Bridging Cultural Differences
WAYS ON HOW TO BRIDGE CULTURAL AND ETHNICAL DIFFERENCES.
The world constitutes people with different cultural and ethnic background. Culture refers to the beliefs, ideas, artifacts that make up a shared way of life while ethnicity refers to a shared cultural heritage (Macionis, 2007 page 60). Now when people differ in cultural and ethnic background there tend to be a gap or conflict between them. For This reason, there must be some ways of bridging this gap. Thus the essay outlines these differences and the ways on how to bridge them.
To begin with, cultural difference is the distinction existing between cultures and it is also called cultural conflict. On the other hand, ethnic difference refers to the difference in cultural heritage that is to say members of an ethnic category have common ancestors, language or religion that together confer a distinctive social identity (Macionis 2007 page 335). If people differ in some aspects of their culture are said to be in ethnic conflict. For instance, cultures and ethnic groups may differ in language, religion, marriage, food habits and dresing.
To clarify on these differences, let us first look at language and symbols. Language refers to the method of human communication, either spoken or written consisting of the use of words in structured and conventional way (Google. Merriam Webster). It plays a great role in interaction between two persons, it helps to share thoughts, emotions and opinions, and it develops communities and knowledge. Basically, language and symbols intermarry in the way that a symbol is something representing an idea, a process and physical entities.
As a result, people of the same language leave in harmony because they are able to communicate. For example, beating of a drum have different meanings according to the area it is done, for instance among the Chewa in the central region it means an invitation to bear in that area, while to other people of Nthalire in Chitipa it may mean
The world constitutes people with different cultural and ethnic background. Culture refers to the beliefs, ideas, artifacts that make up a shared way of life while ethnicity refers to a shared cultural heritage (Macionis, 2007 page 60). Now when people differ in cultural and ethnic background there tend to be a gap or conflict between them. For This reason, there must be some ways of bridging this gap. Thus the essay outlines these differences and the ways on how to bridge them.
To begin with, cultural difference is the distinction existing between cultures and it is also called cultural conflict. On the other hand, ethnic difference refers to the difference in cultural heritage that is to say members of an ethnic category have common ancestors, language or religion that together confer a distinctive social identity (Macionis 2007 page 335). If people differ in some aspects of their culture are said to be in ethnic conflict. For instance, cultures and ethnic groups may differ in language, religion, marriage, food habits and dresing.
To clarify on these differences, let us first look at language and symbols. Language refers to the method of human communication, either spoken or written consisting of the use of words in structured and conventional way (Google. Merriam Webster). It plays a great role in interaction between two persons, it helps to share thoughts, emotions and opinions, and it develops communities and knowledge. Basically, language and symbols intermarry in the way that a symbol is something representing an idea, a process and physical entities.
As a result, people of the same language leave in harmony because they are able to communicate. For example, beating of a drum have different meanings according to the area it is done, for instance among the Chewa in the central region it means an invitation to bear in that area, while to other people of Nthalire in Chitipa it may mean