kultuur

Kultuur is a concept describing the set of shared beliefs, values, practices, symbols, language, and artifacts that define a group's way of life. The term is used in several languages, notably Afrikaans and Estonian, to denote culture. Its etymology traces to Latin cultura, entering European languages via French and Dutch, with spelling variations such as cultuur in Dutch and kultuur in Afrikaans and Estonian.

Kultuur comprises material culture, including tools, technology, cuisine, clothing, and built environments, and non-material culture, such as language, religion, norms, rituals, and ideologies. It is learned through socialization and enculturation within families, schools, and communities and is transmitted across generations. Culture provides frameworks for interpreting the world, guiding behavior, and shaping social interactions.

Kultuur is dynamic rather than fixed; it varies within societies and evolves over time through contact with other cultures, migration, globalization, and technological change. Subcultures and countercultures can emerge, offering alternative values, practices, and identities while remaining part of a larger cultural context.

Scholars in anthropology, sociology, history, and cultural studies study kultuur to understand how people make meaning, organize social life, and exercise power. The field emphasizes that kultuur is produced and reproduced by individuals and institutions alike, and that it both reflects and influences social structure, identity, and history.