66 The flags of Indonesia (left) and Poland (right) are both horizontal blocks of red and white, the same shapes and colors. But they are distinct flags, with specific meanings to their citizens. CORE CONCEPTS CHALLENGE Can you think of other culturally specific symbols that look very similar but have different meanings? Or one symbol that has different meanings to different people? Communicating Culture : Symbols and Language A symbol is anything—a sound, a gesture, an image, an object— that represents something else. An image of fi ve interlocking rings represents the Olympic Games. A red light means “stop.” An upraised forefi nger placed on the lips means “quiet.” The letters d-o-g together represent the sound “dog,” which in English represents a domesticated fourlegged creature (which, in turn, represents faithful companionship to many Americans). The association between a symbol and the thing it represents is arbitrary and culturally defi ned. The people of Indonesia recognize a banner with a band of red over a band of white as their national fl ag; turn that banner upside down, however, and you have instead the Polish national fl ag. In most languages other than English, “dog” is a meaningless sound (and in some cultures the animal itself might more likely represent dinner than companionship). Similarly the same symbol can have different meanings in different cultures. In Mexico, raising your hand with a circle formed by the thumb and forefi nger is an obscene gesture; in the United States it represents “OK.” A “thumbs-up” gesture has a positive connotation in some societies but is an insult (“Up yours!”) in Australia, Russia, Greece, Iraq, and much of Western Africa. In many societies, nodding your head up and down means yes, whereas turning it from left to right means no, but in Bulgaria the opposite is true. Culture is fundamentally symbolic, and it is through symbols that we communicate and reinforce the elements of our culture to one another and pass them on to our children. As the Through a Sociological Lens box makes clear, cultural symbols in many forms can evoke emotionally powerful associations. However, one form of symbolic communication, language, is our primary vehicle for cultural transmission. lagging behind the development of the Internet. New norms and behaviors will undoubtedly emerge and solidify as we advance further into the digital age. Cultural norms for social interaction vary depending on whether the interaction is face-to-face, over the telephone, via e-mail, on social networking sites such as Facebook, through text messaging, or on Twitter. When we interact face-to-face, we use more than words to communicate; we use our tone of voice, hand gestures, and facial expressions, as well. When we send e-mail and text messages, we do not have these additional means of expression, which is why emoticons—symbols such as ;o) or :o( created by text characters—or abbreviations like LOL are so useful in online communication. Also, some topics are not appropriate for certain types of communication. Would e-mailing a friend to ask him to go out for pizza be appropriate, or not? How about breaking off a romantic relationship with a text message? Society enforces most norms informally. If your cell phone rings during a movie, for example, be prepared for dirty looks from those sitting near you. However, more formal regulations, like a university’s code of ethics or the legal system, serve to reinforce particularly signifi cant norms. The study of deviance and crime is linked closely to the study of culture since both are largely about violations of a culture’s norms. Norms that are strictly enforced, with potentially severe penalties for violating them, are called mores (pronounced MOREays). Contemporary mores in the United States forbid physical or psychological abuse of one’s children, for example. Those who violate such mores face public shame, potential loss of their children, and the possibility of a prison sentence. Taboos are things that carry the most severe prohibition or restriction. For example, the incest taboo restricts sexual activity between certain family members. Cannibalism, too, is a widespread taboo and is considered repugnant in nearly all circumstances. In contrast, the term folkways describes group habits or customs that are common in a given culture. Those who violate folkways are not likely to be subject to punishment (Sumner 1906). It may be customary to wear a bathing suit to swim, for example, but those who go swimming in jeans are likely to face only some surprised glances. Taken together, values, knowledge, beliefs, and norms— the ideas of a culture—help shape people’s orientation toward the world, providing an unwritten guidebook on what to think and how to behave. By studying the ideas of a culture, we focus our attention on how people make sense of their experiences. Understanding what people value, believe, and know and what people defi ne as appropriate and deviant reveals a great deal about the complex workings of society— your own, as well as those of other societies. To communicate the ideas of our culture to one another, however, we need symbols and, in particular, language. c u l t u r e Can you think of an example of a formal code or system of regulations that governs your life? In Chapter 8 we consider systems of social control, as well as the people who deviate from such systems.
Croteau_Experience_Sociology_ch03
To see the actual publication please follow the link above