Folklore: Some Useful Terminology

CULTURE: Everything that human beings (and possibly some other species) do that isn’t motivated solely by natural instinct. Sleeping is natural, not cultural, but sleeping using a pillow is cultural. Eating acorns to stave off starvation is natural; eating acorn bread is cultural. Laughing is natural; laughing at a knock-knock joke is cultural. Culture includes tool-making and -using, creative and artistic expression, language development and use, and formulation of beliefs and values. Culture is also a word used to describe groups of individuals who share common cultural traits but who differ in some way(s) from members of other such groups.