Culture There are many things that make up a

Culture
    Good morning, everyone. In this lecture we will learn something about culture. There are many things that make up a culture. In fact, there are so many things about our lives that make up part of the culture we belong to that there is no way to cover them all here.
    Therefore, we will concentrate on only three aspects of culture in this unit. They are language, folklore and holiday. Simply, language is what people and animals use to communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings. Of course, animals communicate with each other differently than humans, and each type of animal communicates differently.
    Like animals, people also use different languages. Each culture has its own words and symbols used by people within that culture to communicate with others in the same culture. Unlike animals though, some cultures use more than one language. People within these cultures are said to be either bilingual or multilingual (使用多种语言的). Not only do people use different languages to communicate, but languages also have different dialects. Adialect is a variation of a language that uses words and grammar somewhat differently from the standard form of the same language.
    There are some people who don’t use a spoken language at all. These people use their hands to communicate. This type of language is called sign language and is most commonly used by people who are deaf. Folklore (民间传说，民俗) is a body of stories that reflect a culture’s beliefs, traditions and values. Often the characters in folktales are real people. When a folktale tells of the actions of a real person, its purpose is to reveal some admired quality of that person’s character. Other folktales use characters that are larger than life to pass on truths that are valued by the culture.
    Folktales have been told for centuries, and all cultures have them. At one time, all folklore was part of an oral tradition and was passed on by word of mouth. Today, folklore finds its way into poetry, song lyrics (歌词) and fables (寓言).
    A holiday is a day made special by a culture’s customs or laws. Holidays help a culture remember and honor its history. Each culture has its own tradition of recognizing and celebrating these special days. People may attend parades, sing songs or give gifts to each other on certain holidays. Some holidays are peculiar (奇怪的，异常的) to a culture. Other holidays, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, are celebrated by many cultures around the world. The best-known religious holiday is Christmas.