Culture – An Overview

Culture is an umbrella phrase that covers the entire social practice and beliefs observed in all human societies, the oral knowledge, beliefs, arts, codes, laws, customs, skills, and behaviors of the people in these cultures. A society’s culture is based on its history and social development. In comparison to the beliefs of the people, the culture of a society is usually more flexible because it is built on the practices and beliefs of previous generations. In some cases, however, the evolution of a culture is abrupt, such as in the case of the recent urbanization of many developing countries. In most developed countries, however, the cultural practices of the people are often established through the long-term educational practices of their parents and other elders. Some other factors that determine the nature and definition of culture are the political systems of a country or group of countries, the nature of the economy, the values held by inhabitants of a society, and the attitudes of other individuals who are not considered part of the culture, such as visitors or immigrants.

Cultures are also affected by language, race, sex, nationalities, and other factors that are beyond the control of humans. There are five basic types of cultures: ethnic, cultural, linguistic, socio-cultural, and religious. Within each type, there are also subtypes. For instance, within linguistic cultures there are several kinds: Cantonese, Mandarin, Tibetan, and Mongolian.

There are also cultural differences regarding what are considered to be acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior, clothing, food, medicines, technology, and other matters related to a culture. One might say that all cultures are similar, but each one is still unique and has its own norms and symbols. This is the reason why there are so many differences regarding such matters as tattooing, tattoos, music, dance, fashion, hairstyles, language, foods, and customs. The difference between each culture is more defined by the beliefs of the people in those cultures, their symbols, costumes, customs, rituals, daily lives, and their everyday interactions.