What does Culture mean to us?

Regina

There are various definitions of culture, one being, the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time. Indeed, culture is the way of life of certain people from a particular place or society. In my opinion, one distinct point would be the language of different people in different parts of the world. In this world, there are approximately 2700 different languages spoken. In different countries, there are always different languages. Even though some may sound similar, they would still vary from country to country. A person from one country could learn the language of another but it would still sound slightly different when spoken, simply because he/she is not from that particular country. To me, language differentiates people. Language is unique to people because one common language can be spoken across the world but how many actually succeed in understanding it fully other than those from that particular country? We may understand all the words and phrases presented in dictionaries but then, there are always other aspects to the language spoken in the country. For example, Singapore all have a common language of English, however, underlying this English is Singapore's own language, Singlish. People from other countries may have heard or know the existence of Singlish. However, it is still undeniable that this is Singapore's own unique language, part of our culture. Therefore, I think that language is one of the main parts in culture diversity because it plays an important role in people's way of life.

Sin Re

Culture is how people of a group (mons, tribe, moiety, nation,) interract with each other. It is the internality of the distinct ways of their interraction that we can call the culture of their ways. Culture also defines the way they react to situations differently, using a different set of beliefs to choose what they feel is the best choice.

For me it is like an awakening to the newness of how peoples are viewed and what they have experienced. It changes one forever, for the better. I have learnt about how the different cultures all demand respect no matter how weird it may seem to our lives because they all function on their set of rules and priorities just like us. Culture also fascinates me as I can hardly imagine how our ancestors might have acted like that caused them to have such a culture. Culture also helps me to accept things no matter how weird or different it may seem because just like their culture seem weird to us, ours must have been foreign to them as well, and if they are able to accept it, why can't we? Culture is also something that is similar yet different to me as they all are set up and passed down generations in hopes of teaching their children to lead a more fruitful and meaningful life, which makes culture all the more special and unique to all of us as it is something our ancestors had passed down to us to guide us. Therefore I feel that culture is something close to our hearts that should be preserved forever.

Douglas

The definition of culture defers from a person to another. Everyone has a differrent view on what culture means to him or her be it language, customs, arts, beliefs, the gods they worships or even their lifestyle. But to me, culture is the language we speak. Although english is the common language among people, there are still many different languages around the world, as many as 2000+. Some of which are special and only spoken among a certain groups of people in a country. This makes it really signifcant to the particular country which in turn makes up their culture. Every single country has a language they call their own, only known to be spoken among themselves. Thats is their culture, something special and different from everyone else. As a Singaporean, i am proud to say that we have a language we call ours. One that is only understood among us Singaporeans. And that is Singlish. We often put ‘ lah‘ ‘ lor‘ at the end of our sentences. Other people may think it is irrelevant but to us singaporeans, it might be part of our sentence or a word that can help us express our words better. Although i cant deny  that there are some foreigners that can understand singlish but who made it? We singaporeans. And this a part of OUR culture. So to me, language makes up a huge part of culture as it distinguish one from another and plays an important role in our everyday life.

Lin Xu

Culture as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary means:The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Culture, is what keeps each different race, minority tribes, organisations, schools, even teams different. Each and every group of people has a set of customs they follow. This is culture. In Singapore, we have our own unique culture. Let's say the Merlion just which country has such a unique creature as us. The Merlion is a sign of our culture. And oh, even our ever debated language-singlish. Singlish, put down by many intellectuals, adored by Singaporeans. So which stand you take on singlish; the advocater or the one who is fiercely against it? Whichever stand you might take, you can never forget that singlish is a part of our culture. Something that makes us uniquely singapore. It is an often critisized language that makes us unique. However, going to Taiwan, we will experience a different culture. I look forward to learning about theirs and of cause, sharing ours.