# culture



## Gavril

The English word _culture _has at least two main meanings:

1. The customs that a group of people live by
(example: "Japanese culture is very different from British culture")

2. Sophistication in art, music, science etc.
(ex.: "When I want to experience culture, I go to the opera.")

Which languages use the same word for both these concepts, and which languages use a different one for each?


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## jazyk

Portuguese cultura means both.


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## Awwal12

Basically Russian "культура" (/kul't*u*ra/, [kʊlʲ'turə]) will do for the both.


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## Black4blue

I guess both of them are *kültür* in Turkish.


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## Maroseika

Russian культура also mean a type of crop and a type of bacterium or virus.


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## jazyk

Portuguese cultura is also like Russian.


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## Maroseika

jazyk said:


> Portuguese cultura is also like Russian.


Russian is from German.


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## sakvaka

*Finnish *_kulttuuri_ can mean the both.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
We usually reserve «πολιτισμός» (politiz'mos, _masculine noun_) for the customs that a group of people live by, e.g. «Ιαπωνικός πολιτισμός» (Iaponi'kos politiz'mos)-->_Japanese culture_. «Πολιτισμός» lit. means _civilization_.
For the sophistication in art, music, science etc. we use the Latin loan word, «κουλτούρα» (kul'tura, _feminine noun_)


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## Gavril

sakvaka said:


> *Finnish *_kulttuuri_ can mean the both.



What about _sivistys_? As far as I know, it can only mean "sophistication in art, science etc.", not "the customs people live by" -- is that correct?


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## sakvaka

Gavril said:


> What about _sivistys_? As far as I know, it can only mean "sophistication in art, science etc.", not "the customs people live by" -- is that correct?



Yes, sophistication, but in art this refers to the phenomenon of having esthetical values? "Kulttuuri" refers to the artworks themselves.

If someone said to me "Menään taidemuseoon ihailemaan sivistystä", I'd rather think they are talking about our cultural atmosphere (also: muinaisten kreikkalaisten sivistys) or scientifical achievements. Artistic expressions are still _kulttuuri(a)_.

Hmm... maybe a misleading explanation.


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## ThomasK

In Dutch you could use the same word as well: _cultuur_. But (1) reminds me of a lifestyle/ _levenswijze_. I just checked whether the dictionary suggests any synonyms, and it does not. I generally paraphrase that _cultuur_ a way of living and thinking (customs, yes, but based on particular ways of thinking), and maybe some people would call it a civilisation/ _beschaving_ as well, whereas it sounds quite different. 

If we were to refer to customs only: _gebruiken_ would be the term in Dutch.


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## Orlin

Awwal12 said:


> Basically Russian "культура" (/kul't*u*ra/, [kʊlʲ'turə]) will do for the both.


Bulgarian "култура"/kult*u*ra too.


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## Tjahzi

*Swedish* uses _kultur_ for both as well.


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## DearPrudence

I think it's pretty much the same in French.
I don't know if it interests you to know that "culture" is used for other things as well:
"culture" (as in "culture générale") = knowledge
"culture" (farming) = cultivation, growing, crop


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## merquiades

Maroseika said:


> Russian культура also mean a type of crop and a type of bacterium or virus.



In English it can also mean a type bacteria or virus especially when applied to laboratories.  Not really for crops though, that's cultivation or it is seen in agriCulture.

Or as said, it is good for your "general culture", knowledge.


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## mataripis

*Tagalog: Kinagisnan     **Dumaget: Kinagyosan


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## terredepomme

The word 文化(wenhua/munhua/bunka) in East Asian languages is a translated word of the European word culture, because this concept did not exist before the contact with the Europeans.
Being a loanword, it means pretty much the same thing as its European equivalent, but curiously enough, it has developped an additional meaning in East Asia, that of "civilized, well-mannered."
Example:
문화시민은 쓰레기를 버리지 않는다. A civilized(lit. "cultured") citizen does not litter.


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## 涼宮

terredepomme said:


> 문화시민은 쓰레기를 버리지 않는다. A civilized(lit. "cultured") citizen does not litter.



And I think this meaning exists in Spanish, but I don't know if other countries use it, in Venezuela it does exist.

''¡Ese tipo no tiene cultura, mira como come!'' That fellow doesn't have ''culture'' look at the way he eats!

In this case culture means something like ''manners/education/behavior''


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## ancalimon

Black4blue said:


> I guess both of them are *kültür* in Turkish.



In Turkish:

1. The customs that a group of people live by    *: TÖRE* (this one is old Turkic. It's related to TÜRE with the meanings of replicating a herd, growing grain, etc) [TARIM:AGRICULTURE  TORPAK:EARTH,SOIL,COUNTRY]  These are all related.
(..  It also means laws of a group)
Silahsıza kılıç çekmek Türk töresine uymaz. (Drawing a sword to someone unarmed doesn't suit the Turkish culture)

2. Sophistication in art, music, science etc.        *: KÜLTÜR*  (its a loan in Turkish.)
İngiliz kültürü bütün yer yüzüne yayılmış durumda. (English culture has spread all around the word.)

I think Turkic "töre" and the non-Turkic "culture" are related but people don't agree with me and I can't understand why.


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## tFighterPilot

In Hebrew it's same word as well. Tarbút תרבות.


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## ElFrikiChino

In Italian too: cultura.
It means customs, sofistication AND being educated. To be educated = (roughly) to possess a great culture. But it's not the only way to express it.

EFC


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## ger4

Gavril said:


> The English word _culture _has at least two main meanings:
> 
> 1. The customs that a group of people live by
> (example: "Japanese culture is very different from British culture")
> 
> 2. Sophistication in art, music, science etc.
> (ex.: "When I want to experience culture, I go to the opera.")
> 
> Which languages use the same word for both these concepts, and which languages use a different one for each?


The German word 'Kultur' can also express both meanings. As for (1), there are some other options:
- Lebensart, Lebensweise -  ' way of living'
- Mentalität, Denkweise - 'mentality, way of thinking'*  

1a. _Die japanische Kultur ist ganz anders als die britische._
1b. _Die japanische Lebensweise ist ganz anders als die britische._
1c. _Die japanische Lebensart ist ganz anders als die britische._
1d. _Die japanische Mentalität ist ganz anders als die britische._
1e. _Die japanische Denkweise ist ganz anders als die britische._
2. _Wenn ich Kultur erleben will, gehe ich in die Oper._

* not really a direct equivalent but used more frequently in German than in English - at least that's my impression


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