My viewpoint on my own culture as well as other cultures has not changed by reading this module but perhaps it has been enhanced and become more solidified. “Culture is the knowledge, language, values, customs and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society” (Kendall, 2016, p. 45). Each person and every culture brings a uniqueness to the world that would create a void if lost. American culture is wonderful, but so is the Germany culture or the Japanese culture. I am proud to be an American, happy that I speak English, and thrilled that I can follow American values and norms, which are constantly changing over time. However, if I were from another country, I should
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In my opinion, there is not one single culture that is better than another culture, however, each culture should take pride in their culture to keep it alive.
Perspectives Journal Unit 2 3
Language is a key part of culture and can reflect our feelings and values towards others as well as society. There is a push in the United States to have English passes as the official language and to have all public documents, records, legislation, and regulations to be written or conducted solely in English (Kendall, 2016, p. 45). I do not believe that the United States needs to claim a national language. According to Waggoner, during the 1980’s census more than 82% of the population claimed English as the mother tongue, while 96% claimed to speak it “well” or “very well.” (Waggoner, 1988, p. 69). This makes English the de facto national language of the United States, with Spanish as the second most common language spoken in this country. The Institute …show more content…
“Cultural relativism is the belief that behaviors and customs of any culture must be viewed and analyzed by the culture’s own standards” (Kendall, 2016, p. 55). A living example of this would be a foreign exchange student. As a Rotary exchange student in the early 1990’s, I packed my bags and moved to France to view and analyze another culture. Shuffled between four different families during a 12-month timeframe, I learned the French culture somewhat like a native; immersing myself in another culture that was not my own; viewing it from that culture’s own standards. “Ethnocentrism is the practice of judging all other cultures by one’s own culture while assuming that one’s own way of life is superior to all others” (Kendall, 2017, p. 55). Living in another country is almost like an experiment and most, if not all good experiments, have a control measurement upon which all the other tests are compared. Looking at it from this viewpoint, one could say it is somewhat difficult to not judge all other cultures by one’s own culture, which is the control measurement. Noticing and comparing the differences is great, however, ethnocentrism, in my opinion, can lead to hate crimes as well as racism if one assumes that his/her culture is superior. There is a fine line
In my opinion, there is not one single culture that is better than another culture, however, each culture should take pride in their culture to keep it alive.
Perspectives Journal Unit 2 3
Language is a key part of culture and can reflect our feelings and values towards others as well as society. There is a push in the United States to have English passes as the official language and to have all public documents, records, legislation, and regulations to be written or conducted solely in English (Kendall, 2016, p. 45). I do not believe that the United States needs to claim a national language. According to Waggoner, during the 1980’s census more than 82% of the population claimed English as the mother tongue, while 96% claimed to speak it “well” or “very well.” (Waggoner, 1988, p. 69). This makes English the de facto national language of the United States, with Spanish as the second most common language spoken in this country. The Institute …show more content…
“Cultural relativism is the belief that behaviors and customs of any culture must be viewed and analyzed by the culture’s own standards” (Kendall, 2016, p. 55). A living example of this would be a foreign exchange student. As a Rotary exchange student in the early 1990’s, I packed my bags and moved to France to view and analyze another culture. Shuffled between four different families during a 12-month timeframe, I learned the French culture somewhat like a native; immersing myself in another culture that was not my own; viewing it from that culture’s own standards. “Ethnocentrism is the practice of judging all other cultures by one’s own culture while assuming that one’s own way of life is superior to all others” (Kendall, 2017, p. 55). Living in another country is almost like an experiment and most, if not all good experiments, have a control measurement upon which all the other tests are compared. Looking at it from this viewpoint, one could say it is somewhat difficult to not judge all other cultures by one’s own culture, which is the control measurement. Noticing and comparing the differences is great, however, ethnocentrism, in my opinion, can lead to hate crimes as well as racism if one assumes that his/her culture is superior. There is a fine line