'Culture' often means different things to different people in different situations and contexts.  So, it's not surprising that not everybody can always agree exactly what culture is! But one thing is certain, and that is language is fundamentally linked to culture, and that there is no meaningful culture without language.

   One way of understanding is through The Arts. We can look for the very best examples of music, literature, dance, sculpture, painting, philosophy and history in order to understand our culture. The arts are the highest and most sophisticated way that mankind has found to express the truths of humanity. One problem with looking at culture this way is that it excludes most of what the culture produces.

   The Social Sciences approach culture from another direction. To the Social Scientist, a culture is the creation of all the members within it and that the best way to understand any culture is through the people's relationship to the culture itself. With this approach there is no good culture or bad culture - just observable culture.

Understanding Culture

    A culture includes everything that goes towards the behaviour and attitudes of one particular country, society or group of people who share a common culture. There will always be aspects of a culture that makes them different or unique when compared to others.
   Culture is not just about which country we were born into. We are all  share several different cultures, including the national culture we are born into, the institutions to which we belong (religious, educational, occupational, etc) and social groups we choose to be part of and the fashions and interests that we follow.
      Whilst culture is often promoted and learned through formal education, most of what we learn comes informally, from family, friends and peer groups.

    Key ideas
  • We understand the world through our own Culture(s)
  • Cultures are unique and cultures of the world are varied and  
     diverse 
  • Culture is fundamentally related to language
  • Culture can be seen as practices (the things people do) or as 
     information and ideas (the things people think about) 

All cultures include:
Language: The words we use, when we use them and how we use them are central to the identity of a culture and the people within it. This includes regional dialects and accents along with specific language patterns, vocabulary and slang. The language can change when used by different groups. In English, for example, think of how the language of business jargon compares to the street slang of Hip Hop culture.

Ideas/Concepts: The ways in which people perceive, interpret, and understand the world around them. This is closely linked with language because we think in language and our language, unavoidably, shapes our thoughts and ideas.

Beliefs: The ideas and notions of a culture that have become accepted truths. These are generally unchallenged and become the cornerstone of the culture's ideas of values and morals expressed through language and actions.

The Arts: are the most advanced and refined forms of human expression, and were where The Sciences were born.

Society: The organization of the culture's people and the shared activities within a cultural community, demonstrated in a countless variety of rituals, festivals, life-celebrating events, the give-and-take of socialization, negotiation, social interactions, norms and conventions.

---

Worksheets

Studying Culture

Different Kinds of Culture