Introduction
Culture is termed as the way of life, activities, customs, and beliefs of a group of people or society. In deeper context, Phil Smith describes it in his book ‘Cultural Theory’ in six different definitions (Smith, 2001). They are as follows:
i. Structural definitions –depicts a culture as a different perception of behavior ii. Psychological definitions- illuminates culture as playing a role in solving problems by allowing individuals to interact, learn and satisfy both material and emotional wants. iii. Historical definitions- breaks down culture as a heritage passed down to upcoming generations. iv. Normative definitions- illustrate culture in two forms. One, as a way of life that influenced behavior and action (an example being how culture is defined in tribes). Second, culture is the role of values without the mention of behavior.
v. Descriptive definitions-defines culture as a wide-ranging totality that includes two ideas of social life and behavior. vi. Genetic definitions –describes a culture in terms of how it came to be and its continued existence.
Culture covers all aspects and various levels of life without much concern in the arts (Smith, 2001). In reference to the context, Lia Lee’s family was cultural, in that they still held on to a belief that was passed on to them from previous generations.
Cultural competence
Cultural competence is the ability of an individual to work and communicate well with other people from a variety of
1. We define culture as the way of life of a particular people, it is what defines us as people, language, religion, food, and sports are all aspects of culture.
Culture can be defined as the behaviours and belief characteristics of a particular social, ethnic,
Culture is defined as asocial heritage of a group; it influences how people communicate with each other. Also referred to as the cumulative deposit experience, values, customs often affected by religious beliefs, it varies from one community to the other, it is transmitted through language and arts, from one generation to the next.
In the textbook , “An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in Global Community,” by Fred E. Jandt, the author defines culture as the, “sum total of ways of living, including behavioral norms, linguistic expression, styles of communication, patterns of thinking, and beliefs and values of a group large enough to be self-sustaining and transmitted over the course of generations.” In a culture
Culture: Culture refers to values, languages, symbols, norms, beliefs, expectations that members of a group possess and the good things they produce and use in their life. Culture is the thing that all the members of a group or society follow.
Cambridge University defines culture as “the way of life of a particular person, especially as shown in their ordinary behavior and habits, their attitudes toward each other, and their moral
The word culture, “coming from the Latin root colere (to occupy, cultivate, or cherish) which is refer to the traditional beliefs and patterns of behaviour that are passed down from parents to children by a society; beliefs, customs, practices and social behavior of any particular cluster of people whose shared beliefs and practices identify the particular nation, religion, ability, gender, race or group to which they belong.”(Miller
According to “Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English”, culture is primarily defined as “the beliefs, way of life, art, and customs that are shared and accepted by people
o Culture has been taken as constituting the way of life of an entire society, including the codes of manners, language, rituals, norms of behavior, and systems of belief.
Culture is a way of life. It can be defined as a group of people linked by geographical location, ethnicity, gender or age. Culture can be reflected through language, clothing, food, behavior, spirituality and traditions. The behavioral patterns developed through culture are difficult to change.
There are numerous definitions of culture but I will use the definition of the interpretive approach and Clifford Geertz’s, which defines culture as a meaning system which members use to interpret the world around them. Culture
Culture: describes how an individual lives and interacts with others in language, food, music, religion, traditions, values, and social affiliations.
Culture is defined as “The ideas, attitudes, customs, beliefs, values and social behaviour of a particular group of people or society that are passed on from generation to generation” (Brentnall, A., n.d.).
Culture entails the way of life of people culture is the total way of life of a people, culture can also be defined as the identity through which a particular set of people are identified.
Culture-The body of beliefs (values), social forms, and material traits that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people.