The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 3 Cultural Geography

CHAPTER SCOTT CAMPBELL Cultural Geography Concepts and Terminology The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map . It about understanding the complexity of our world , appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents . And in the end , about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people Barack Obama The Louvre Art Museum in Paris Photo on The term culture refers to collective , learned human behavior . It is collective in that is shared among a group of people . Individuals have a personality . A group shares a culture . It is also learned , as opposed to being instinctive . All humans , for example , must eat . That is instinctive . What we eat , when we eat , how we eat , and who we eat with , however , is learned . Some cultural behavior is learned formally , in schools , from books , or in temples , churches , or mosques . Much of it is learned informally , such as the rules of behavior instilled in us by family and community . Much culture , however , is learned subconsciously . From a very young age , humans absorb the behavior of those around them and imitate it . Put simply , culture is what a person considers to be normal behavior . This is why travelers to foreign lands often experience culture shock when they discover that their normal behavior is perhaps not so normal after all . Cultural geography is an examination of the spatial variation in cultural traits , and the effect of culture on particular places . All of the world cultural variations would take more than a lifetime to discover . In this book , we will focus on three fundamental elements of culture religion , language , and ethnicity .

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY A religion is a set of spiritual beliefs and practices shared by a group of people . Many religions seek to understand the origin of existence , to comprehend the meaning of life , to decide what actions are moral or immoral , to explain what happens when we die , and to answer many more moral and existential questions . The world four largest religions Christianity , Islam , and Buddhism collectively account for more than of the world population . These and other religions will be A discussed in subsequent chapters . A religious sect or denomination is a subset of a particular religion . While various sects or denominations may agree on I fundamental issues of their faith , they may interpret it in very different ways . In Europe , for example , Christianity is divided into Created by three primary sects Eastern Orthodox , Roman Catholic , and from Noun Project , Protestant . Some sects or denominations are further subdivided into yet more subsets , such as the Protestant fragmentation into Lutheran , Anglican , Presbyterian , and Methodist traditions , to a few . A religion is one that actively seeks or accepts new members through conversion . An ethnic religion is one that does not actively seek out new converts . Such distinctions have an important impact on the geography of a religion . An example can be found in Judaism , Christianity , and Islam , the three related faiths known as the religions . The first to evolve was Judaism . Judaism is an ethnic faith . Although it is possible for to convert and join most sects , this is not something that Jews actively seek out . Put simply , one is usually either born Jewish , or one is not . By contrast , Judaism two relatives , Christianity and Islam , are religions . Christians and Muslims believe that their faiths are universal , and apply to all of humanity . Both have a long history of actively seeking out new converts . As a result , Judaism today accounts for less than of one percent of the world population , while Christianity and Islam collectively account for more than half the world population . Secularism refers to belief systems that do not fit into the conventional definition of religion . Among the secular population , some identify with atheism , which is the disbelief in the existence ofa god or gods , or similar supernatural phenomena . Others identify with agnosticism , the belief that the existence of a god or gods can be neither proven nor disproven . Some simply identify as nonreligious , meaning that they do not adhere to any particular religion . LANGUAGE

10 SCOTT CAMPBELL A language is a mutually system of communication . A dialect is a variation within a language . Speakers of different dialects may pronounce certain words differently , and may use entirely different words to describe the same object , idea , or action . Still , speakers of different dialects of the same language would still conversation . In other words , despite their differences , mutual be able to read the same words , and carry on at least a basic comprehension is still possible . Speakers oftwo different languages , however , can not carry on a conversation . This lack of mutual comprehension is what distinguishes separate languages from one another . Most languages are members of a language family . A language family consists of a number of languages that have a common ancestral language , and thus share some common traits . An example is the language family , which originated about years ago in what is now Turkey . As this language diffused from its place of origin , it evolved into many separate dialects , and eventually into many separate languages . Today , nearly half the world population speak a descendant of the original language . Many language families include , sets of closely related languages within the larger family . Examples of within the family include Germanic languages ( German , Dutch , English , Swedish , Norwegian , Danish , Icelandic ) Slavic languages ( Russian , Ukrainians , Belarusian , Polish , Czech , and Romance languages ( Italian , Spanish , Portuguese , French , Romanian ) Other prominent language families include the family ( which includes languages of China and Burma ) the family ( which includes languages of Africa ) the family ( which includes languages of North Africa and Southwest Asia , notably Arabic ) and the family ( which includes Turkish and languages of Central Asia ) A political , economic , or social environment that features speakers of many different languages often necessitates the use of a lingua franca . A lingua franca is a language adopted as a common means of communication among speakers of other , different languages . India , for example , is home to ten different major languages , and many more minor ones . Although English is spoken as a first language by relatively few Indians , it is a common second language for many , and often serves as the lingua franca of economics , academics , politics , and the media . English serves a similar function in , as does French in much Africa . Created by from Noun Project

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 11 RACE AND ETHNICITY The terms race and ethnicity are often used interchangeably , but they are not synonymous with one another . Race is a term that has historically been used to describe physical variations among human populations . The concept of race is problematic in many ways , not the least of which are the racial biases and that have afflicted human history , and that persist today . It is also scientifically problematic . The term race implies that humans can be easily separated into tidy biological categories , which is not actually possible . Race is a cultural construct , not a biological fact . While a person ancestral background may influence their height , skin color , hair color , eye color , and other physical features , the idea that race affects human thinking and behavior is scientifically inaccurate . That said , as long as humans Created by Luis Prado from Noun Project continue to assign meaning to race , it will remain an important element of human cultural identity , whether it should or not . Ethnicity is a cultural term . It refers to a person fundamental cultural identity ( and is closely related to the term nationality ) While a person ethnicity certainly does not determine their behavior , it may have a significant influence , since a person ethnic background often influences what they consider to be culturally normal . A person ethnicity may influence where they live , their social circle , their profession , who they marry , what they eat , their religious and political beliefs , and much more . One ethnic identity can be formed by many different traits . Shared physical characteristics , shared ancestry , shared customs and experiences , shared language , and shared religion are examples of common bonds within ethnic groups . Did You Know ?

The term lingua franca means language of the Franks . It originated in the Ottoman Empire during the late medieval period , when the Ottomans referred to western Europeans as Franks . The original lingua franca was a trade language between by Italian and Ottoman merchants . It was basic Italian , with a number of words borrowed from French , Greek , Turkish , Arabic , and Spanish .