University of 8 mai 1945 -Guelma Culture and FLT
Department of Letters and English Language
2nd year, Master
Defining Culture
Content
1. Definition of culture
2. Social groups and subcultures
3. Aspects of culture
1. Definition of Culture
The term culture does not lend itself to a dingle definition. According to Hinkel (1999), we are
not exaggerating when we say that there are nearly as many definitions of culture as there are
fields of inquiry into human societies, groups, systems, and behaviour. One definition is, at
best, oversimplification and, at worst, insufficient.
Historical view
There is, first of all, the classical conception explored by the anthropologists of the eighteenth
century in which culture and civilization were almost synonymous and opposed to
barbarism. The conception of all that constitutes excellence in art, literature, manners
and social institutions.
This historical view was about the idea that the eighteenth-century European culture,
dominated by the French culture and language, represented the top of human progress.
Cultural Anthropology perspective
This historical view was challenged later by anthropologists when employed culture out of its
classical concept, without implication of human progress from barbarism to civilization, or
prior value judgement.
In this sense, according to cultural anthropologists, every society has its own culture, and
the several sub-groups within a society have their own sub-cultures. Culture is something that
everybody has.
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As in the definition of the English anthropologist E.B. Tylor (1903) (Cited by Risager, 2006, p.
40): ‘Culture and civilization, taken in its wide ethnography sense, is that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, morale, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society’
Material Aspects Vs. Ideological/Social aspects
Some definitions emphasise what is called ‘material culture’- the artefacts, arts, traditional
dress, culinary practices, and clothing of the community, etc.
Other definitions focus on the ideological and social aspects- the ideas, beliefs, and
knowledge of groups. Boas 1982 [1940] :250 states ‘…the material for the reconstruction of
culture is ever so much fragmentary because the largest and most important aspects of culture
leave no trace in the soil; language, social organization, religion- in short, everything that is
not material ….’
The term is used differently by different anthropologists, but it generally refers to
characteristics shared by a given society and it may distinguish it from the others. So,
culture is what binds people together.
Our Definition
Our operating definition is that culture may be taken as socially acquired knowledge
(Hudson, 1996:71). It is the all integrated pattern of human behaviour of a given society, learned
and shared by people as a result of belonging to a particular group, it includes knowledge,
meanings, thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, views, values, attitude,
customs, art, cooking, clothing, courtesies, rituals, law, manners of interaction and roles,
relationships and behaviours of a racial, ethnic, religious, or social group; i.e., aspects that are
categorized under either material culture, social culture or ideological culture. This facet of
human knowledge and behaviour is borne by a society and transmitted from a father to a son
and from one generation to the succeeding one. These aspects are subject to change through
time as the societies evolve.
Thus, culture is every part of daily interaction with other members of the society from the
choices they do about what to wear and have to eat, to the ways they behave with the colleagues
at work, with the family and the friends.
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1.2. Social groups and sub-cultures
Some groups of people share a distinct cultural knowledge within the same society, that is, the
same culture carry distinct layers of mental programming at different levels.
- The national level which is associated with the whole nation.
- The regional level which is associated with ethnic, linguistic, or religious differences that exist
within the nation.
- The gender level which is associated with the gender differences between female and male.
-The generation level which is associated with the differences between generations;
grandparents and parents; parents and children.
1.3. Aspects of Culture
Symbols
Symbols are “words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning” (2005, p. 7).
This meaning; however, is and can be recognized only by those sharing the same culture.
Symbols are subject to change since they can easily either appear or disappear over time.
Language
Language is a set of symbols and words that enables communication. It is not just used to
exchange formulations but rather to create and shape realities, such as perceptions, identities,
and beliefs. (Chouahnia, M., Dafri, I., Harireche, N. H., and Talhi, R. G3, M2)
A system of values
Values are culturally defined and acquired standards to differentiate what is good and what is
bad or what is right from what is wrong. (Ghennam, A., Guebailia, M., and Souahlia, C., Group
3, M2)
Norms
Norms are typical standards and expectations that members of a given community live by. They
are learned and imposed by parents, friends, the community...etc. while growing up. They are
the shared guidelines that govern the behaviour of people within a given community.
(Belgherbi, N. H., Menar, Y., and Saidia, I., Group 3, M 2)
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Norms are standards and codes of conduct agreed upon by most people in a given community.
They determine the expected behaviours, how one should behave in a given situation and what
is considered appropriate and inappropriate. They can be divided into two categories: folkways
and mores. Norms can become laws when are written and passed by higher authorities.
Example: In a given situation where all seats are taken, young people or men would stand and
leave their place for older women or women in general. (Abiza, E., Bensaada, C., and Boualleg
I., Groupe 4, M2)
Folkways
Folkways refer to the inherited social norms and customs of everyday life; in other words, they
are the ways of ‘doing things appropriately’ for routine daily behaviours. These ways are known
by heart by the community’s members to be transmitted to later generations through either
positive or negative sanctions. Folkways are seen in the manners and behaviours demonstrated
by people on a daily basis in their specific social territory; thus, they are too normal and too
habitual to be noticed by those who are acquainted with that given community’s way of life.
Examples of folkways include positive sanction (affirmative social reaction): usage of proper
utensils, thanking others, and saying “please”. Or, negative sanction (negative social reaction
to deviance): wearing inappropriate clothing to the mosque. (Badji, W., Belhouchi, A., and
Khadri, A., Group 3, M2)
Mores
Mores are a set of moral norms, or customs derived from generally and morally accepted
practices rather than written laws. They are the traditional ways of behaving that are typical to
a particular society. Mores are the rules of behaviour of a society, in which there is a line that
individuals should not cross (the norm), and if they do, they would receive a strong reaction
from the members of their society and are considered "unfit" for a society and deserve
punishment.
The example we discussed in the classroom: removing the head-scarf for women living in
Muslim societies. (Benyagoub, I., Bouaziz, K., Bourera, M., Chiakha, R., and Sebti, H., Group
4, M2)
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References
- Boas, F. 1982 [1940]. Race, Language and Culture. University of Chicago Press.
- Hinkel, E. 1999. Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge
University Press.
- Hudson, R.A. 1996 [1980]. Sociolinguistics. Cambridge University Press.
- Risager, K. 2006. Language and Culture: Global Flows and Local Complexity. The
Cromwell Press Ltd.
- Students Contributions, 2nd year Master Students (Groups 3 & 4). Academic Year
2019/2020.
