Unit 3-Culture and LanguageChapters 4, 5 © Robin Foster

Chapter 4

Culture

What is culture?• Culture is the complex mix of values, beliefs, behaviors, and

material objects that form a peoples’ way of life.

• Cultural landscape-the modification of the natural landscape by human activities.

• Cultural Ecology is the field that studies the relationship between the natural environment and culture.

Adaptive culture• How a person adapts to a new culture. We all use adaptive

strategies.

• Ms. Foster moved from the North to the South.

• What makes her crazy about living in the South?• There are some very distinct differences.

Material Culture• A wide range of

concrete human creations, sometimes called artifacts that reflect values, beliefs and behaviors.

Non-material culture (cultural geography) • Consists of abstract concepts of:

• Values-culturally defined standards that guide the way people assess desirability, goodness, beauty and serve as guidelines for moral living.

• Beliefs-statements people hold to be true, and they are almost based on values.

• Behaviors or actions that people take based on beliefs, values and norms (rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of members.)

Customs and habits are different

A habit is a repetitive act that a particular individual performs.Example: jeans on Friday, getting dressed.

A custom is a repetitive act of a group performed to the extent that it becomes a characteristic of the group.

Example: 4th of July fireworks

Culture Region• An area marked by

culture that distinguishes itself from other regions

Culture Trait• A single attribute of a

culture

Culture Complex• A related set of

culture traits descriptive of one aspect of a society’s behavior.

Nationalism is a culture complex.

Example: Proud to be American.

Cattle herding among African tribes.

Culture System• A group of

interconnected cultural complexes.

• China is a culture system-life in different parts of China can be different , dialects of Chinese are different.

Cultural Hearth• Areas where

civilization first began.

• Mesopotamia• Indus Valley• Nile Valley

Cultural diffusion• Diffusion-the movement of goods, people or ideas.• Cultural diffusion has spread culture traits to most parts of the

world.

Independent inventions• Developments that can be traced to a specific civilization.

• Greek democracy.

CARL SAUER AND TORSTEN HAGERSTRAND

Both Geographers wrote about Cultural Diffusion.

Expansion Diffusion• An innovation or idea develops in a source area and remains

strong there while spreading outward.

Types of expasion diffusion• Contagious Diffusion:

nearly all adjacent individuals are affected (like dropping a rock in water).

• Time –distance decay-trait weakens as distance increases.

Hierarchical Diffusion• Ideas and artifacts spread first between larger places or

prominent people and only later to smaller less prominent people.

Diffusion• Your own Example of these?

Stimulus Diffusion• A genuine invention sparked by an idea that diffused in from

another culture.

• The invention of a unique Cherokee writing system by Sequoyah around 1821 after seeing English is an example.

Relocation Diffusion• Relocation Diffusion: the actual movement of individuals

who have already adopted an idea or innovation and carry it to a new, perhaps distant locale, where they proceed to disseminate it.

• Migrant diffusion: when an innovation originates somewhere and enjoys strong but brief adoption there

• Italian immigrants to New York City taught Irish-Americans how to make pizza (pizza, of course, originated in Italy).

Acculturation• A less dominant

culture adopts the traits of more influential ones.

• Americans adopting Indian Culture

Assimilation• The dominant culture

completely absorbs the less dominant one.

• Portrait of Native Americans from the Cherokee, Cheyenne, Choctaw, Comanche, Iroquois, and Muscogee tribes in American attire. Photos dates from 1868 to 1924.

Transculturation• There is an exchange

between two cultures, with both cultures functioning as sources and adopters.

• When the Spanish overthrew the Aztec kingdom, Spanish culture prevailed in religion, Aztec crops taken back to Spain-corn and chocolate.

• Regional holiday differences.

Syncretism• The fusion of old and new cultures.

Culture A Culture C

Culture B

• Kwanzaa It is an African American and pan African culture

Culture•Culture can be categorized according to spatial distribution into two basic types:

•Folk Culture•Popular Culture

Folk Culture• Folk Culture is

traditionally practiced by small, homogenous groups living in isolated rural areas.

Folk Culture• Small • Incorporates homogeneous population • Typically rural • Cohesive in cultural traits • Work to preserve those traits in order to claim uniqueness

Folk Culture• Folklore-stories passed on from generation to generation.

• Jack tales-stories that involve the character Jack.

• Folk culture is in a relatively small area.

Popular Culture• Popular Culture is found in large heterogeneous societies that

are bonded by a common culture despite the many differences among the people who share it.

Jeans• 1960’s jeans were

associated with low status laborers and farmers.

• Levi’s are a status symbol in may parts of the world.

Popular Culture

Popular Culutre• Popular culture

flourishes in countries here people have sufficient income to acquire the tangible elements of popular culture.

• Pop culture is ever changing

Popular Culture• Large • Incorporates heterogeneous populations • Typically urban • Experiences quickly changing cultural traits • Practiced by people across identities and across the world • Also encompasses material and nonmaterial culture • Practiced in wider area, popular culture usually spreads

through contagious diffusion.

Culture• Let’s look at several segments of culture:

MusicFoodSportsArchitecture

Hip Hop Map

Music• Culture can be analyzed through music.• Elvis Who?

Music• Listening habits of a particular group of people is to analyze

the radio stations they listen to.

• What radio station do you listen to?• What’s your ringtone?

MusicCountryBluegrassBluesTejanoCajunPolkaMotown

Dancedance2

Food• Food is a terrific way to understand culture because certain

areas have dishes that are distinct to their cuisine

Think USA

ChowderNE-is a white chowderNY- is tomato based

BBQ—some sauces are mustard, ketchup, tomato or vinegar based.Dry BBQ-sauce cooked inWet BBQ-sauce added after meat is cooked.

Meat-port or beef?

Food attractions and Taboo • Taboo to eat things that are thought to embody negativity • May establish food taboos to protect the environment • Religion and social values also play a role in food taboos • The nutritional value is one of the determining factors in

whether someone eats something or not • Some things are eaten because they enhance some

characteristic the culture deems important

Food Taboos• USA-swan, dog, cat, elephant, rats, mice• Hindu’s-Cow• Judaism-shellfish, elephant, pork• Somali Clans-fish• Quebec-horse meat• Muslim’s-pork• England, Ireland-snails• Rastafarians-no salt

Food• American fast food

has invaded the world.

Food around the world• Denmark-sandwiches

called smorrbrod, eaten open face with a knife and fork.

Iceland• Rotted Shark-Once

the shark is “ripe” enough it is eaten.

• Yummy?

Andes of South America• Guinea pigs called

cuy are a delicacy. Served for special occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays.

Food• Blowfish or Fugu is a

delicacy in Japan. Costing as much as $200/plate.

• You can die, if prepared incorrectly.

• UK--Fish and chips

PicaClayPaint chipsCornstarchCoffee groundsCigarette ashesGlueHairFecesPapersand

Geophagy• The habit of eating

clay, mud or dirt.

• Many say there are health benefits and that dirt from different areas tastes different.

El Santuario de Chimayo• People travel to this

site in New Mexico.• They believe the

ground is sacred and travel here to eat dirt.

Sports

Sports are associated with culture.

The spread of baseball and basketball around the world from the USA is a form of hierarchical diffusion.

Sports

Soccer is the #1 sport in the world.

Sports• Football• Soccer• Baseball• Basketball• Lacrosse• Cricket• Tennis• Golf

• What sports fan are you?

Architecture• The architecture of residential, commercial and spiritual

structures vary greatly throughout the world.

Housing• Housing styles vary according to climate and available building

materials.

• Brick/wood• Flat/peaked roof• Basement?• One story/multi-story• Single/multi family

Mongolian Yurts

Onion Domes

Local Culture• People who see

themselves as a part of a community that works to preserve their traits and customs.

TV and popular culture• TV is the most popular leisure activity in MDC’s throughout

the world.• TV is the most important mechanism by which popular culture

such as sports is rapidly diffused throughout the earth.

TV• Diffusion from the USA to Europe and other MDC’s then to

LDC’s.

• In the USA, TV stations are owned by private corporations, who are licensed by the government.

• In most of the rest of the world the government owns the TV Stations.

British Broadcasting Corporation

• Have you ever watched the BBC?

• It’s very different than American TV.

Government Control of TV

Many governments see TV as a way to foster cultural integration.

Show what leaders are doing and accomplishments of political system.

People watch what the government wanted them to see.

Satellite TV has enabled people to see stations other than government controlled.

The internet• Diffusion of internet follows a pattern of television diffusion.

• The internet connects the world, making cultural diffusion happen at a rapid pace.

• Without the internet, what would you do?

Threat to folk culture• Subserviance of

women in folk customs threatened.

• Women acting and becoming “westernized”.

• Increasing incomes fuel the demand for possessions of popular culture

Uniform Lanscapes?

Environmental Impact• 1. Uniform landscapes-buildings look alike, arranged on

uniform streets.

• 2. Increased demand for natural resources-Fads increase demand for items like animal skins, eating habits (chicken wings).

• 3. Pollution-high volumes of wastes, solids, liquids and gasses. • Ex. Plastic bottles.

Chapter 5

Language

Linguistic Geography• The study of speech areas and their local variations by

mapping word choices, pronunciations or grammatical constructions.

• All languages are grouped into language families that have a shared by distant origin.

Language• Language is a system of communication through speech.• Oldest cultural trait on earth.• Language not only allows for communication, but continuity of

culture

• In most cases language is spoken and written.

Language

Official language-language used by government for laws, reports, and public documents.

A country can have more than 1 official language.

Standard language-a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status.

Languages of the world

Language-a set of sounds and symbols used for communication

Language Family-group of languages that share a distinct origin.

Language group--- collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin.

Displaying a relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary.

Languages of the world• Top 10 Most Commonly Spoken Languages

• 1. Chinese-14.9%(Mandarin, Wu)• 2. Spanish-5.05%• 3. English-4.84%• 4. Hindi• 5. Arabic• 6. Portuguese• 7. Bengali• 8. Russian• 9. Japanese• 10. Standard German

language families Indo-European-English, Romance, Slavic-48% of worldSino-Tibetan-Mandarin Chinese-26%• Afro-Asiatic-Arabic-6%• Austronesian-SE Asia-5%• Dravidian-India-4%• Altaic-Asia-3%• Niger-Congo-Africa-3%• Japanese-2%• Remaining 3% spoken by people in the 100 other smaller

languages

English Speaking Countries

English• Spoken by more than ½ a billion people.

• The British were responsible for the diffusion of English. • Migration of British to other parts of the world diffused

English.

Dialects• You may not be able

to understand the regional dialects.

• Dialects

Differences between American and British English

American English

• Line• Motor home• Mail• Fries• Parking lot• Sweater• Highway• Apartment• Cookie

British English

• Queue• Caravan• Post• Chips• Car park• Jumper• Motorway• Flat• Biscuit

Romance Languages• Evolved from Latin.

• Spain, Portugal, France and Italy- are the countries of the original Romance Languages. Romanian is the 5th Romance Language

• Latin and Hebrew have literary traditions.

• Dialects exist within the Romance Languages-Castilian.

Romance Languages

Multi Lingual States

Speak two or more languages.

Belgium is an example

Switzerland• 4 languages in the

country.

• German, French, Italian and Romansh

Canada-a bilingual Country• English for the

majority of the country.

• Quebec is the French speaking province.

Monolingual countries• Only one language is

primarily spoken• Japan• Venezuela• Portugal• Venezuela

Preserving Local Languages• Thousands of extinct languages-once in use but no longer

spoken or read in daily activities anywhere.

• Examples include:• Gothic-E/N Europe• Welsch-Wales• Quechua-Peru• Hebrew

Isolated languages• A language unrelated to any other and therefore not attached

to any language family.

• Basque-Pyrenees Mts. of Spain/France.• Icelandic-less need for new words and change to language.

Global Domination of English• Need for common language for communication.

• Lingua Franca-language of international communication is English.

• Mix elements of two languages into a common language.

Global diffusion of English• Pidgin-mixing of lingua franca and their native language.

• 90% of all students in the European Union learn English.

Expansion diffusion of English• Ebonics-a combination of Ebony and phonics. Example: She

be at home• Ebonics is controversial.

• Appalachian dialects-Quick, call an am-bew-lance.

• Many are considered a sign of poor education by outsiders.

Diffusion into other languages• Franglais-a combination of French and English.

• Le Jogging

• Spanglish-Spanish and English.• The word carpeta is "folder" in standard Spanish. In some

Spanglishes it means "carpet" (room rug).

• Denglish-German and EnglishIch musste den Computer neu booten / rebooten, weil

die Software gecrasht ist.I had to reboot the computer because the software crashed.

Toponymy• The study of place names.

• Cultural identity and history can be revealed by noticing names of geographic and political features.

• New York• Rio Grande-”Big River” in Spanish• Rocky Mountains

Isogloss• Geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic

feature occurs.

Language Barriers• Language can be a barrier for many international travelers.

• Language barriers for immigrants.

• Language dialects as a part of regional culture.

• Literacy-the ability to read and write in your native language.