英语短文：Folk Cultures

　　A folk culture is a small isolated¹, cohesive², conservative, nearly self-sufficient group that is homogeneous in custom and race with a strong family or clan³ structure and highly developed rituals. Order is maintained through sanctions based in the religion or family and interpersonal. Relationships are strong. Tradition is paramount⁴, and change comes infrequently and slowly. There is relatively⁵ little division of labor⁶ into specialized⁷ duties. Rather, each person is expected to perform a great variety of tasks, though duties may differ between the sexes. Most goods are handmade and subsistence economy prevails. Individualism is weakly developed in folk cultures as are social classes. Unaltered folk cultures no longer exist in industrialized countries such as the United States and Canada. Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent in Anglo America is the Amish, a German American farming sect⁸ that largely renounces⁹ the products and labor saving devices of the industrial age. In Amish areas, horse drawn¹⁰ buggies still serve as a local transportation device and the faithful are not permitted to own automobiles¹¹. The Amish's central religious concept of Demut "humility¹²", clearly reflects the weakness of individualism and social class so typical of folk cultures and there is a corresponding strength of Amish group identity. Rarely do the Amish marry outside their sect. The religion, a variety of the Mennonite faith, provides the principal mechanism¹³ for maintaining order.

　　By contrast a popular culture is a large heterogeneous¹⁴ group often highly individualistic and a pronounced many specialized professions. Secular¹⁵ institutions of control such as the police and army take the place of religion and family in maintaining order, and a money-based economy prevails. Because of these contrasts, "popular" may be viewed as clearly different from "folk". The popular is replacing the folk in industrialized countries and in many developing nations. Folk-made objects give way to their popular equivalent, usually because the popular item is more quickly or cheaply produced, is easier or time saving to use or leads more prestige to the owner.

分享到：