Cultural Variation Chapter 2 Section 2 World Languages

Cultural Variation Chapter 2 Section 2

World Languages • The cultures of the world are very different. • There about 240 languages spoken by at least one million people in the world today. • There are many dialects of the same basic language.

Dialects of the English Language • • British English American English Canadian English Australian English

Cultural Universals • Features that are common to all cultures are called cultural universals. • In the 1940 s, anthropologist George Murdock examined hundreds of different culture and compiled a list of over 60 cultural universals.

Cultural Universals • • Cooking Feasting Toolmaking Body Adornment Religion Myths and Folklore Sports Forms of Greeting • • Medicine Dancing Family Housing Music Funeral Ceremonies Gift Giving Language

Traits Can Vary Widely • Example: Family • In the West, a family consists of one or both parents and their children. • In other parts of the world, a family may include a man, his several wives, and their children.

Traits Can Vary Widely • Example: Marriage • In the U. S. , marriage is usually between two people who choose to get married. • In other societies, marriages are arranged at birth. • In both situations, the purpose is the same, add new members to the society and care for them until they are old enough.

What is Ethnocentrism? • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=z. SJFBe. VFtak&feature =related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

Ethnocentrism • Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. • The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to their own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion.

Cultural Relativism & Ethnocentrism • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=7 uwxd. Fh. OZv. I&feature=related

Cultural Relativism • Cultural relativism is the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of his or her own culture. • Rather than applying the standards of their own culture, understand cultural practices from the point of view of the members being studied.

Subculture • A group within society that share values, norms, and behaviors that are not shared by the entire population. • Subcultures do not pose a threat, and perform important functions. • Examples include: Chippewa people, residents of San Francisco’s Chinatown, soldiers, police, doctors, teachers, religious leaders

Counterculture • A group that rejects the values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set cultural patterns. • Examples include: 1950 s “Beatniks”, 1960 s “hippies” and anti-Vietnam War protestors, 1980 s “punks”, lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender counterculture