Cultures Case

There are many things that we can find out by simply doing research. The simplest thing in one culture may be a great insult in another. The one thing to know about someone should be their culture because it would mostly tell you what acceptable gestures are to not offend that person. In this paper I will give you background information on five different cultures. As you are reading you will be able to find out about their cultures; social customs; values of privacy; languages; religions; offensive gestures; and who is held in a high level of respect.

African cultures are extremely diverse and vary. This culture is huge and is split into two parts, which are North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The most used languages of this culture would be Arabic, Swahili, and Hausa. The two religions that are used the most are Christianity and Islam. This culture has a huge number of people and can create a many social customs unique to their region. The one that seems to remain constant would be polygamy. The customs are very unique and some say dangerous. Circumcisions are a custom that can mean a step into manhood or death.

The elders in Africa are respected for many reasons. They are believed to be the teachers and directors of the young. This culture privacy revolves around their folklore. They value this tradition by passing it down from generation to generation. This actually flows into the gestures that are offensive to this culture. The one thing that is extremely offensive is the disrespect for elders such as being in an argument in public with a person of your elders. The person who I would say that is held in a high level of respect would be Nelson Mandela for his work on changing the country as a whole. 

The Hispanic culture has a very diverse culture within itself. Their language is primarily Spanish. As in all cultures we have a distinct dialect for different regions. A few names are Castellano, Espanol, Galician, Basque, and Catalan. Castellano is the preferred term for speakers. The language is considered a romance language. 387 million people speak this native language which is the second most spoken language behind mandarin.

The Hispanic culture religion is something that plays a central role in their lives. Catholicism is their primary religion. This is also the culture that brought it over to the United States. It was first celebrated at Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565. Currently it is believed that Hispanics make up 40 percent of Catholic membership. As in all religions they have denomination of many; to name two are protestant and catholic.

The primary social customs for this culture are strong and frequent interactions with a range of kin. The extended and immediate families play major roles in each member’s life. This culture also has strict gender roles. They are very private people and prefer to keep thing within the inner family instead of publicly. Roberto Goizueta is a person who