Unit 3

• Custom


  A traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something that is specific to a particular society, place, or time.
• Indigenous Culture (Local)


  The culture that originates from a particular region and is maintained by the local population.
• Hierarchical diffusion


  The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority to other persons or places.
• Expansion diffusion


  The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process.
• Space-time compression


  The reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place due to advancements in technology.
• Afro-Asiatic


  A family of languages spoken primarily in North Africa and the Middle East.
• Creole


  A stable, fully developed language that has evolved from a mixture of different languages.
• Dialect


  A particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group.
• Denglish


  A blend of German and English, often used in informal contexts.
• Ebonics


  A dialect of English that is spoken by some African Americans, characterized by its own unique grammatical, vocabulary, and pronunciation rules.
• Extinct Languages


  Languages that no longer have any speakers or are no longer in use.
• Franglais


  A blend of French and English, often used in informal contexts.
• Habit


  A repetitive act that a particular individual performs.
• Pop Culture (Global)


  Cultural products that are consumed by a large audience and are often influenced by mass media.
• Reverse Hierarchical diffusion


  The spread of a feature or trend from a lower class to a higher class.
• Contagious diffusion


  The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.
• Material Culture


  The physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture.
• Heterogeneous


  Composed of different or diverse elements.
• Homogeneous


  Of the same kind; alike.
• Ideograms


  Symbols that represent ideas or concepts rather than specific words or sounds.
• Indo-European


  A family of languages that includes most of the languages spoken in Europe and many in South Asia.
• Isogloss


  A geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs.
• Isolated Languages


  Languages that have no known relationship with other languages.
• Language


  A system of communication used by a particular community or country.
• Language Branch


  A collection of languages within a family that share a common origin.
• Language Family


  A group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor.
• Language Group


  A set of languages within a branch that share a more recent common origin.
• Lingua franca


  A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.
• Linguists


  Experts in the study of language and its structure.
• Taboos


  Social or cultural prohibitions against certain practices or discussions.
• Terroir


  The set of environmental conditions, including soil, climate, and topography, that affect the characteristics of a product, especially in agriculture.
• Relocation diffusion


  The spread of a feature or trend through the physical movement of people from one place to another.
• Stimulus diffusion


  The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.
• Sociofacts


  The social structures and institutions that influence cultural behavior.
• Acculturation


  The adoption of cultural traits such as language by one group under the influence of another.
• Assimilation


  The process through which people lose originality differentiating traits when they come into contact with another society or culture.
• Artifact


  Any item that represents a material aspect of culture that are tangible, such as clothing, food, or music.
• Cultural Convergence


  The contact and interaction of one culture with another.
• Cultural Complex


  The group of traits that define a particular culture.
• Cultural Divergence


  The restriction of culture from outside cultural influences.