Chapter 10. Cultural Geography: Language, Religion and Identity

Culture is the learned set of beliefs, practices, language and material traits shared by a group. Cultural landscapes show human imprint on the land through buildings, farms and monuments [2][3].

Language. There are about 7,000 living languages. The most widely spoken by total speakers include English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Spanish and French. Many languages are endangered, with a large share having few speakers [20].

Religion. Major world religions include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism, along with folk and indigenous traditions and a large nonreligious population. Religions are universalizing (seeking converts) or ethnic (tied to a place or people) [2][21].

Globalization spreads cultural traits quickly through media, trade, migration and the internet, raising both cultural exchange and concerns about loss of local identity [3].

Review: Give one example of how language or religion is visible in a cultural landscape.