Culture and Society are two terms that go hand in hand. There can be many levels that allow for a culture to operate. Culture effects how a society eats, thinks, lives, it is something that must be learned. Below are some terms that can be found within Chapter 3 that I have associated with my own culture.
Dialect is a form of language with its own distinctive accent, vocabulary, and in some cases grammatical characteristics. Being born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, I can definitely attest to the fact that some of the people around where I grew up and still currently live have a "Brooklynese" accent. I am not too sure of the origins of Brooklynese as not all folks talk in this dialect but I have been exposed to it my entire life. Some words are mashed together, for example, the term 'Forget about it' becomes "fuhgeddaboudit" and the term 'Not for nothing' becomes "NotFa' Nuthin". Other words have sounds added to them, such as the 'aw' sound in the word coffee which becomes "Cawfee". Here is a picture of an exit sign that can be found on the border of Brooklyn and Queens borough line.
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Cultural norm is expressed as certain rules and expectations that are set in order for "appropriate" behavior within a society. Here are two examples that I come across almost daily. In many public restrooms, including those located on campus, you can find these signs that are there to enlighten the public on how to now spread their germs. These expectations do not possess any
mores, which are strictly enforced norms with potential penalties for violation, but if you were to cough or sneeze on a crowded train car you can definitely guarantee dirty looks from your fellow passengers and some that will give up their seat near you in order go get away from you.
I work for Starbucks Coffee and the partners there use our own form of
language and
symbols, which is defined as an elaborate system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another in complex ways and an object, image, gesture or sound that is used to represent something else in order for us to quickly and effectively communicate orders to each other.
To save time and space on the cup there are symbols for each beverage that allow for us to understand what the customer wants. There are standards for each beverage but some customers prefer to customize their order and by the use of symbols this allows for us to understand what is requested. For example this cup translates into a triple shot, skim-milk, no whipped cream, cinnamon dolce latte. I believe that this example falls into the category of a
subculture, which is a culture associated with smaller groups in the society that have distinct norms, values, and lifestyles that set them apart from the dominant culture, in the sense that many people apart from Starbucks partners and true caffeine addicts may have no idea as to what those symbols represent.
This next picture portrays an example of
cultural behavior, which is defined as the actions associated with a group that help to reproduce a distinct way of life. If you have ever gone to a heavy/rock music type of show, then you have probably witnessed the act of moshing.
Moshing is a dancing style that usually takes place on an open floor within a crowd of people. Some people tent to mosh in a manor of wildly flailing their arms and legs and sometimes this action can cause people to become violent rather quickly, hence the warning of the sign.
This picture was taken in the Red-light district located in Amsterdam, Holland. In Amsterdam prostitution is legal and within the red-light district women can rent out display windows in order to promote themselves. There are strict laws protecting the women who choose to work within this profession and it is considered a more if you were to stare or taunt them.
When I first arrived in Amsterdam, I had experienced complete
culture shock, the experience of being disorientated because of a lack of knowledge abut an unfamiliar situation. I had known before my arrival that I would encounter these ladies in the window but seeing them with my own eyes definitely took me by surprise. Here at home, prostitution definitely exists and is not legal in the eyes of the law and when I think of prostitution I picture women hanging out on a street corner in a shady neighborhood while trying to avoid the police. In Amsterdam, the police are all over the red-light district patrolling the streets for safety precautions as well as for the safety of the women working there. Although this product of Dutch culture differs drastically from my own, I approached my experience of culture shock by attempting to gain an understanding of this practice. When one sets out to understand rather than judge a culture from its standards, this is known as
cultural relativism.
This is a picture of an Egyptian dish called Koshari.
Koshari typically consists of rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, and topped with a semi-spicy tomato sauce and fried onions. This dish would be considered an example of a
cultural object, which is expressed as the physical items that are created by and associated with people who share a culture. Many Egyptians are familiar with this dish as it is quite a popular street-food that can be found and sold from many food vendors about the city. My father was born in Egypt and traveled to American in his early 20's. Every few years my family and I travel to Egypt to visit the side of the family that still lives over there. I was never deeply immersed within the Egyptian culture, so I unfortunately do not speak the language but certain dishes such as Koshari make me think of my family members back in Egypt.
