Chapter 4: Folk and Pop* Culture

*the cool kids

Culture stuff…

• Diffusion is the s p r e a d of culture.• The HEARTH is where something begins– Lets name some hearths!!

• When something goes worldwide, it is called globalization!– Christmas. Is it globalized?– What is?

• A habit is personal, a custom is a group thing.

Diffusion

• What is a NODE?• What are some prominent NODES of

innovation?– These nodes are where things start, particularly in

hierarchal diffusion.

Types of Diffusion

• Hierarchical diffusion: Spread of a characteristic from a hearth of innovation– Pop culture is a good

example!– Hearths or nodes of

innovation are “big” places. Big as in important or influential.

– Use of modern communications and transport

• Relocation diffusion: Spread of a characteristic through migration– Folk culture usually

spreads this way, if it spreads at all

– The Amish migrated from Europe to cheap North American land in PA, OH, IL, IO and Canada, then spread out from there

Types of Diffusion

• Expansion diffusion: “snowball process”

• Contagious diffusion: rapid and widespread diffusion

Food Preferences

• Bostans (the food map on 112)– The main point here is that it is part of their

culture to use these little gardens to provide fresh produce for the city.

– The other main point is that they use the environment to their advantage

• People in general adapt their food preferences to conditions in the environment– Examples?

Houses

• “American cultural geographer Fred Kniffen considered the house to be a good reflection of cultural heritage, current fashion, functional needs and the impact of the environment.”

Houses

• Pitched roofs• Where your house is facing• What your house is made of• MDCs vs. LDCs • What is your house decorated with?

Houses

• I’ll let you in on a little secret: I DID look at the test a tiny bit this time, and there are not any specifics on that boring house section. In order to cover the boring houses in a more exciting way, we are going to make gingerbread houses next week. So don’t waste your time studying right now.

Uniform Landscape

• There is uniformity in popular culture• Every burger king looks the same so that you

recognize it wherever you go• Symbols, trademarks, etc.• Things are designed so that locals and visitors

know what they are looking at

Language

I don’t even know where to begin.

Someone requested key issue 1 in its entirety. Thanks.

• English colonies spread English. Just like they spread Christianity! Hey!

• English is a GERMANIC language. Remember that. It is not Romantic, even though you might think its family to Spanish and Italian and French. No, no, no.

• 3 Germanic tribes invaded the British Isles. They spoke 3 similar languages. (Jutes, Angles and Saxons, FYI)

Key issue 1 cannot be summed up in one slide. Thanks.

• The Vikings from Norway then gave some of their language

• The Normans invaded from France in 1066 and so French and “English” were spoken there for a few hundred years

• Our fancy words have French roots and our dumb/easy words have Germanic roots.

Here’s a map for ya…

Vocab Words

• Dialect: A regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation.

• Isogloss: A word-usage boundary within a nation– What are some words that are not used nationally

and therefore have a geographic extent or boundary?• Standard Language: The one most

used/recognized dialect• My Fair Lady demonstrates English dialects

More key issue 1… cause it’s long

• What are some dialects within the United States?

• Look at page 142 if you want to know more

Key issue 2 … I’m on a roll!

• Language Family: Collection of languages related to each other through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history

• Language branch: A collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago

• Language Group: A collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocab.– West Germanic and English

The Celtic Language

• It is endangered. Just like an endangered species.

• It was the major language before those dang Germanic Angles, Jutes and Saxons invaded.

• The survival of any language depends on the political and military strength of its speakers. The Celts started to lose their language when they lost their territory

• Read pages 157-159 if you want more!

Isolated Languages

• Not related to anyone • No family • Lonely • BASQUE – a pre-indo-european language– Pyrenees Mountains in Northern Spain and SW Fr

• Icelandic- It’s related but just hasn’t changed

Some more stuff you requested…

• Lingua Franca: A language used to communicate internationally. It’s like a mix of languages.

• Pidgin- a simplified form of a language that may be easier to use. It has fewer rules and less grammar and such. – Swahilia, Hindi, Indonesian