Useful Information

Culture is a very broad term used to describe the arts, the beliefs, the values, the traditions, the customs, and the institutions that are considered to be characteristic of a community, a people, a region, or a nation. Culture also includes the languages and dialects that people use to express their feelings and to communicate with each other. It is often difficult to dissociate language and culture, since, in most cases, language is the main medium through which culture is transmitted. Most people feel that it is impossible to really know a culture without speaking the language. In some immigrant populations in North America, however, the original language (French, German, Chinese, Polish, etc.) has been lost but customs and traditions are still maintained.

Although many cultures in the world have remained isolated for centuries, commerce and trade have often been the source of all sorts of cultural exchanges, ranging from foods to tools. Chinese porcelain and other inventions reached Europe thanks to the Silk Route, for example. However, cultural exchanges have not always been fair or balanced. The native populations of North and South America were decimated in part by disease and alcohol brought by the Europeans. Throughout history, wars and political decisions have destroyed cultures and forced people to adopt the language and the customs of the dominant civilization.

It is often assumed that if a culture is technologically advanced, it must be superior or that if a culture is young it must be inferior. Everyone tends to make value judgments about other cultures. Finding fault with or making fun of other customs and beliefs is often merely a way of bolstering our complacency or our pride. It is certainly much easier to learn about other cultures if one approaches them with an open mind and if one respects differences rather than criticizing them. Often something that appears strange or unusual in another culture is in fact very logical and part of a deeply rooted tradition. What might seem rude in one culture might seem perfectly normal and acceptable in another culture. Tolerance and curiosity are key factors in all cross-cultural learning experiences.

Although modern transportation and communications have reduced the world to a “global village”, there are still many fascinating cultural differences to explore. Discovering how people from other regions or other countries see the world can be an enriching experience. Tasting new foods, listening to different music, studying the architecture or the literature of other cultures can open up new perspectives on life.

 

The definition of culture:

The word culture has many different meanings. For some it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food. For others, such as anthropologists and behavioral scientists, however, culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns.

Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. In the explicit sense of the term, culture constitutes the music, food, arts and literature of a society. However, these are only the products of culture followed by the society and cannot be defined as culture.