Basic Building Blocks of Culture

Culture is learned behavior rather than innate; while humans are born with the capacity for culture, specific rituals and traditions are developed through social learning.
Material Culture represents the tangible objects or belongings of a group, such as automobiles, metro passes, and school buildings.
Nonmaterial Culture consists of the intangible ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a society, such as capitalism, teaching methods, and educational standards.
These two aspects are linked; material objects often symbolize nonmaterial concepts. For example, a metro pass is a material object representing the nonmaterial acceptance of paying for transportation.

Symbols are forms of communication—including gestures, signs, objects, and words—that convey shared meanings within a society.
Some symbols are functional (such as stop signs), while others represent only abstract concepts (such as trophies or gold medals).
Objects can have both material and symbolic value. For instance, bathroom signs act as functional guides but also reflect cultural beliefs regarding gender segregation and social inclusivity.

Language is a symbolic system used to communicate and transmit culture between individuals and generations.
Systems include alphabets, which use symbolic shapes for spoken sounds, and logograms, which use characters to represent syllables.
The English language utilizes a combination of $26$ letters to create over $600,000$ recognized words.
Language evolves alongside societal changes; technical terms like "email," "download," and "blog" were largely unknown $30$ years ago.
Nonverbal communication is culturally specific; a thumbs-up indicates positive reinforcement in the United States, but it denotes an offensive curse in Russia and Australia.

Brainstorm: Can you think of other common signs that have both a functional meaning and a symbolic cultural meaning? What are they trying to tell you beyond the intentional meaning?
Reflect: Consider your own cultural norms, as well as other cultural norms to which you’ve been exposed: material culture, nonmaterial culture, language, and symbols. What have you learned about yourself and others from these norms?

Language: A symbolic system through which people communicate and through which culture is transmitted.
Material Culture: The physical items created and used by a society.
Nonmaterial Culture: The ideas, attitudes, and beliefs of a society.
Symbols: Forms of visual communication including gestures, signs, objects, signals, and words, which help people understand that world.