UNIT 3 APHUG KBAT

• Acculturation: The process of adopting certain cultural traits or practices from another culture while maintaining elements of one’s own.

• Assimilation: The complete adoption of the dominant culture by an individual or group, often losing original cultural identity.

• Creolization: The blending of different cultures, particularly in language and traditions, to form a new, distinct culture.

• Culture: The shared beliefs, customs, traditions, behaviors, and material objects that define a group of people.

• Culture Hearth: The place where a culture or cultural trait originates.

• Culture Trait: A single element of culture, such as language, clothing, or food.

• Culture Complex: A combination of related cultural traits that define a culture.

• Culture Region: An area where people share common cultural traits.

• Culture Realm: A larger area that includes multiple culture regions with shared characteristics (e.g., Latin America).

• Cultural Convergence: When different cultures become more alike due to shared ideas, technology, and globalization.

• Cultural Divergence: When cultures become more distinct due to conflicting beliefs or physical separation.

• Cultural Diffusion: The spread of cultural traits from one place to another.

• Cultural Landscape: The visible imprint of human activity on the natural environment, including architecture, land use, and infrastructure.

• Cultural Relativism: The principle that a culture should be understood on its own terms, without judgment based on another culture’s standards.

Religion & Belief Systems

• Animism: The belief that spirits exist in natural objects and phenomena, common in tribal religions.

• Autonomous Religion: A self-sufficient religion with little formal structure (e.g., Islam).

• Branches: Major divisions within a religion (e.g., Sunni and Shia in Islam).

• Denominations: Divisions within a branch of a religion, uniting congregations (e.g., Catholicism in Christianity).

• Ethnic Religion: A religion associated with a specific ethnic group and not actively seeking converts (e.g., Judaism, Hinduism).

• Fundamentalism: Strict, literal interpretation of religious principles.

• Monotheism: The belief in one god (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Judaism).

• Polytheism: The belief in multiple gods (e.g., Hinduism, Shintoism).

• Religion: A system of beliefs, practices, and moral values centered around spirituality or a divine power.

• Sect: A small religious group that has broken away from a denomination (e.g., Wahhabism in Islam).

• Secularism: The rejection or exclusion of religious influence in government and daily life.

• Syncretism: The blending of different religious or cultural beliefs into a new system.

• Taboo: A social or religious restriction on a particular practice or behavior.

• Theocracy: A government ruled by religious law (e.g., Iran, Vatican City).

• Universalizing Religion: A religion that seeks to convert people from all backgrounds (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Buddhism).

Language & Communication

• Dialect: A regional variation of a language, with differences in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary.

• Endangered Language: A language at risk of disappearing as its speakers decline.

• Isogloss: A geographic boundary that separates different linguistic features.

• Isolated Languages: Languages that have no known relation to other languages (e.g., Basque).

• Language: A system of communication using spoken, written, or signed words.

• Language Families: Large groups of related languages that share a common origin (e.g., Indo-European).

• Language Tree: A model showing relationships between languages and how they evolved.

• Lingua Franca: A common language used for communication between speakers of different native languages (e.g., English in international business).

• Official Language: A language designated by a country’s government for official use.

• Pidgin Language: A simplified mix of two languages used for communication between people who do not share a common language.

• Slang: Informal, nonstandard words and expressions used in casual speech.

Diffusion & Migration

• Contagious Diffusion: The rapid, widespread spread of a cultural trait through direct contact (e.g., viral trends).

• Expansion Diffusion: The spread of a cultural trait without people moving; includes hierarchical, contagious, and stimulus diffusion.

• Hierarchical Diffusion: The spread of an idea from influential or wealthy people to others (e.g., fashion trends).

• Relocation Diffusion: The spread of a trait due to people physically moving and bringing it with them (e.g., Italian immigrants bringing pizza to the U.S.).

• Stimulus Diffusion: When a cultural trait spreads but is modified to fit a new culture (e.g., McDonald's menus in different countries).

Social & Political Concepts

• Centrifugal Forces: Forces that divide people within a country (e.g., ethnic conflicts, religious differences).

• Centripetal Forces: Forces that unite people within a country (e.g., shared language, national pride).

• Colonialism: The control of one country over another for economic, political, or territorial gain (e.g., British rule in India).

• Diaspora: A scattered population with a common origin, such as the Jewish diaspora.

• Ethnicity: A group of people who share a common cultural heritage, language, or ancestry.

• Ethnocentrism: The belief that one’s own culture is superior to others.

• Globalization: The increasing interconnectedness of the world through trade, communication, and culture.

• Groups: Collections of people who share common characteristics, beliefs, or interests.

• Imperialism: A policy of extending a country's power through diplomacy or military force (e.g., European empires in Africa).

• Indigenous: The original inhabitants of a region, maintaining traditional culture (e.g., Native Americans).

• Multiculturalism: The coexistence of multiple cultural groups within a society, promoting diversity.

• Nationality: The status of belonging to a particular nation, often based on citizenship.

• Nativist: A person who favors native-born people over immigrants.

• Neolocalism: The revival of local culture in response to globalization.

• Sense of Place: The emotional connection people feel to a particular location.

• Sequent Occupancy: The idea that successive societies leave cultural imprints on a place over time.

• Toponym: A place name, which can reflect history, geography, or culture.

• Tribal: Related to indigenous or small ethnic groups with shared traditions.