Cultural region
Cultural region is a term used mainly in the study of geography. Distinct cultures often do not limit their geographic coverage inside the borders of a nation state, or to smaller subdivisions of a state. To 'map' a culture, we often have to identify an actual 'cultural region', and when we do this we find that it bears little relationship to the legal borders drawn up by custom, treaties, charters or wars.
There are different kinds of cultural regions that can be delineated. A map of culture that maps 'religion & folklore' may have slightly different shape to one which, in the same region, maps 'dress and architecture'.
A formal cultural region is one in which there is clearly a homogeneous cultural identity on a wide variety of levels. These are often found to map onto specific bioregions, reflecting ancient migrations.
A functional cultural region is one that has been largely brought into being as a function of having a central cultural hub (e.g. a monastery or a TV station).
A vernacular cultural region is that 'mental image' of a region which exists in the minds of outsiders.
An aspirational cultural region is that 'mental image' of a region which exists primarily in the minds of those who would work to create it in the future. For instance, in the nationalist struggles on the Balkan Peninsula under the Ottoman Empire, or in the Jewish diaspora before the creation of Israel.
Such regions may expand or contract over time, and cultural values may also shift.
See also:
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