptation, harming local ecosystems.
136. Mentifact The shared ideas, values, and beliefs of a culture
Example: Christianity is a mentifact that influences cultural practices and values in many societies around the world.
137. Popular Culture Culture found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics.
Example: Hollywood movies are an example of popular culture that is influential worldwide.
138. Sociofact The structures and organizations of a culture which influence social behavior.
Example: The concept of family is a sociofact that shapes many cultural practices and social structures.
139. Taboo A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom.
Example: In many cultures, eating pork is considered a taboo.
140. Terroir The contribution of a locations distinctive physical features to the way food tastes.
Example: The unique terroir of the Bordeaux region in France gives its wine distinct characteristics that reflect the local environment.
141. Trait A single characteristic of a culture, such as language, customs, or artifacts.
Example: The use of chopsticks is a cultural trait in many East Asian countries.
142. Transculturation The process where cultures influence each other and blend together, leading to the creation of new cultural forms.
Example: The fusion of African, Spanish, and Indigenous influences in Latin American music is an example of transculturation.
143. Uniform Landscape A cultural landscape that looks similar regardless of the location due to the spread of popular culture.
Example: McDonald's restaurants around the world are examples of a uniform landscape, as they have a similar appearance and menu.
144. Vernacular Region A cultural region defined by the perceived or informal boundaries that people associate with it. Example: The 'South' in the United States is often considered a vernacular region, with its own distinct culture and traditions.
145. Creole (creolized language) A language that results from the mixing of a colonizer's language with the indigenous language of the people being dominated.
Example: Haitian Creole is a creole language spoken in Haiti, with influences from French, African languages, and indigenous languages.
146. Denglish A blend of German and English, often used in casual or humorous contexts.
Example: In Germany, people might say 'Ich gehe shoppen,' blending the German verb 'gehen' with the English word 'shopping.'
147. Developing Language A language spoken in daily use with a literary tradition that is not widely distributed.
Example: Swahili in East Africa is a developing language that is gaining more speakers across multiple countries.
148. Dialect A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and pronunciation.
Example: The dialect of English spoken in the southern U.S. differs significantly from that spoken in the Northeast.
149. Ebonics A dialect spoken by some African Americans.
Example: Phrases like 'He be working' are part of the Ebonics dialect.
150. Ethnologue A comprehensive reference work cataloging all of the world's known living languages.
Example: Ethnologue provides detailed information on over 7,000 languages spoken today.
151. Extinct Language A language that was once used by people in daily activity's but is no longer used.
Example: Latin is considered an extinct language because it no longer has native speakers.
152. Institutional Language A language used in education, work, mass media, and government.
Example: Arabic is an institutional language in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
153. Isogloss A boundary that separates regions in which different languages predominate.
Example: The isogloss dividing the use of 'soda' and 'pop' in the United States marks different regional dialects.
154. Isolated Language A language that is unrelated to any other languages therefore not attached to any language family.
Example: Basque is an isolated language spoken in parts of Spain and France.
155. 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.
Example: English, Mandarin, and Spanish are all examples of languages used for communication.
156. Language Branch A collection of languages related through a common ancestor that can be confirmed through archaeological evidence.
Example: The Romance languages, including Spanish, French, and Italian, are all part of the Indo-European language branch.
157. Language Family A collection of languages related to each other through a common ancestral long before recorded history.
Example: The Indo-European language family includes languages such as English, Hindi, and Russian.
158. Language Group A collection of languages within a language branch that share more recent common ancestry and are more closely related.
Example: The Germanic language group includes languages like English, German, and Dutch.
159. Lingua Franca A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages.
Example: Swahili is a lingua franca in many parts of East Africa.
160. Literary Tradition A language that is written as well as spoken
161. Logogram A symbol that represents a word rather than a sound.
Example: Chinese characters are logograms, each representing a word or concept.
162. Official Language A language adopted for use by a government for the conduct of business and publication of documents.
Example: English is the official language of the United States, even though it is not legally mandated in all states.
163. Pidgin Language A simplified language that develops between two groups who do not share a common language, used for communication.
Example: Hawaiian Pidgin developed as a way for workers from different countries to communicate on plantations in Hawaii.
164. Received Pronunciation (RP) The dialect of English associated with upper class Britons living in London and now considered standered in the United Kingdom.
Example: Many newscasters in the UK use Received Pronunciation when speaking on television.
165. Standard Language The form of a language used for official government business, education, and mass communications.
Example: Standard American English is used in formal settings, schools, and government.
166. Subdialect A subdivision of a dialect.
Example: The Southern American English dialect has subdialects depending on the state or even city.
167. Vigorous Language A language spoken in daily life, but lacks a literary tradition.
Example: Many indigenous languages in South America are vigorous, spoken by communities but not widely written.
168. Vulgar Latin The form of Latin used in daily conversation by ancient Romans, as apposed to the standard dialect.
Example: Spanish, French, and Italian all evolved from Vulgar Latin.
169. Agnosticism The belief that the existence of God cannot be proven.
Example: Agnostics may refrain from committing to religious beliefs because they believe the existence of a deity is unknowable.
170. Animism The belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence.
Example: Many Indigenous cultures in Africa and South America practice animism, believing in spirits in animals and natural features.
171. Atheism The belief that god doesn't exist.
Example: Many people in secular societies, like in parts of Europe, identify as atheists.
172. Autonomous Religion A religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally.
Example: Islam is an autonomous religion because there is no central governing body, but believers share core principles.
173. Branch A large and fundamental division within a religion.
Example: Christianity has many branches, including Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy.
174. Caste The class or distant hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned, according to religious law.
Example: The caste system in India historically divided society into groups based on occupation and social status.
175. Congregation A group of people who gather together for religious worship.
Example: The congregation of a church gathers on Sundays for religious services.
176. Cosmogony A set of religious beliefs concerning the creation of the universe.
Example: In Hinduism, the concept of the universe's creation is described in the Rig Veda, one of the sacred texts.
177. Denomination A division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations into a single legal and administrative body.
Example: The Baptist denomination is one of many within Christianity.
178. Ethnic Religion A religion with a relatively concentrated spacial distribution whose principles are likely to be baced on the physical characteristics of the particular location in which it's adherents are concentrated.
Example: Judaism is an ethnic religion primarily practiced by people of Jewish heritage.
179. Fundamentalism Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion.
Example: Christian fundamentalists may interpret the Bible literally and oppose modern cultural trends.
180. Ghetto A part of a city where members of a minority group live, often due to social, economic, or legal pressures.
Example: The Jewish ghetto in Venice was an area where Jews were forced to live during the 16th century.
181. Hierarchical Religion The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node or authority or power to other persons or places.
Example: The Catholic Church is hierarchical, with the Pope at the top of the religious hierarchy.
182. Intrafaith Boundary A boundary that divides different branches or denominations within the same religion.
Example: The division between Sunni and Shia Muslims creates an intrafaith boundary within Islam.
183. Interfaith Boundary A boundary that separates different religions from each other.
Example: The boundary between Christianity and Islam in the Middle East is an interfaith boundary.
184. Missionary An individual who is sent on a religious mission to promote and spread their faith/universalizing language.
Example: Christian missionaries travel to remote regions to convert people to Christianity.
185. Monotheism The belief in one God.
Example: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are all monotheistic religions.
186. Pagan The word for a follower of a polytheistic religion in ancient times.
Example: Ancient Romans practiced paganism, worshipping multiple gods like Jupiter and Mars.
187. Pilgrimage A religious journey to a sacred site or place.
Example: Muslims undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the Hajj, as one of their religious duties.
188. Polytheism The belief in multiple gods.
Example: Ancient Greek religion was polytheistic, worshipping gods like Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon.
189. Sect A relatively small group that has broken away from an established denomination.
Example: The Amish are a sect of Christianity, differing from mainstream Protestant denominations in some practices.
190. Secularism The principle of separation between religion and the state
Example: Many Western democracies, like France, maintain secularism by keeping religion separate from politics.
191. Shamanism Is about seeing divinity in all living things, interacting with the supernatural, and co-existing with other dimensions and alternate realities.
Example: Some Indigenous cultures in Siberia practice shamanism, where a shaman acts as an intermediary between the physical and spiritual worlds.
192. Solstice The time when the sun is farthest from the equator, leading to the longest or shortest day of the year.
Example: The winter solstice, around December 21st, is celebrated in many cultures with festivals and rituals.
193. Syncretic The combining of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature.
Example: The practice of Santería in Cuba blends African religious traditions with Catholicism.
194. Theocracy A state whose government is either believed to be divinely guided or a state under the control of a group of religious leaders
Example: Iran is a theocratic state where Islamic leaders hold political power and Islamic law is followed.
195. Universalizing Religion A religion that attempts to appeal to all people.
Example: Christianity and Islam are both universalizing religions.
196. Apartheid Laws in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas.
Example: Under apartheid, South Africans were classified by race and were forced to live in separate areas and use separate facilities.
197. Balkanization The process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicity's .
Example: The breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s is an example of balkanization.
198. Balkanized A small geographic area that cannot successfully be organised into stable countries because it is inhabited by many ethnicity's with complex, longstanding antagonisms towards each other.
Example: The region of the Middle East has experienced balkanization, with countries often having divisions based on ethnic and religious identities.
199. Blockbusting The process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their house at low prices because of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood.
Example: Blockbusting was a widespread practice in U.S. cities during the mid-20th century.
200. Centripetal Force A attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state.
Example: National holidays like Independence Day can serve as centripetal forces, fostering a sense of unity among citizens.
201. Ethnic Cleansing The forced removal or killing of members of an ethnic group to create a homogeneous society.
Example: The Rwandan Genocide, where members of the Tutsi ethnic group were systematically killed by the Hutu majority, is an example of ethnic cleansing.
202. Ethnicity Identity with a group of people who share cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth. A shared cultural heritage, including language, religion, and traditions.
Example: Hispanic is an ethnicity that shares common cultural traits, including language and traditions, often associated with Latin America.
203. Ethnocentrism The belief that one's own culture or ethnic group is superior to others.
Example: Some European colonial powers viewed the cultures of the indigenous peoples in Africa as inferior to their own.
204. Ethnic Enclave A place with a high concentration of an ethnic group that is distant from those in the surrounding area.
Example: Chinatown in San Francisco is an ethnic enclave with a large Chinese-American population.
205. Genocide The mass killings of a group of people in attempt to eliminate an entire group from existence.
Example: The Holocaust during World War II is one of the most infamous genocides in history.
206. Nationalism A strong sense of pride in and loyalty to one's nation, often accompanied by the desire for political independence.
Example: The Scottish independence movement is driven by nationalism, seeking self-determination for Scotland.
207. Nationality Identity with a group of people who share a legal attachment to a particular country.
Example: A person born in Brazil has Brazilian nationality.
208. Race A social construct used to categorize people based on physical traits such as skin color.
Example: The concept of race has historically been used to divide people, such as the categorization of people as Black, White, or Asian.
209. Racism The belief that one race is superior to others, leading to discrimination and prejudice based on race.
Example: Apartheid in South Africa was a system of institutionalized racism where white South Africans were given privileges over non-white populations.
210. Sharecropper A person who works fields rented from a land owned and pays the rent and repays loans by turning over to the land owner a share of the crops.
Example: In the post-Civil War South, many African Americans became sharecroppers, working on land owned by white landowners.
211. Triangular Slave Trade A historical trade system in which enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas, raw materials from the Americas were sent to Europe, and European goods were sold to Africa.
Example: The triangular slave trade involved ships carrying enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, where they were sold, and then the ships returned to Europe with goods like sugar, tobacco, and cotton.