Almost everyone knows about the word "culture", regardless of age, education or nationality. Despite the fact that this concept is very common and often used in everyday colloquial speech, not everyone is able to clearly answer what it means. What is the meaning of the word culture? What was its original meaning? You can find the answers to these questions in the article.
Origin
The original meaning of the word "culture" is very different from what modern people are used to. This may surprise someone, but this concept has nothing to do with the Russian language. The word culture goes back to the Latin verb in the infinitive "culturare", which can be translated as "cultivate the soil", "cultivate the land."
Meaning of the word “culture”
According to experts, the metaphorical use of this term among the people was fixed in the time of Mark Tullius Cicero. This assumption is based on the fact that in Cicero himself, in his Tusculan Conversations, the expression “cultura animae” (which means “culture of the soul”) is taken for granted. If we consider this word from this perspective, then it follows that it is necessary to cultivate not only the earth, but also the human soul. The inhabitants of the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece, according to this view, were just different from barbarians and savages in that their souls were "cultivated" and did not remain at a primitive level. From here the modern meaning of the word "culture" takes its roots.
Definitions of the word "culture"
To study this topic in more detail, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the following definitions of the concept of "culture":
- Culture is an area of activity that includes all the components of art. These include literature, theatrical activities, cinema, sculpture, painting, opera, architecture, music, photography, etc.
- Culture - material and spiritual values of a particular people, which are transmitted from ancestors to descendants. Material values include monuments, architectural structures and sculptures, and spiritual values include knowledge, wisdom, family and social traditions, ideas, and customs.
- Culture is a common "cauldron" of spiritual values of different nationalities that live on the territory of one state. For example, the Russian Federation is a multinational country on the territory of which more than 180 peoples live. Each nation contributes to a common culture. This may be knowledge, traditions, religion, etc. The spiritual values of one nation indirectly affect the peoples living nearby.
- Culture - a set of manifestations of life, creative activity and experience of one or more peoples. If we consider it from the point of view of content, it breaks up into various areas: language and writing, morality and traditions, the nature of troops, methods of education, religion, art, science, technology, economics, politics, and other forms of manifestation of the spirit of a certain people.
Perhaps these are the main meanings of the word "culture". Although the history of the development of this concept shows that such a term was used in different fields, now the word culture basically means art, values and creativity.