Box 2.1. Basic features of culture- Culture is organic and supraorganic
- Culture is implicit and explicit
- Culture is stable and changing
- Culture is overt and covert
- Culture is learned and shared
- Culture is symbolic
- Culture is ideal and manifest
2.2.3. Elements of Culture
Culture includes within itself elements that make up the
essence of a society or a social group. The major ones
include: Symbols, values, norms, and language (See
Henslin and Nelson, 1995; Calhoun et al. 1994).
Symbols
Symbols are the central components of culture. Symbols
refer to anything to which people attach meaning and
which they use to communicate with others. More
specifically, symbols are words, objects, gestures,
sounds or images that represent something else rather