CULTURAL COMPONENT

Culture, the total way of life that characterizes a group of people, is one of the most important things that geographers study. There are literally thousands of cultures on Earth today and each contributes to global diversity. One reason for the existence of so many cultures is that there are so many ways that Earth's 6.3 billion people can be culturally different. Specifically, a culture consists of numerous cultural component that vary from one culture group to the next. For example, language is a cultural component. While some cultural communities use English, others speak Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, or another of the thousands of languages spoken today. Religion is another cultural component, and there are hundreds (if not thousands) of ways that different culture groups practice and are characterized by that trait. Likewise, there is a world of cultural differences with respect to technology and medicine, economic and agricultural activity, and modes of architecture and transportation. Moreover cultural communities may differ in their dress, grooming, music, cuisine, dance, sport, etiquette, and other cultural components, all of which make for a culturally diverse world