contagious diffusion
idea being spread rapidly among the population via exposure
ex. agricultural innovations, video games
hierachical diffusion
ideas moving from someone with high status to low status
ex. fashion trends, hashtags
stimulus diffusion
a brought in concept whose original idea is altered to fit a culture
ex. santa, ketchup
relocation diffusion
bringing culture from one place to another
ex. christianity to the americas, mexican food in texas
architecture
the design structure of a building
custom
a traditional and widely accepted behavior or way of doing something among a society or place - a single aspect of a given culture or society
culture
shared lifestyles, beliefs, values, and behaviors
popular culture
heterogeneous culture, typically influenced by urban areas, quick to adapt new technologies
folk culture
rural, ethnically homogeneous culture that is deeply connected to the local land (aka local or ethnic culture)
acculturation
occurs when an ethnic/immigrant group adopt the ways of its host society to function economically and socially
assimilation
occurs when an ethnic/immigrant group blends in with host culture, losing many culturally distinctive traits
multiculturalism
the presence of or support of several distinct cultural/ethnic groups within society - embracing difference within society
cultural landscape
built environment - evidence of human activity across the natural, physical environment
cultural hearth
focused geographic area where important innovations/ideas are born an spread from
gender
male or female, usually when considered with social and cultural differences (includes additional identities outside of the binary)
ethnic group
people of common ancestry and cultural tradition; characterized by a strong feeling of group identity/culture of people in a given geographic region (language, heritage, customs)
race
historically defined by the physical characteristics of a group, especially skin color
placelessness
feeling resulting from standardization of built environment; local distinctiveness is erased and many places end up with similar cultural landscapes
ethnocentrism
evaluation of other cultures based on standards of their own culture
cultural relativism
an approach to understanding other cultures with wider perspective of cultural logic
caste system
a division of society based on difference of wealth, inherited rank or privilege, profession, occupation, or race
indigenous people
the people who originate from a certain place
ex. navajo tribe, andes in south america
sequent occupance
many places have been controlled/affected by a variety of groups over a period of time - groups have reshaped functions/meaning of places, leaving behind layers of meaning
diaspora
thee dispersion of people from their homeland
creole
combined language with fuller vocabulary that pidgin and becomes a native language - linguistic process where languages converge and create new languages or forms of communication
pidgin language
trade language - small vocabulary derived from 2+ languages or groups in contact
lingua franca
language of communication and commerce spoken across a wide area where it is not a mother tongue
ex. swahili (east africa), english (worldwide)
cultural convergence
idea that cultures are converging and/or becoming more alike
cultural divergence
adapting global practices to fit local cultural practices or preferences (aka glocalization)
indigenous language
language native to a group or region
dialect
regional variation of a language that is understood by people who speak other variations of language
slavic language
indo-european subfamily of languages in eastern Europe
ex. russian, ukranian, macedonian
romance language
indo-european subfamily of languages in southern Europe
ex. spanish, french, italian
germanic language
indo-european subfamily of languages in northern/western europe ex. german, dutch, english
language family
group of related languages that share a common ancestry
ex. indo-european, sino-tibetan, afro-asiatic
official language
main/major language spoken in a country - legally recognized language for government use
standard language
language used by a group of people for government, media, communication, etc.
toponym
the name given to places
ethnic religion
religion identified with a particular ethnic/tribal group (does not seek converts)
ex. judaism, hinduism, catholicism
universalizing religion
religion that actively seeks new members - believes its message has universal importance
ex. christianity, islam, buddhism, baha'i
syncretism
blending of beliefs, ideas, practices, and traits especially in a religious context
secularism
principle of separation of religion and state
sacred sites
natural or human-made sites that possess religious meaning
taboo
social or religious custom prohibiting/forbidding of a particular practice/association with a person, place or thing - prohibition imposed by social custom or protective measure
pilgrimage
journey of a religious follower to a shrine or sacred place