Culture: Traits, Language, and Religion

Which statement best describes the most common reason groups wish to preserve their traditional languages.

• Language is used to religious services, so preserving a language is primarily a religious obligation.

• Language is central to cultural identity, so preserving a language helps preserve a culture

• Language is used for trade, so preserving language is one way to keep a group economically prosperous

• Language preservation passes on a group’s history, so preserving a language is the only way to record history accurately.

Answer explanation

Preserving a language helps preserve a culture by maintaining cultural identity.

When two people who speak different languages use English to conduct business, we can consider English a(n)

• Assimilated language

• Lingua Franca

• Pidgin Language

• Creole Language

Answer explanation

English is considered a Lingua Franca when two people who speak different languages use it to conduct business.

Which of the following is the best definition of "language"?

• a set of neural patterns that match one's physical, spiritual, and social environments

• an informal collection of non-arbitrary signs that correspond to a person's environment

• the words and phrases recognized by a government that corresponds to a group of people

• a collection of sounds or symbols understood by a group of people to have the same meaning

Answer explanation

The best definition of 'language' is a collection of sounds or symbols understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.

Which of the following statements best explains why English is the most widely spoken language in North America?

• The English language initially diffused to North America through the process of relocation diffusion. A number of colonies were established and settled by people from Great Britain.

• The English language diffused throughout North America through the process of hierarchical diffusion. The language was initially spoken in cities and was gradually adopted by people living in rural areas.

• The English language diffused to North America through the process of contagious diffusion. Christian missionaries were responsible for the spread of the language among the indigenous population.

• The English language became a widely spoken language in North America in the twentieth century. This primarily occurred as a way of unifying the immigrant populations in both the United States and Canada.

Answer explanation

The English language initially diffused to North America through the process of relocation diffusion. A number of colonies were established and settled by people from Great Britain.

What are Dialects?

• An extremely simplified, limited non-native language used by two people that speak two different languages

• A common language used by speakers of two diffrent languages for communication

• Variations in accent, grammar, usage and spelling and develop out of geographic distance of isolation

• Used by the government of a country for laws, reports, signs, public objects, money, stamps

Answer explanation

Dialects are variations in accent, grammar, usage, and spelling that develop out of geographic distance or isolation.

What is an Official Language?

• An extremely simplified, limited non-native language used by two people that speak two different languages

• A common language used by speakers of two diffrent languages for communication

• Variations in accent, grammar, usage and spelling and develop out of geographic distance of isolation

• Used by the government of a country for laws, reports, signs, public objects, money, stamps

Answer explanation

An Official Language is used by the government of a country for laws, reports, signs, public objects, money, stamps.

The process of the spread of an idea and/or dissemination of an innovation from its source area to other cultures, is the process of cultural: 

• diffusion

• simultaion

• adaptation

• movement

Answer explanation

The correct choice is diffusion, which refers to the spread of an idea or innovation from its source area to other cultures.

In the 1800s, Czar Peter the Great of Russia returned to Russia from his travels in Europe and taught his people Western-style dance. This diffusion of Western-style dance is closely an example of

• cultural convergence

• sequent occupance

• folk culture

• cultural isolation

• theocracy

Answer explanation

The diffusion of Western-style dance in Russia by Czar Peter the Great is an example of cultural convergence, where different cultures come together and influence each other.

The simplest component of a culture is a

• culture trait

• culture complex

• culture system

• cultural diffusion

• cultural identity

Answer explanation

The simplest component of a culture is a culture trait, which refers to a single element of a culture such as a tool, custom, or belief.

A focused geographic area where important innovations are born and from which they are spread

• Cultural Hearth

• Minority Religion

• An Ethnic Group

• Universalizing Religion

Answer explanation

The correct choice is Cultural Hearth, which refers to a focused geographic area where important innovations are born and spread.