Defining culture has been a debate among sociologists and anthropologists since the 19th century. Culture is vital for the perseverance of a society and has its own identity that distinguishes it from others. Culture is not rooted into a person from birth, but it is learned from wherever he or she is from. It acts in a subconscious manner in that when a culture differs, one society may find another society to be odd. Every society has a different culture where the people share a specific language, gesture, belief, behavior, norms, sanctions and more. Language greatly influences how we see the world.
Languages shape the way we understand some aspects in life such as time, direction, space and even causality. For example, while English
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In Japan, it means money and in France it means zero or worthless. If you try to learn another culture, it is important to learn the gestures of that culture as well or there may be misunderstandings and embarrassments you may face.
Cultural values reflect the goals members of society are expected to endeavor for by adjusting to social norms, which are social rules of behavior. Those who comply to the norms receive positive sanctions (i.e. rewards like approval and recognition) while those who don't conform to the norms are seen as impeding success of the cultural values and are punished with negative sanctions (i.e. withholding or withdrawal of approval and recognition). For example, if you see a man holding a stack of books heading towards the door, the norm would be to hold the door for him and by doing so you will receive a positive sanction. However, if the door is too far away and don’t bother to open to the door for the man, you will receive a negative sanction. There are different kinds of norms; folkways, mores, and laws. Folkways are norms that are not sternly enforced such as being courteous to elders. Mores are rules of behavior that if debased, it would jeopardize the stability of a society such as murdering a person. The distinction between mores and laws are that while laws are set up and imposed by the state, mores are set up and imposed by the public response. There is a norm so robustly embedded that even the
Culture is defined as a whole basis of knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, and customs that define a person or group of persons. Culture differs is so many ways and that culture is what defines each of person as an individual. This concept comes from the cultural that was taught and developed from after birth and through our adolescent years. Our culture is the foundation of who we are. It identifies the lifestyle and pursuits that are practiced in the group of people we interact with in our society. Culture beliefs, values, and practices are learned from birth.
Over the course of my life, I have wondered about my culture. Every couple of years my understanding of culture increases. As of this year, I have come to a better idea of what the answer to culture really is. One day, during English class, our teacher tells the class about culture. We take notes and do many assignments to help us understand the topic. Culture is the way of how people live life. I believe that our friends, family members, and world as whole are greatly affected by culture, culture changes your perspective depending on where you stand.
A culture is the body of ideas, ways of looking at the world, values, and standards for conduct and behavior that a given people or nation hold in common. It includes the range of meanings that people assign to their own perceptions and behavior, as well as to the natural world around them. We can define the elements of that culture, and understand how they fit together as a culture, by examining that people's customs, language, religion, material artifacts, and social and political institutions.
The concept culture have some difficult meanings. One of them is culture as in music, preforming, theatre and so. The other meaning of it is culture as in Peoples Identity. It tells something about who you are, where you come from, and what you believe in, in this way, we can see that People
Language is an extremely important part of culture, but also spreads, develops, and changes over time. Language is a part of culture and can be used to define a culture. Language can be diffused in many ways. Today there are thousands of languages that are constantly being spoken and spread around the world. An example would be Singapore or South Africa. Singapore and South Africa are two completely different countries located in completely different parts of the world, yet both of their official languages is English. Languages can be spread and changed over
Culture is a set of ideals and values about life that are widely shared among people and that guide specific behaviors. Differences, as well as similarities, can be seen when comparing world cultures. We communicate with each other, we feed ourselves with food, and when we sleep we often dream. However, we speak different languages, eat different types of foods, and dream different ways. We call these cultural differences. What causes them is not always obvious to the ordinary person (Nancy). I feel culture is what really sets us apart from each other and what makes us unique as individuals and families.
Culture is a large part of every person’s life, it is what makes each person unique. Within culture there are many aspects such as food, music, clothing, tradition, and many more. Since culture makes up such a large part of our day to day lives, it is almost always responsible shaping and informing our view on the world.
1. Ben Franklin, pointing to the sun carved on the back of the presiding officer's chair, remarked; "Throughout the days we have been laboring here, I have observed that sun, and wondered whether it was a rising sun or a setting sun. Now I know it was a rising sun."1 Throughout our lives we have been told of how our country was formed. I am here to tell you about the things the history books and teachers don’t tell you about the freemasons and there shaping of the United States of America. We will start with freemasons an agency that has been shaping history since the building of King Solomon’s temple.
There are various aspects that make up a culture in today’s world, ranging from necessities needed for survival, social groups, and the unique traditions they value within the specific culture. That’s why we all are able to conclude that culture is the fluid set of traditions, customs, beliefs, values, and practices developed over time by a specific group or community.
My definition of culture is your environmental and social background peered with your experiences. Culture is an essential ingredient in forming identity and self-awareness. The environment can create One's culture that they reside in, the way they are raised, or a collective of blended surroundings.
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.
Culture by definition is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person's self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any type of social group that has its own distinct culture. To me that definition couldn't be more spot on but let's go more in depth over the past few months in my English class we have been trying to learn what our culture is and what part culture plays in our daily lives so in this essay I will be sharing with you what I think culture is what it means to me and how I think it impacts our way of living and the way we look at each other as human beings and how we treat each other and how all this makes up my culture
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.
The concept of culture is something that defines many aspects of one’s life. From physical objects to different ways of thinking, culture adds significance to human life and makes groups of people distinct from one another. Culture is essentially a group of people who come together with similar interests and points of view. According to the Center for Advanced Language Acquisition of the University of Minnesota, “culture is defined as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization.” From a more sociological perspective, culture is a way in which people come together in order to fulfill their needs. These shared patterns and ideas identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group.” Culture is one of the things that sets the United States apart from the rest of the world. Not that the rest of the world is not cultural, but the circumstance here is different. Many people of different cultural backroads come to this country in search of a better life. As a consequence, the United States has become a place where many cultures merge together like a colossal pot soup.
Culture can be defined in many ways due to the fact that everyone can have their own distinct and traditional beliefs and values. “ Culture is fluid, it is not a static entity which one takes out of the box on occasion. It is with us daily” (Cultural Handout). Someone’s culture is set as the characteristics of the group practices in language, religion, types of food, social traits and habits, and the distinct arts and music. There are a variety of different cultures for example, Western Culture, Eastern Culture, Latin Culture, Middle Eastern Culture, and African Culture. All of these different cultures have their own ideas, values, and individualism, laws that are implied, civil rights, and even technology. In our, “ Culture Handout” culture is defined as the tool of the mind, “ it is an individual’s way seeing and interacting within the world. It encompasses one’s values systems, beliefs, and perceptions of the world around them. Race, socio-economic class gender, sexual orientation, ability, geographic location, age, religion language, etc. all impact the formation of culture, but these various context are not culture” (Cultural Handout).