Forms and Components

of Culture

CATHERINE C. GABIA
Forms of Culture

American Sociologist, William F. Ogburn made a

useful distinction between:
1. Material Culture - refers to the physical or technological
aspects of our daily lives like:
 Jewelry
 Art
 Clothing
 Hairstyles
Forms of Culture
2. Non-material culture - consists of abstract or intangible
human creations of society that influences people’s behavior
 Language
 Beliefs
 symbolic culture because the vital components are the
 Values
symbols that people use to communicate
 Norms
 Folkways  symbol is the basis of culture
 Mores
 Laws
 Sanctions
Symbolic Components of Culture
1. Language- a system of symbols that can be put together
Speech
for the purpose of communicating abstract thought
Importance of Language: Written
characters
 “ the storehouse of culture”
Numerals
 the primary way in which people communicate with one
another Symbols
 allows experience to be passed on to the next generation
Gestures of
 allows shared perspective or understanding non-verbal
communication
 provides a social or shared past: without it, each of us
would have our own memories, but not those of others
 Language Trivia
7, 111 languages in the world
 "Euouae," a medieval music term, is the longest word in English that
contains only vowels. It’s also the word with the most consecutive
vowels.
 "Unprosperousness", meaning not wealthy or profitable, is the longest
word in English in which each letter is used at least two times.
 The words "facetiously," "abstemiously," and "arseniously," each
contain all six vowels (including “y”) in alphabetical order. The word
"duoliteral" contains all five vowels (not including “y”) in reverse
alphabetical order.
 At 45 letters, "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis,"
which refers to a lung disease, is often considered the longest word in
English.
 Language Trivia
 "Feedback" is the shortest word in English that has the letters a, b, c, d,
e, and f.
 "Floccinaucinihilipilification," is the longest word in English that does
not contain letter “e”
 "Bookkeeper" is the only English word that has three consecutive double
letters.
 The word “therein” contains only seven letters, but it contains 10 words
that can be formed using consecutive letters: the, there, I, he, in, rein,
her, here, ere, herein.
 The sentence “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” is a
pangram, which is a sentence that uses every letter of the alphabet.
 "United Arab Emirates," a small country in the Middle East, is made up of
alternating vowels and consonants. It is the longest name of a country
whose letters do that.
Symbolic Components of Culture
2. Gestures – involve using one ‘s body to communicate with
others and are useful shorthand ways to give messages without
using words
 gestures differ around the world and can lead to
misunderstanding or embarrassment

3. Values - shared standards of what are right, desirable and

worthy of respect
 Values are standards by which people define good and bad.
 “To learn a culture is to learn people’s values.”
Symbolic Components of Culture
4. Norms - established standards of behavior maintained by a
society
 Every group develops both values and expectation concerning the
right way to reflect them and those expectation of rules of
behavior that develop out of group’s values are called NORMS.
Classification of Norms:
A. Mores - are strong norms that are regarded as morally
significant and violations of them are considered a serious
matter
 norms are considered highly necessary to the welfare of the
society because they embody the most cherished principles of
the people
 Symbolic Components of Culture
B. Folkways – are norms governing everyday behavior whose
violation raises comparatively little concern and these are not
strictly enforced

Example of Norms and Mores

A man walks down the street wearing nothing on the upper half of
his body is violating a folkway; a man walks down the street
wearing nothing on the lower half of his body is a violation of one
of our most important mores, the requirement that people cover
their genitals and buttocks in public.
Symbolic Components of Culture
5. Law – rule that has been formally enacted by a political authority
 Many laws are based from our mores

6. Sanctions – an official permission or approval for an action

 all norms whether they are codified in law or not, are supported by
sanctions which refer to rewards for appropriate behavior or inappropriate
behavior