Section 3. “Definition of culture” and “Material culture and nonmaterial culture”.
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 442.
Page 78 – 80
Words:
to differentiate
to conceive
to focuse
to convey
to encourage
to estimate
to exclude
to argue
to trace
to own
to compose
precise(ly)
vague
frequently
specific
beliefs
artifacts
attitude
nevertheless
Phrases:
material and nonmaterial culture
a vast store of learned behaviour
learned behaviour patterns
to encourage fuller understanding
to some degree
in a very strict sense
on the same grounds
to view sociologically
refinement of material artifacts
to trace the development of culture
human experience
literate societies
a major causal factor
to take some position
all-embracing concept
interrelated habit system
by now
at least
in turn
in short
rather than
as we conceive of it
sooner or later
Commentaries and notes:
1. synoptic definition– сжатое определение.
2. to be part of– быть составной частью чего-то в отличие от “a part of” – являться какой-то частью чего-то.
3. disentwine: to entwine= сплетничать, обвивать; dis – префикс, придает слову отрицательное значение, указывает на разделение, отделение на составные части.
4. formal (definition) – зд. официально принятый, официальный.
5. the resulting material artifacts– получающиеся в результате (усвоенного поведения) материальные артефакты.
6. Выражения “in turn”, “in short”, “not strangely” etc., отделенные запятой в начале предложения, являются вводными словами и переводятся соответственно “в свою очередь”, “короче говоря” и “не удивительно что …”.
7. ,as such,– вводное слово “как таковые”.
8. Neither can they be shared among the member of the society – инверсия, вызванная вынесением в начало предложения слова “neither”, указывающего на повторное отрицание (первое отрицание высказано в предыдущем предложении “… should not be included …”).
9. specific – здесь и в большинстве случаев в социологических текстах имеет значение “конкретный”.
10. precise – точный, конкретный (Ex. Can you be a bit more precise).
11. a major causal factor– главный причинный (обуславливающий) фактор.
12. increasingly – является определением к глаголу или прилагательному и переводится “все больше и больше, все чаще и чаще” и т.д. (Ex. Her job has become increasingly difficult. – Ее работа становилась все труднее и труднее. Increasingly, people are retiring younger. – Все чаще люди уходят на пенсию в более молодом возрасте). Adjectives frequently used with “increasingly”: common, competitive, difficult, important, popular, concerned.
Exercises:
1. Find Russian equivalents for:
to trace the development of culture; all-embracing concept; on grounds similar to the above; to be related to; literate society; interrelated habit system; as we conceive of it (culture); to differenciate; to focuse upon something; by now; learned behaviour; to encourage fuller understanding; to view sociologically; refinement of material artifacts; nevertheless; beliefs; frequently; ownership; vague.
2. Find English equivalents for:
по крайней мере; в какой-то степени; раньше или позже; усовершенствование материальных артефактов; человеческий опыт; огромная база усвоенного поведения; скорее чем; на тех же основаниях; занимать какую-то позицию; всеохватывающая концепция; взаимосвязанная система обычаев (привычек); образованные общества; в узком смысле; иметь отношение к … ; оценивать; владеть; неясный (расплывчатый); конкретный.
3. Answer the questions on the text:
1. What definition of culture do we find in the text?
2. When did culture, as sociologists conceive of it, originate and what does it refer to?
3. How many different human societies have existed in the world according to anthropologists estimates and what have most of them developed?
4. What can encourage fuller understanding of the term culture?
5. What do social scientists generally agree upon as to the essence of culture? And what do they mean by learned behaviour patterns?
6. What should not be included within the definition of culture? Why not?
7. Can nonmaterial culture be transmitted from generation to generation without loss? What happens to material objects when they are transmitted from an individual or a group to persons in the next generation?
8. Why do some sociologists think that material objects may be included within the definition of culture and referred to by the term material culture?
9. When did written language start developing?
10. What makes it possible for us (enables us) to trace the development of culture?
11. What do societies differ in?
12. What societies generally have a much higher level of technological development?
4. Match the words from the left column with their definitions on the right:
| 1. to trace | a. to provide conditions that help something to happen, to give someone confidence or hope |
| 2. to convey | b. to see or show a difference between things, to be the quality or fact that makes one thing defferent from another |
| 3. to encourage | c. to communicate ideas or feelings indirectly, to give official information or a formal message to someone |
| 4. to compose | d. to say what you think an amount or value will be, either by guessing or by using available information to calculate it |
| 5. to argue | e. to deliberately prevent someone or something from being involved in an activity or from entering a place |
| 6. to estimate | f. to describe what happened in a long process or serious of events |
| 7. to exclude | g. to arrange the part of something (such as a photograph, a painting or a piece of music) in order to get a particular object |
| 8. to differentiate | h. to discuss something with someone who has a different opinion from you, to give reasons why you believe that something is right or true |
5. What meaning does the suffix and prefix “en” add to the word? Use the following words to derive new ones (verbs) with this suffix or prefix and translate them into Russian:
a). b).
sharp force
strength large
wide courage
short trust
loose rich
less slave
length danger
light able
like act
mad circle
close
6. Give the opposites to the following words using the following prefixes: dis, ex, un, il, im, over, under, non, mis:
encourage, include, belief, similar, estimate, correctly, related to, precise, literate, material, distinctive, behaviour, agree, essential, use, definitly, separable, possible, experienced, steady, specific, likely, formal, typically, developed (societies), balance.
7. Complete the following statements using the text:
1. The concept of culture is so … that it is difficult … .
2. The terms, society and culture, … .
3. Societies … of people who … culture.
4. The level of technological development in societies is related … language.
5. We take this position because … and … in a society are not … .
6. All learned behaviour patterns are widely … members.
7. Social scientists generally agree that the essence … culture.
8. Although material object … to some degree, there is always … .
9. The social scientists who argue that material object should not be … do so … above.
10. Societies … not only in language … but also in the level … and in … that they produce.
8. Translate the following sentences into Russian. Paraphrase them paying attention to the underlined word combinations:
1. Culture, as we conceive of it, does not refer to just the cultivated prestigious patterns of upper-class groups in a society: our use of the term does not focus upon art or music or manners.
2. Culture refers to the vast store of learned behaviour that has been passed down through the generations and which, increasingly, has differentiated the human way of life from that of other animal species.
3. Without such a definition this concept is likely to remain too vague and imprecise, while a formal definition will help to sharpen our usage of the term and can be expanded to encourage fuller understanding.
4. In some societies, such as the United States, the level of technological developments is so high as to have itself become a major causal factor in the process of social change.
9. Translate into English without using the text:
1. Передаются ли из поколения в поколение усвоенные образцы поведения, распространенные среди членов данного общества?
2. Можно ли утверждать, что всеобъемлющую концепцию культуры трудно передать в одном определении?
3. Определение культуры включает в себя усвоенное поведение (ценности, нормы и язык) а также полученные в результате этого материальные артефакты, которые составляют образ жизни членов общества.
4. Подпадают ли материальные предметы под концепцию культуры?
5. Материальные предметы являются продуктом культуры, а не самой культурой, и к ним относится термин “материальная культура”, не так ли?
6. Как можно проследить развитие культуры до возникновения письменности? Можно ли это сделать только по сохранившимся материальным предметам или также по каким-либо другим доказательствам?
10. Translate from English into Russian the definition of “beliefs” given in the Glossary and from Russian into English the definition of “религиозная вера”. Compare the two definitions and comment on it.
11. Give the main idea of the texts “Definition of culture” and “Material culture and nonmaterial culture”.
| <== previous lecture | | | next lecture ==> |
| Section 2. “Diffusion” and “The selective addition of culture traits”. | | | Section 4. “The problem of cultural lag”. |