Cultural Identity and Expression

Cultural Identity & Expression: October 5-9

The United States is a very unique country because it is made up of very unique people. Just think about the different layers of cultural identity: there is your country of origin or ancestry, your regional identity (Southern, Northern, West Coast, East Coast), your city identity (Buffalo Bills fans, Boston accents), and your local identity (East Side, West Side, South Buffalo, Elmwood Village). All of these components foster cultural diversity that can be used to stimulate the exchange and creation of new ideas.

Learn More about the Weekly Theme:

Definitions:

Ethnic Enclave vs. Ghetto: An ethnic enclave, or ethnic neighborhood, is a neighborhood, district, or suburb which retains some cultural distinction from a larger, surrounding area. A ghetto is described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live; especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure.” So what is the difference? Choice. People choose to live in an ethnic enclave, people are forced into a ghetto.

Body Language: Body Language is a very important aspect of communication. Even though it is non-verbal, it is said that humans communicate with each other 60-70% of the time through body cues.

Examples:

· Hands on knees: indicates readiness.

· Hands on hips: indicates impatience.

· Lock your hands behind your back: indicates self-control.

· Locked hands behind head: states confidence.

· Sitting with a leg over the arm of the chair: suggests indifference.

· Legs and feet pointed in a particular direction: the direction where more interest is felt

· Crossed arms: indicates submissiveness.

Regional Dialects:

There are three major dialect regions of the United States: Inland North, the South, and the West. The rest of the country is transitional, with a blend of accent types. There are also many different pockets of local accents as well.

Can you guess all of these dialects correctly:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/map/map.html

This link highlights the history of all the types of regional and local dialects:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/

Cultural Diffusion: the process by which a cultural trait, material object, idea, or behavior pattern is spread from one society to another

Background information:

What else symbolizes Buffalo more than the chicken wing? See how Buffalo's cultural identity has spread throughout the world:

http://www.geography.ccsu.edu/harmonj/atlas/buffwing.htm

12 Exciting Ethnic Enclaves: These neighborhoods have kept their cultural identities in countries that are different from their own.

http://weburbanist.com/2009/07/27/12-exciting-ethnic-enclaves-international-districts/

Please Call Stella….

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_atlas.php

The link above is a database of English speakers from all over the world reciting this phrase:

"Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station."

The purpose of that exact phrase is that it hits many of the sounds the English language can produce.

Information on this week's speaker, Dr. David Fertig:

Dr. David Fertig is the director of both the German language program and the department of language programs. He received his PhD. from the University at Michigan in German Language and Literatures.

Visit Dr. Fertig's page for a listing of all of his work:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/fertig/fertig/

Videos on how to read Body Language:

How can I get involved?

Related Majors:

Anthropology

African American Studies

American Studies

Art

Asian Studies

English

Film Studies

Geography

Latina/Latino Studies

Media Studies

Music

Philosophy

Romance Languages and Literature

Women's Studies

SA Clubs

African SA

Bangladeshi

Caribbean SA

Chinese SA

FASA

Indian SA

Indonesian SA

Italian SA

Japanese SA

Korean SA

LASA

Malaysian SA

Organization of Arab Students

Pakastani SA

Polish SA

Taiwanese SA

Turkish SA

Ukrainian SA

Vietnamese SA

Local Organizations:

The International Institute

Journey's End Refugee Services

Other Resources:

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