Culture is a very important part of people’s identities. People are born and raised in a culture, the culture of their family and ancestors. The term culture refers to the values, beliefs, traditions, and stories that are shared amongst a group. The word identity is an array of features, attributes, and characteristics within a person. One’s identity is built by their cultural background, ethnicity, language, gender, and social structure. Although most people do not think of culture and identity as similar, the two of them have a complex relationship.
Each culture has its own set of values with different backgrounds and
experiences. A symbol represents a nation, a country, and the meaning of these
symbols must be passed down to that country’s upcoming generations, to teach
them the morals of that culture. There are many different symbols, such as clothing
style, food, cuisine, etc. but I think that the most important symbol is language.
Language is crucial for communication and gives recognition to that culture.
Although we only speak the languages within our own cultures, we should try and
learn other languages too to help have a better understanding of other cultures.
Cultural identity is the concept of belonging to a certain group or society. Its where
we define our place in our social circle, and it contributes to our identity as a
person. Our own cultural identities influence how we feel towards others; we may
feel safer and more comfortable around someone within the same culture as us as
we share some of the same values and have more in common, rather than
someone we are completely different too.
Therefore, our identity is not only the way we see ourselves but also how others
see us, with cultural background being a part of that. This concept is highly
important, as it determines how much respect, judgment, and prejudice we may
face, either as a minority or majority.