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Discover the power of language in shaping cultural reality and explore unique words from different cultures. Reflect on beliefs, values, norms, and deviance in society.
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Do Now Think of and write down four words that didn’t exist 20 years ago Think of two words and write down two words that didn’t exist 5 years ago
Doe Language Shape Reality? • Speakers of different languages think about the world in quite different ways. • This view is sometimes called the Whorf-Sapir hypothesis, after the linguists who made it famous - that we know the world only in terms of our language. • Language then determines our cultural reality.
What is the English Translation for these words? • Tartle Scottish – The act of hesitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name • Prozvonit Czech – This word means to call a mobile phone and let it ring once so that the other person will call back, saving the first caller money.
Kyoikumama Japanese – “A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement” • Iktsuarpok Inuit – “To go outside to check if anyone is coming.” • Mamihlapinatapei Yagan (indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) – “the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start”
Schadenfreude German – Quite famous for its meaning that somehow other languages neglected to recognize, this refers to the feeling of pleasure derived by seeing another’s misfortune. I guess “America’s Funniest Moments of Schadenfreude” just didn’t have the same ring to it. • L’appel du vide French – “The call of the void” is this French expression’s literal translation, but more significantly it’s used to describe the instinctive urge to jump from high
Do Now: • What was one belief you had that changed? • What is one belief you have that hasn’t changed? • If you were to choose one word to sum up your value system…what would it be?
Values and Beliefs • Values are defined as the standards by which people assess desirability, goodness, and beauty; they are broad principles • Beliefs - specific statements that people hold to be true. Beliefs are learned through socialization and help shape how we perceive our surroundings and how our personality develops.
What is Culture? • Culture is defined as the values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that constitute a people's way of life. • When people travel between societies or even within their own, they can experience culture shock, a personal disorientation that can come from encountering an unfamiliar way of life.
When do Cultures Clash At different times and different places, groups come into conflict over beliefs due to cultural differences
Material and Nonmaterial Culture • Sociologists describe two interrelated aspects of human culture: the physical objects of the culture (Material Culture) and the ideas associated with these objects. (Non-material Culture).
Material Culture Homes, neighborhoods, cities, schools, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, offices, factories and plants, tools, means of production, colleges, cars, boots, purses, phones, clothes, furniture, goods and products, stores, and so forth.
Non-material Culture • When considering non-material culture, sociologists refer to several processes that a culture uses to shape its members' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. • Four of the most important of these are symbols, language, values, and norms.
Do Now Reading:Norms, Folkways, Taboos & Sanctions. • What is a norm? • How has a norm for dating changed in the U.S.? • Describe a folkway. • What is a more? • What would be a taboo in India? • Give an example of a deviance in American Society today?
Norms vary in their degree of importance. Mores distinguish between right and wrong • Folkways distinguish between right and rude.
Norms, Folkways, Mores, Taboos & Laws • Norms are defined as rules that guide behavior. • Proscriptive Norms: mandate what we should not do • Prescriptive Norms: stating what we should do. They can change over time, as illustrated by norms regarding sexual behavior.
What is Ideal Culture? • Values and norms are not descriptions of actual behavior but rather reflect how we believe members of a culture should behave. • Give an example of this…for example, smoking is unhealthy and leads to health problems. Nobody should smoke.
Social Control • Rewards conformity and punishes deviance. • Deviance: deviating from the norm • Through socialization we internalize cultural norms and impose constraints on our own behavior. • The "breaking" of an internalized norm results in guilt and shame.
Think about this • List three (3) recreational activities you participate in • List three (3) recreational activities your parents participate in • List three (3) recreational activities your parents told you that they did at your age?
What is Deviance? • Deviance is relative to time and place because what is considered deviant in one social context may be non-deviant in another (e.g., fighting during a hockey game vs. fighting in a nursing home). • Killing another human is considered wrong except when governments permit it during warfare or self-defense.
What did we Learn? • The Whorf-Sapir hypothesis states that we know the world only in terms of our language. • Values are defined as the standards by which people assess desirability, goodness, and beauty; they are broad principles • Beliefs - specific statements that people hold to be true. • Culture is defined as the values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that constitute a people's way of life. Material Culture is the objects we use and Non-material Culture is the values we give them. Mores distinguish between right and wrong • Folkways distinguish between right and rude • Proscriptive Norms: mandate what we should not do • Prescriptive Norms: stating what we should do. • Deviance: not conforming to the “norm”. Relative to time and place. • Ideal Culture: The way things SHOULD be...not how they are.
What are Subcultures? • Subcultures are groups within a group whose values and behavior are distinctly differently from the dominant culture. • Different way of looking at life, but still compatible with the main culture • Occupations, (police, fire, corrections, medical), Social interests, (Boy Scouts, hunters, fraternities), Religions,(Catholics, Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses), Politics, (gun rights, pro-life, environmentalists. Ethnicities,(Irish, Native American, Latino) • http://www.factnet.org/CultGroups.html
What are Countercultures? • Countercultures include groups of people whose values and norms are in opposition to the dominant culture. • Challenge the dominant culture – often confrontational. Some are negative: • Satanists, Skinheads, Hell’s Angels, KKK • Some are positive: Hippies contributed civil rights, environmental reforms while being criticized by the dominant culture by their “deviant” appearance.
Can you think of any counter cultures you’ve come in contact with?
What is a Cult • Studies performed by those who believe that some religious groups do practice mind control have identified a number of key steps in coercive persuasion • People are put in physical or emotionally distressing situations; • Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized; • They receive what seems to be unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from a charismatic leader or group; • They get a new identity based on the group; • They are subject to isolation from friends, relatives and the mainstream culture and their access to information is severely controlled
What did we Learn? • Subcultures are groups within a group whose values and behavior are distinctly differently from the dominant culture. • Different way of looking at life, but still compatible with the main culture – often part of regular life • Countercultures include groups of people whose values and norms are in opposition to the dominant culture. Challenge the dominant culture – often confrontational. Some are negative a few are positive. • Cults are organizations that are camouflaged as legitimate groups but slowly isolate members by coercion.
