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US Human Geography > Unit 3: Culture > Flashcards

Unit 3: Culture Flashcards

1
Q

Accent

A

An accent is stress or emphasis on a particular part of a word.
ex: [Pecan] pea-can vs puh-con

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2
Q

Creole Language

A

A formation of two languages and varieties that are based on French.
ex: Haitian creole or Louisiana creole

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3
Q

Cultural Convergence

A

Two cultures will be more and more like each other as their interactions increase.
ex: McDonalds is considered American, but the menu differs in other countries to incorporate their culture

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4
Q

Cultural hearth

A

Centers of origin of ancient civilizations

ex: Mesopotamia or Nile River Valley

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5
Q

Cultural landscape

A

Cultural resources and natural resources associated with the interactions between nature and human behavior.
ex: Dairy farm or Golden gate park

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6
Q

Culture realms

A

The entire region throughout which a culture prevails.

ex: criteria are religion, language, diet, customs, or economic development

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7
Q

Cultural region

A

A region with people who share common cultural characteristics.
ex: Middle East or North America

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8
Q

Cultural trait

A

Any trait of human activity acquired in social life and transmitted by communication.
ex: wearing a wedding ring

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9
Q

Culture

A

The characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people.
ex: language, religion, cuisine, social habits

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10
Q

Cuneiform

A

An ancient Mesopotamian form of writing made by pressing a reed into a tablet of wet clay.
ex: used to write around 15 different languages including Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian

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11
Q

Dialect

A

A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.
ex: some people may say “hello” and some may say “howdy”

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12
Q

Diaspora

A

A group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived.
ex: removal of Jewish people from Judea

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13
Q

Ethnic enclaves

A

A geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity.
ex: Arab population in Dearborn, MI

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14
Q

Ethnic group

A

A group of people who share a similar culture, language, or other characteristic that is often handed down from one generation to the next.
ex: Han Chinese

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15
Q

Ethnic islands

A

Small, usually rural and ethnically homogeneous enclaves situated within a larger and more diverse cultural context.
ex: Louisiana Creole

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16
Q

Ethnic provinces

A

Large areas associated with a particular ethnic group.

ex: Italians in Tuscany

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17
Q

Ethnic religions

A

A religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group.
ex: Druidism of the Welsh

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18
Q

Ethnoburbs

A

A suburban residential and business area with a notable cluster of a particular ethnic minority population.
ex: Chinatown

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19
Q

Ethnocentrism

A

Belief in the superiority of one’s nation or ethnic group.

ex: Asians using chopsticks and thinking that the way Americans use forks and spoons is unnecessary

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20
Q

Feminist geography

A

The application of feminist theory and methodologies to understanding human geography.
ex: female spatial behavior restricted to the home

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21
Q

Folk culture

A

A culture traditionally practiced by a small, homogeneous, rural group living in relative isolation from other groups.
ex: Amish in the US, practice traditional religious customs and beliefs such as limited use of technology

22
Q

Foodways

A

The eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region, or historical period.
ex: North Carolina; sweet tea, peaches, okra, black eyes peas, fried chicken

23
Q

Globalization

A

The process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.
ex: Coca Cola

24
Q

Greek alphabet

A

The Greek alphabet is a writing system that was developed in Greece about 1000 BCE. It is the direct or indirect ancestor of all modern European alphabets.
ex: Α α, Β β, Γ γ, Δ δ, Ε ε, Ζ ζ, Η η, Θ θ, Ι ι, Κ κ, Λ λ, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ξ ξ, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Σ σ/ς, Τ τ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Ψ ψ, and Ω ω.

25
Q

Grimm’s Law

A

The observation that certain Indo-European consonants undergo regular changes in the Germanic languages that are not seen in non-Germanic languages such as Greek or Latin.
ex: p becoming f so that Latin pedem corresponds to English foot and German fuss

26
Q

Inclusion vs. Exclusion

A

Improving the terms for individuals and groups to take part in society vs the process in which individuals are blocked from (or denied full access to) various rights, opportunities and resources that are normally available to members of a different group.
ex: Famous people vs individuals with Leprosy

27
Q

Language convergence vs. Language divergence

A

In bilingualism, languages may become increasingly similar and can effect pronunciation and structure vs One language breaks into two smaller dialects because there is a constant lack of spatial interaction between original speakers.
ex: Balkan languages vs British English/American English

28
Q

Language extinction

A

When its last native speaker dies, and it’s usually the result of its speakers shifting to a lingua franca.
ex: Latin

29
Q

Language family

A

A grouping of linguistically linked languages, stemming from a common ancestral mother-language called Protolanguage.
ex: Afro-Asiatic

30
Q

Language isolate

A

A natural language with no demonstrable genealogical with other languages.
ex: Basque

31
Q

Latin/Roman alphabet

A

The Classical Latin alphabet consisted of 23 letters, 21 of which were derived from the Etruscan alphabet.
ex: our current English alphabet

32
Q

Lingua franca

A

A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.
ex: English (recognized globally)

33
Q

Loan words

A

A word adopted from a foreign language with little or no modification.
ex: café (French for coffee)

34
Q

Mentifacts

A

The shared ideas, values, and beliefs of a culture.

ex: religion, language, viewpoints

35
Q

Patois

A

Speech or language that is considered nonstandard.

ex: Trasianka, Sheng, Tsotsitaal

36
Q

Phoenician alphabet

A

A writing system that developed out of the North Semitic alphabet and was spread over the Mediterranean area.
ex: 𐤀, 𐤁‎, 𐤂‎, 𐤃‎, 𐤄‎, 𐤇‎

37
Q

Phonemes

A

Any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another.
ex: p, b, d, and t in the English words pad, pat, bad, and bat

38
Q

Pictographic writing

A

A way of writing in which a picture/drawing of an object is used to represent the object.
ex: two joined hearts mean “love”

39
Q

Pidgin

A

A grammatically simplified form of a language, used for communication between people not sharing a common language.
ex: Chinese Pidgin (700 words)

40
Q

Popular culture

A

Popular culture is the set of practices, beliefs, and objects that embody the most broadly shared meanings of a social system.
ex: Film and Sports

41
Q

Proto-languages

A

A postulated language from which a number of attested known languages are believed to have descended by evolution, forming a language family.
ex: Latin

42
Q

Received Pronunciation

A

An instantly recognizable accent.

ex: ‘typically British’

43
Q

Rosetta Stone

A

A tablet found near Rosetta, Egypt, in 1799, carved with Greek, demotic, and hieroglyphic inscriptions.
ex: it became the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian writing

44
Q

Social constructs

A

Something that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction. It exists because humans agree that it exists.
ex: the concept of currency

45
Q

Sprachbund

A

A group of languages that share areal features resulting from geographical proximity and language contact.
ex: Papua New Guinea, the Amazon basin, and the Australian desert

46
Q

Taboo

A

A social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.
ex: In Jewish communities, pork is not permitted

47
Q

Toponymy

A

The study of place names.

ex: United States or Narnia

48
Q

Universalizing religions

A

Religions that attempt to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world, not just to those of one culture or location.
ex: Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism

49
Q

Vernacular language

A

Describes an everyday language, including slang, that’s used by people.
ex: English in the US / Medical terms used by Doctors

50
Q

Cultural complex

A

Describes a group or cluster of interrelated cultural traits.
ex: Cars in U.S. are a social status, sign of freedom, a way to work, a job, collectible, business

US Human Geography (5 decks)

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