An assignment about English-speaking countries

1. Collegue: ISFD 41º
Subject: Language and Culture I
Students: Carol Peñalva, Rebeca Rianelli,
Camila Romero, Catalina Quintana
Group: 1º 1º, 2017
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2. CONTENTS
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1. Great Britain 3-4
2. England 5-6
3. Wales 7-8
4. Scotland 9-10
5. Ireland 11-12
6. The United States of America 13-14
7. Canada 15-16
8. West Indies 17-18
9. Australia 19-20
10.New Zealand 21-22
11.Asia 23-24
12.Africa 25-26

3. Great Britain
The UK and Great Britain – What’s the
Difference?
It is a question we often get asked; The UK, Britain, Great
Britain, The British Isles, England… what’s the difference?
The UK is short for The United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. It is a sovereign state, and is made up of four
countries; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is
a political name and everyone from UK can call themselves
British, but generally people from Scotland call themselves
Scottish. People from wales call themself welsh and people
from Northern Ireland call themselves British or Irish.
Great Britain is not a country; it is a landmass. It is known as
‘Great’ because it is the largest island in the British Isles, and
houses the countries of England, Scotland and Wales within its
shores. The
British Isles is the name of a group of islands situated off the
north western corner of mainland Europe. It is made up of
Great Britain, Ireland, The Isle of Man, The Isles of Scilly, The
Channel Islands (including Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and
Alderney), as well as over 6,000 other smaller islands.
Country Capital People Language Flag Religion
Great Britain London The British English It is diverse, complex and
multicultural
England London The English English
Anglican, Roman Catholic,
Jews and Muslims
Scotland Edinburgh The Scots Scottish/English Presbyterian
Wales Cardiff The Welsh Welsh/English Cristianity, Buddhists, hindus
NorthernIreland Belfast The Irish Irish/English
Protestan, anglican and
Roman catholic
UK
Interesting Fact:
Major Oak is a centennial oak. Its age is established between 900
and 1000 years, and is considered the largest tree in Britain. It is
located in the Sherwood Forest, near the town of Edwinstowe in
Nottinghamshire. According to local legends, this tree served as a
refuge for Robin Hood and his crew; with an arboreal canopy of 28
meters and an approximate weight of 23 tons.
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4. Costume and traditions in Britain
The British are well known for their unconditional love for 5
o'clock tea, the so-called Five O'clock Tea. They are also
famous for being the creators of football and for their
fanaticism for cricket, one of the English sports par
excellence. Rugby is another of his passions.
Other traditions and customs of the United Kingdom have to
do with their typical meals. The main course is fish and chips
and also stand out beef, lamb, chicken and vegetables. At
lunch time is very common to have a quick sandwich. For
breakfast the famous dish with eggs, bacon, tomato, sausage
and baked beans ; fill them with energy just after the start of
the day.
If we talk about drinks, clearly, the tea takes first place, then
coffee, bitter beer, whiskey and wine.
British gather with friends for a drink in public houses, better
known as pubs. They are a symbol of social life in the UK,
where people eat, drink, talk and relax.
The music has been home to great artists like The Beatles,
Queen, Oasis, Elton John, U2, Radiohead and the list goes on.
His musicians have always had great influence abroad.
Law and Order
The British Parliament consists of two houses, The House of Commons and
The House of Lords. It is known that The House of Commons is the most
important because decides all new laws and reforms and The House of Lords
must approve these laws or reforms before they can become legal.
The House of Commons is made up of MPs, Members of the Parliament, who
are openly elected every five years. There are 659 MPs and each one
represents a different constituency.
Voting system; there are two main type of voting in the UK. The First Past the
Post (FPTP) system and Proportional Representation (PR) system.
Some UK political Parties list:
Conservatives
Liberal Democrats
Labour
UK Independence Party
SNP
UK government structure
•Central government- The Monarch - House of Lords -
House of commons
•Devolved Parliament – The Scottish parliament – The
Northern Ireland Assembly – The welsh Assembly.
•Regional government – Local Authorities.
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5. Location
England is a predominant constituent unit of The
United Kingdom, occupying more than half the
island of Great Britain. It is bounded on the North
by Scotland, on the west by the Irish Sea, Wales
and the Atlantic Ocean on the South by the
English Channel and on the east by the North
Sea.
England is a large country and it is the most
densely populated. Most people live in the
prosperous and fertile south east of the country.
The most inhabited cities is London but there are
other important cities like Birmingham,
Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol.
England
Ethnic group and Languages
The English language is multilingual, drawn from a variety of sources, and its vocabulary has
been increased by importations from throughout the world. The main ethnic stem of English the
Anglo-Saxons who invaded and colonized England in the 5th and 6th centuries.
In the millennia following the last glacial period, the British Isles were inhabited by migrant tribes
from the continent of Europe and later by traders from the Mediterranean area.
During the Roman occupation England was inhabited by Celtic speaking Britons but Britons
yielded to the invading Angles, Saxons and Jutes, from present northwestern Germany, except
in the mountainous areas of western and northern Great Britain. The Anglo-Saxons preserved
and absorbed little of the Roman-British culture they found in the 5th century. There are few
traces of Celtic or Roman Latin in the early English of the Anglo-Saxons, though some words
survive in place-names.
Modern English share many similar words with Latin that come from romance language like
French and Spanish.
Old English is the language of Beowulf. It belong to Germany language family.
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6. Food and drink before and now
Meats at the heart of the main meal, which usually was eaten at midday. Along with this main course, there might be a
dish such as a meat casserole, and fish also was consumed. Heavy sauces, gravies, soups and stews or puddings
(savory and sweet), and pasties and pies also were eaten. Vegetables included potatoes and carrots, turnips and
cabbage, and salad vegetables. Fruit was also part of the diet, though in small proportions. Lighter meals included
variations of the sandwich. Breakfast foods ranged from hot cereals to tea, toast, and marmalade, to steak, eggs, and
kidneys. These foods were not available to most people before World War II. The rural poor, for example, ate a diet
based on cheese and bread, with bacon eaten a few times a week, supplemented by fresh milk if available, cabbage,
and vegetables if a garden was kept. All the classes drank tea; beer was drunk by the working classes and other
alcoholic beverages were drunk by the middle and upper classes.The main meal is now eaten in the evening and is
likely to consist of frozen or ready-made food. In addition to eating out in pubs, inns, and restaurants, people consume
fast food. There has been a dramatic increase in the variety of foreign cuisine, ranging from Chinese and Indian to
French and Italian.
Interesting facts
•England was the first industrialized nation after the industrial revolution that began
around 1760.
•Famous English scientists include Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Isaac
Newtonand Stephen Hawking among many others.
•The longest river found entirely in England is the River Thames, it flows through
London and is slightly shorter than the River Severn at around 346 kilometres (215
miles) in length.
•The largest lake in England is named Windermere.
•The highest mountain in England is Scafell Pike, which stands at around 978 metres
(3,209 ft.) in height.
•England has a large economy and uses the pound sterling as its currency.
•English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee is credited with inventing the World Wide
Web.
•There have been a number of influential English authors but perhaps the most well-
known is William Shakespeare, who wrote classics such as Romeo and Juliet,
Macbeth and Hamlet.
•William Shakespeare was Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England
•Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in England but others such as cricket and
rugby have large followings.
•The Summer Olympic Games have been held in London 3 times, in 1908, 1948 and
2012.
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7. Wales
Location
Wales is one of the four constituent nations of the
United Kingdom which is very small and it is the only
country not to be represented in the union jack. And it
is because wales and England were united under one
king when the flag was created.
Wales is located in a wide peninsula in the western
portion of the island of Great Britain and Cardiff is its
capital. The island of Anglesey is also considered a
part of Wales and is separated from the mainland by
the Menai Strait. Wales is surrounded by water on
three sides: to the north, the Irish Sea; to the south,
the Bristol Channel; and to the west, Saint George's
Channel and Cardigan Bay. The English counties of
Cheshire, Shropshire, Hereford, Worcester, and
Gloucestershire border Wales on the east.
Identity and language
It is known the Wales have a strong sense of national identity, it is a country with two languages;
Welsh and English. Welsh is spoken by around 20% of the population. Although the North West
has the highest ratio of Welsh to English speakers, a greater number of Welsh speakers live in
the more populous south. Most areas are far from completely Anglicized, and the language is
strong across Wales.
There are several dialects of Welsh, most audibly north and south. The road signs are bilingual,
giving both the Welsh and English versions of the text and place names.
The Welsh language (Cymru) continues to flourish within Wales thanks to Welsh-medium
education, a lively media industry and the enthusiasm of people living in Wales. The rights of the
language have also been helped by bilingual and language policies made law by the Government.
Literature
Literature and poetry occupy an important position in Wales for historical and linguistic
reasons. Welsh culture was based on an oral tradition of legends, myths, and folktales
passed down from generation to generation. The most famous early bardic poets, Taliesin
and Aneirin, wrote epic poems about Welsh events and legends around the seventh century.
Increasing literacy in the eighteenth century and the concern of Welsh intellectuals for the
preservation of the language and culture gave birth to modern written Welsh literature. As
industrialization and Anglicization began to threaten traditional Welsh culture, efforts were
made to promote the language, preserve Welsh poetry, and encourage Welsh writers. Dylan
Thomas, however, the best known twentieth century Welsh poet, wrote in English. Literary
festivals and competitions help keep this tradition alive, as does the continued promotion of
Welsh, the Celtic language with the largest number of speakers today. Nevertheless, the
influence of other cultures combined with the ease of communication through mass media,
from both inside the United Kingdom and from other parts of the world, continually undermine
efforts to preserve a purely Welsh form of literature.
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8. History
Wales is steeped in history, it wasn't always a part of Great Britain and has very
strong Celtic roots. Between the 9th and 11th centuries it was divided into small
states, but in the 13th century Llywelynap Iorwerth united the country and his son was
crowned the first Prince of Wales, this state ended very quickly in 1282, when Edward
I of England conquered Wales and gave the title of Prince of Wales to his son,
Edward. Ever since the eldest son of the King or Queen of England has been given
this title, the current Prince of Wales is of course Prince Charles.
All over Wales there are magnificent stone castles and ruins from this time. Built by
the English to control the Welsh, the best known are at Beaumaris, Caernarfon,
Conwy, and Harlech.
Today Wales has an assembly and runs many of its own affairs.
who led the cavalry charge against the English.
The symbol of Wales, which also appears on the flag, is a red dragon.
Supposedly brought to the colony of Britain by the Romans, the dragon
was a popular symbol in the ancient world and was used by the Romans
and the Saxons. It became the national symbol of Wales when Henry VII,
who became king in 1485 and had used it as his battle flag during the
battle of Bosworth Field, decreed that the red dragon should become the
official flag of Wales.
The leek and the daffodil are also important Welsh symbols. One legend
connects the leek to Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, who defeated the
pagan Saxons in a victorious battle that supposedly occurred in a field of leeks.
It is more likely that leeks were adopted as a national symbol because of their
importance to the Welsh diet, particularly during Lent when meat was not
allowed.
Another, less famous Welsh symbol consists of three ostrich plumes and
the motto "IchDien" (translation: "I serve") from the Battle of Crecy,
France, in 1346. It was probably borrowed from the motto of the King of
Bohemia, who led the cavalry charge against the English.
Interesting fact
Wales has a total of 641 castles. It is a historical feat, taking into account that the expansion of this nation is not very
large. Some of them have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, such as the north-western castles:
Caernarfon, Baumaris, Conwy and Harlech. In addition, Wales would have more castles per square mile than
anywhere else in the world.
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9. Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and
covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares
a border with England to the south, and is otherwise
surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the
east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. In
addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than
790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent
sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist
until 1707. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union
with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new
Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new
Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the
Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801,
Great Britain itself entered into a political union with the
Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland
Culture
Scottish music is a significant aspect of the nation's culture, with both
traditional and modern influences. A famous traditional Scottish instrument
is the Great Highland Bagpipe, a wind instrument consisting of three drones
and a melody pipe (called the chanter), which are fed continuously by a
reservoir of air in a bag. Bagpipe bands, featuring bagpipes and various
types of drums, and showcasing Scottish music styles while creating new
ones, have spread throughout the world. The clàrsach (harp), fiddle and
accordion are also traditional Scottish instruments, the latter two heavily
featured in Scottish country dance bands. There are many successful
Scottish bands and individual artists in varying styles including Annie
Lennox, Amy Macdonald, Runrig, Boards of Canada, Cocteau Twins,
Deacon Blue, Franz Ferdinand, Susan Boyle, Emeli Sandé, Texas, The
View, The Fratellis, Twin Atlantic and Biffy Clyro. Other Scottish musicians
include Shirley Manson, Paolo Nutini and Calvin Harris.
Literary heritage dating back to the early Middle Ages. The first surviving
major text in Early Scots is the 14th-century poet John Barbour's epic Brus,
focusing on the life of Robert I, and was soon followed by a series of vernacular
romances and prose works.[296] In the 16th century the crown's patronage
helped the development of Scots drama and poetry, but the accession of James
VI to the English throne removed a major centre of literary patronage and Scots
was sidelined as a literary language. Interest in Scots literature was revived in
the 18th century by figures including James Macpherson the first Scottish poet
to gain an international reputation and was a major influence on the European
Enlightenment. It was also a major influence on Robert Burns, whom many
consider the national poet, and Walter Scott, whose Waverley Novels did much
to define Scottish identity in the 19th century. Towards the end of the Victorian
era a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations as
writers in English, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M.
Barrie and George MacDonald. 9

10. Sports
Scotland hosts its own national sporting competitions and has independent
representation at several international sporting events, including the FIFA
World Cup, the Rugby Union World Cup, the Rugby League World Cup, the
Cricket World Cup, the Netball World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
Scotland has its own national governing bodies, such as the Scottish Football
Association (the second oldest national football association in the world) and
the Scottish Rugby Union. Variations of football have been played in
Scotland for centuries, with the earliest reference dating back to 1424.
Association football is the most popular sport and the Scottish Cup is the
world's oldest national trophy.
Most popular food
Haggis
traditionally consists of
sheep’s liver, heart and
lung minced with suet
(fat), onion, oats and
spices and encased in
sausage casing (sheep
stomach originally) for
cooking.
Stovies
Simple in its execution,
potatoes, beef, onions,
butter/fat and stock
confined to one pan.
stovies should be served
with oatcakes and
beetroot.
 Full Scottish Breakfast:
consists of Bacon, egg,
sausage, beans, black
pudding, tattie scone,
tomato, mushrooms and
toast, all washed down with
a pot of tea or coffee and
orange juice.
Cullen Skink
consists of smoked
haddock, potatoes and
onions and is a local
speciality of the town of
Cullen in the North-
East, however, you will
find it on many Scottish
menus nationwide.
Pudding
Made primarily of blood, varied
meat and oatmeal, black pudding
is common in Scotland with
Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis
being particularly famous for
having fantastic and good quality
pudding.
Cranachan
It´s made with Cream;
honey; whisky-soaked
oats and raspberries.
Rowies
Consisting primarily of flour,
salt, lard, oil/butter and
usually spread with jam.
Interesting fact:
Foreign cuisine is just as much a part of Scotland’s identity. With a multi-cultural country comes multi-cultural food;
from Polish to Turkish, Scotland boasts a healthy and diverse café/restaurant scene.
Scotland contested the first ever international football game in 1872 against England. The match took place at Hamilton
Crescent, Glasgow, home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club.
With the modern game of golf originating in 15th century Scotland, the country is promoted as the home of golf. To
many golfers the Old Course in the Fife town of St. Andrews, an ancient links course dating to before 1574, is
considered a site of pilgrimage. The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf
Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors. There are many other famous golf courses
in Scotland, including Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Muirfield, and Royal Troon. Other distinctive features of the national
sporting culture include the Highland games, curling and shinty. In boxing, Scotland has had 13 world champions,
including Ken Buchanan, Benny Lynch and Jim Watt.
Haggis
Scottish Breakfast Pudding
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11. Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great
Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St
George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the
British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest
on Earth.
Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland
(officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island,
and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, in the
northeast of the island. In 2011, the population of Ireland was
about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in
Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the
Republic of Ireland and just over 1.8 million live in Northern
Ireland.
The island was Christianized from the 5th century onward.
Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England
claimed sovereignty over Ireland. However, English rule did not
extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor
conquest, which led to colonization by settlers from Britain. In the
1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to
materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant
dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. With the
Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United
Kingdom. A war of independence in the early 20th century was
followed by the partition of the island, creating the Irish Free State,
which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades,
and Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United
Kingdom. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European
Economic Community while the United Kingdom, and Northern
Ireland, as part of it, did the same.
Ireland
Cultural roots
Ireland's culture comprises elements of the culture of ancient peoples, later
immigrant and broadcast cultural influences (chiefly Gaelic culture,
Anglicization, Americanization and aspects of broader European culture).
Ireland is regarded as one of the Celtic nations of Europe, alongside Scotland,
Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany. This combination of cultural
influences is visible in the intricate designs termed Irish interlace or Celtic
knotwork. These can be seen in the ornamentation of medieval religious and
secular works. The style is still popular today in jewellery and graphic art, as is
the distinctive style of traditional Irish music and dance, and has become
indicative of modern "Celtic" culture in general.
Literature
Ireland has made a large contribution in all its branches, particularly in the
English language. Poetry in Irish is among the oldest vernacular poetry in
Europe, with the earliest examples dating from the 6th century. In English,
Jonathan Swift, still often called the foremost satirist in the English
language, was very popular in his day for works such as Gulliver's Travels
and A Modest Proposal, and Oscar Wilde is known most for his often
quoted witticisms.
In the 20th century, Ireland produced four winners of the Nobel Prize for
Literature: George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett
and Seamus Heaney.
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12. Music
Music has been in evidence in Ireland since prehistoric times. Irish
traditional music and dance has seen a surge in popularity and global
coverage since the 1960s. In the middle years of the 20th century, as
Irish society was modernizing, traditional music had fallen out of
favour, especially in urban areas. However during the 1960s, there
was a revival of interest in Irish traditional music led by groups such as
The Dubliners, The Chieftains, The Wolfe Tones, the Clancy Brothers,
Sweeney's Men and individuals like Seán Ó Riada and Christy Moore.
Groups and musicians including Horslips, Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy
incorporated elements of Irish traditional music into contemporary rock
music and, during the 1970s and 1980s, The most popular Irish
musicians are Enya, The Saw Doctors, The Corrs, Sinéad O'Connor,
Clannad, The Cranberries and The Pogues among others.
Most popular Irish food
Soda bread
The basic ingredients are “bread
soda” (bicarbonate of soda) and
buttermilk form the raising agent,
which is mixed in with flour. and
spread liberally with butter.
Shellfish
Shellfish abound in Irish cuisine,
from clams in Connemara, to Molly
Malone’s famed cockles and
mussels, and Dublin Bay prawns
(langoustines).
Colcannon and champ
Colcannon is a classic mash of
potatoes, cabbage or kale and
butter or cream, flavored with
scallions (spring onions), and
champ is a similar, mashed
potato, flavoured with
scallions, milk and butter.
Boxty
Grated raw potato to be mixed with
mashed potato and then either; mixed
with flour and salt and boiled before
being sliced and fried in butter (boxty
dumplings), added to a pancake-like
batter before being fried (boxty on the
pan), or the batter mix baked in a loaf
tin and then sliced and fried (boxty in
the oven).
Boiled bacon and cabbage
Traditionally, salted pork – a cut from
the shoulder or back of the pig – would
have been soaked overnight depending
on how much desalting was needed,
before being boiled, with the cabbage
added to the cooking pot in the last ten
minutes. A silky, parsley sauce is the
classic accompaniment.
Irish salmon and smoked
salmon
Salmon poached and served with
a white sauce, potatoes and spring
greens.
Black and white pudding
pork meat, fat and blood mixed
with barley, suet and oatmeal in
an intensely flavored sausage.
White pudding (minus the blood)
Coddled pork
The leftovers at the end of the
week would be slowly stewed in the
oven for hours, with slices of pork
sausage packed in with bacon
rashers or leftover boiled bacon and
sliced potatoes and onions.
Interesting fact
Irish and Scottish dishes share some ingredients and even recipes for their typical menus, the black
and with pudding are a perfect example of the similarities on their food.
Irish stew
Irish stew is more likely
made with lamb, herbs
(thyme, parsley, bay
leaves) and stock added
for depth of flavour.
Typical Irish Breakfast
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13. United States of America
The United States of America commonly known as the United
States (U.S.) or America (It´s the northern part of America, the
other parts are South America and Central America), is a federal
republic composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-
governing territories, and various possessions. Forty-eight of the
fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in
North America between Canada and Mexico (the other countries
in North America). The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner
of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across
the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The state of Hawaii is
an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are
scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea,
stretching across nine time zones. The extremely diverse
geography, climate and wildlife of the United States make it one
of the world's 17 mega diverse countries.
Who discovered the U.S?
Older textbooks start with the arrival of Christopher Columbus an Italian Explorer on October
12, 1492 and emphasize the European background of the colonization of the Americas. In
recent decades American schools and universities typically have shifted back in time to
include more on the colonial period and much more on the prehistory of the Native
Americans. That's because Indigenous people lived in what is now the United States for
thousands of years before European colonists began to arrive, mostly from England, after
1600.
The Spanish built small settlements in Florida and the Southwest, and the French along the
Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. By the 1770s, thirteen British colonies contained two
and a half million people along the Atlantic coast east of the Appalachian Mountains. After the
end of the French and Indian Wars in the 1760s, the British government imposed a series of
new taxes, rejecting the colonists' argument that any new taxes had to be approved by them
(see Stamp Act 1765). Tax resistance, especially the Boston Tea Party (1773), led to punitive
laws (the Intolerable Acts) by Parliament designed to end self-government in Massachusetts.
American Patriots (as they called themselves) adhered to a political ideology called
republicanism that emphasized civic duty, virtue, and opposition to corruption, fancy luxuries
and aristocracy. The thirteen colonies declared war against the British and one year later
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, In 1783 the States won the war
and became the United states of America with their first president George Washington.
Fauna of The U.S
The fauna of the United States of America is all the animals living in the
Continental United States and its surrounding seas and islands, the
Hawaiian Archipelago, Alaska in the Arctic, and several island-territories
in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. The U.S. has very rare indigenous
species found nowhere else on Earth. With most of the North American
continent, the U.S. lies in the Nearctic faunistic realm, a region containing
an assemblage of species similar to northern parts of Africa and Eurasia.
An estimated 432 species of mammals characterize the fauna of the
continental U.S. There are more than 800 species of birds and more than
100,000 known species of insects. There are 311 known reptiles, 295
amphibians and 1154 known fish species in the U.S. Known animals that
exist in all of the lower 48 states include white-tailed deer, bobcat,
raccoon, muskrat, striped skunk, barn owl, American mink, American
beaver, North American river otter and red fox. The red-tailed hawk is
one of the most widely distributed hawks not only in the U.S., but in the
Americas.
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14. American art and literary tradition begins as linked to the broader
tradition of English literature. However, unique American characteristics
made the American literature a separated path from the traditional
English literature. America's first internationally popular writers were
James Fennimore Cooper and Washington Irving in the early nineteenth
century. They painted an American literary landscape full of humor and
adventure. These were followed by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan
Poe, who established a distinctive American literary voice in the middle of
the nineteenth century. Mark Twain, Henry James, and poet Walt
Whitman were major figures in the century's second half; Emily
Dickinson, would be recognized as America's other essential poet.
Eleven U.S. citizens have won the Nobel Prize in Literature, including
John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill, Pearl S. Buck, T. S.
Eliot and Sinclair Lewis. Ernest Hemingway, the 1954 Nobel laureate, is
often named as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth
century.
Culture, Icons and trademarks of the American population
Hollywood has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early
20th century. The dominant style of American cinema is Classical Hollywood
Cinema, which developed from 1917-1960 and characterizes most films to this
day. It is American cinema that soon became the most dominant force in an
emerging industry. Since the 1920s, the American film industry has grossed more
money every year than that of any other country. Since the early 20th century, the
U.S. film industry has largely been based in and around Hollywood, Los Angeles,
California The major film studios of Hollywood are the primary source of the most
commercially successful movies in the world, such as The Birth of a Nation
(1915), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Sound of Music (1965), Jaws (1975), Star
Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Titanic
(1997), Avatar (2009), The Avengers (2012), Frozen (2013), and Star Wars: The
Force Awakens (2015). Today, American film studios collectively generate several
hundred movies every year, making the United States one of the most prolific
producers of films in the world.
List of Iconic Foods That America Is Most Famous For
•Cheeseburger: The concept of the hamburger originated sometime in the late 19th century, according to the L.A.
Times. As the dish began to increase in popularity in the 1920s and 1930s.
•Fried chicken: certainly not unique to the United States, but Americans have adopted the crispy, greasy dish as
one of their own.
•Apple pie: crossed the Atlantic with the pilgrims and made itself at home in the U.S.
•Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: are very common among Americans “the average child will eat 1,500 peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches before he/she graduates high school.”
•Buffalo wings: The National Chicken Council attests to the dish’s popularity, estimating that over 13.5 billion
chicken wings would be sold over the course of the year 2012.
•Corn dogs: Hot dogs go hand-in-hand with barbecues and baseball. The National Hot Dog and Sausage council
estimates that Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs annually. As for the corn dog spin on things — well, it’s a
generally acknowledged fact that everything is better on a stick.
•S’mores: are a simply and traditional American campfire treat. According to Slate, “The first known s’mores recipe
appeared in 1927 in the Girl Scouts handbook Tramping and Trailing With the Girl Scouts.”
•BBQ ribs: Barbecue seems to have originated with Spanish settlers in the United States, and that, “By the 19th
century, the culinary technique was well established in the American South because pigs were prevalent in the
region, pork became the primary meat at barbecues.”
14

15. Canada
Canada is a country in the northern part of North
America and the second largest country in the world.
In addition, from North to South, it covers the greater
part of the northern hemisphere, and from east to
west, its vast land extends almost 4.700 miles,
crossing six time zones.
Despite its substantial size, Canada has only one-half
of one percent of the world´s population, but is
considered a nation of great ethnic and cultural
diversity.
Canada is also home to many rivers and lakes, which
contain about 20 percent of all fresh water on Earth,
along with a varied landscape, including high
mountains, prairie grasslands, different types of
forests, and arctic tundra.
Its native wildlife is highly protected, and they also
count with 41 national parks and three marine
conservation areas.
Indigenous people
In Canada, the term Indigenous people (or Aboriginal
people) refer to First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of the land
that is now Canada. In 2011, there were more than 1.8
million Indigenous people living in communities
throughout the country
The term 'First Nations people' include Status and non-
Status Indians. According to the 2011 National
Household Survey, more than 1.4 million people in
Canada identify themselves as an Aboriginal person –
that equals 4% of the Canadian population. Of this
number, 50% percent are registered Indians and 15%
identify as non-Status Indians.
There are more than 630 First Nation communities in
Canada, which represent more than 50 Nations and 50
Indigenous languages.
Inuit are the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic. The word
Inuit means "the people" in the Inuit language of
Inuktitut. The singular of Inuit is Inuk.
Métis are one of three recognized Aboriginal peoples in
Canada, along with the Indians (or First Nations) and
Inuit.
According to the 2011 National Household Survey,
418,380 Canadians self-identified as Métis.
Contemporary Inuk man building an igloo
Canada has a wide range of popular sports,
which mainly include sports such as
basketball, baseball, curling, lacrosse,
football and ice hockey.
Other sports that enjoy some degree of
mainstream popularity in modern Canada
include golf, volleyball, tennis, rugby, boxing,
swimming, wrestling, track and
field, rowing, mountain
climbing, cycling and bowling.
However, its official sports are Ice hockey
and Lacrosse
Canadian Sports
Created in the early 19th century but popularized
and structured as a professional sport in
the 1910s, hockey has held an outsized role in
Canadian culture ever since.
Playing organized hockey as a young kid is a
transitional experience in many Canadian
communities, though rising costs of equipment,
travel and league fees — not to mention time
investment for early morning training sessions
and back-and-forth rink commutes — have
progressively made it a for the most part upper-
working class interest. Far more Canadians
interact with the game solely at a professional
level, as fans and attendees of games organized
by the National Hockey League (NHL).
Since 1893, the NHL's most desired prize has
been the Stanley Cup, a once-a-year trophy
awarded after a lengthy league-wide tournament.
Ice Hockey
Interesting fact
Canada holds the record for the most gold
medals ever won at the Winter Olympics,
taking 14 Golds at the 2010 Vancouver Winter
Olympics.
15

16. Typical dishes
Poutine
Poutine is perhaps
one of the country’s
most outlandish and
defining dishes. A
real poutine uses
peppery meat-based
gravy and “squeaky”
curds on fries.
Canadian Bacon
Unlike traditional
bacon, which comes
from the pig’s belly,
Canadian bacon is
lean pork loin that’s
been brined and rolled
in cornmeal.
Caesar
Invented in 1969
by Calgary restaurant
manager Walter Chell, this
cocktail took off to become
enormously popular from
there. Its key ingredients are
clamato juice, vodka,
Worchester and a salted rim.
Beavertails
Can be described as
a flattened donut
without a hole, a
whole-wheat pastry,
fried and covered in
an assortment of
goodies. It can come
topped with sugar,
Nutella and a variety
of other sweets. The
Indians originally
made these, but they
were called pigs'
ears.
Butter Tarts
Consisting of a
delicate, crumbly
crust and a creamy
centre made of a
butter, sugar and
egg mixture, there’s
constant debate
over whether raisins
should be added to
the mix.
Tourtière
The Tourtiere is
a pie typically
filled with ground
pork, beef, veal
or game and a
sprinkling
of herbs and
spices, though in
some coastal
towns, ground
fish is used.
Interesting fact:
A bear cub named Winnipeg was exported from Canada to the London Zoo in 1915. A little boy
named Christopher Robin Milne loved to visit Winnipeg, or Winnie for short. His love for the bear
cub inspired the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne, about Winnie-the-Pooh.
It originally was an aboriginal game, played in order to keep Indian warriors in fighting
shape. This sport was named by French settlers who entitled it “La Crosse” in relation to
its vaguely crucifix-shaped playing sticks.
The first professional lacrosse association was founded in 1867, and its heritage
continues today with the National Lacrosse League (NLL) which stars nine master groups,
four of which are Canadian.
The game is also remarkable at the college level, where the most distinguished colleges
in the area have their own league, the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association
(CUFLA).
While undoubtedly rich in history, lacrosse has since a long time ago attempted to
accomplish the kind of standard acclaim and fortune of other professional sports in
Canada. Its fans are best portrayed as a proud but small subculture, and NLL playoffs
once in a while catch the general population's (or media's) attention the way NHL, CFL or
NFL games do.
Lacrosse
16

17. The West Indies is an archipelago that separates the Caribbean
Sea from the Atlantic Ocean.
Three major divisions constitute the West Indies: the Greater
Antilles , comprising the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola
(Haiti and Dominican Republic ) and Puerto Rico; the Lesser
Antilles, including the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Guadeloupe,
Dominica, Martinique , Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Barbados, and Grenada; and the isolated island
groups of the North American continental shelf—The
Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands—and those of the
South American shelf, including Trinidad and
Tobago, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire. (Bermuda, although
physiographically not a part of the West Indies, has common
historical and cultural ties with the other islands and is often
included in definitions of the region.
The West Indies
Origins
The first inhabitants in the islands were Indians,
and then, in 1492, the explorer Christopher
Columbus became the first European to arrive at
the islands.
Some historians believe that he first stepped foot
in the Bahamas. Columbus called these islands
the Indies because he thought he had finally
reached Asia (and the East Indies). Spain, when
Columbus' mistake was discovered, renamed
them the West Indies, to distinguish them from the
Spice Islands in the Pacific Ocean, (the East
Indies) which we now call Indonesia.
Culture
The countries of the West Indies share an extensive
common culture as a result of their similar experiences as
plantation colonies, despite the fact that they have
differences in ancestry and language.
A blend of African, American Indian, European, and, in some
cases, Asian influences, can be seen in the culture of the
Caribbean people.
The islands also take pride in their lively cultural scenes,
with parties, dances, and festivals, which tend to be notably
annual carnival celebrations.
Besides, Reggae music, which is now world-renowned,
originated in Jamaica. Modern Caribbean literature owes
much to philosophers and writers of the West Indies,
including those who emigrated elsewhere; some notable
names include Aimé Césaire (Martinique), V.S.
Naipaul(Trinidad), Jean Price-Mars and Edwidge
Danticat (Haiti), and C.L.R. James and Derek Walcott, who
spoke to themes important to African descendants in the
West Indies.
Typical food
Food in the Caribbean is based on mostly African, Spanish,
Chinese, and East Indian, but generally are crossovers of the
cuisines from the rest of the world. Spices, peppers and many
different sorts of herbs (seasonings) are intensely used to
prepare most meals.
Popular dishes here are jerk chicken (Jamaica), fried flying
fish (Barbados), general seafood which is prepared in many
different ways, and stewed peas and beans, like pigeon peas.
Roti, which is East Indian based, contains curries and spices
Callaloo soup, which is made of dasheen leaves, okra and
sometimes crabs, is eaten with rice sometimes, and is most
prevalent in Trinidad and Tobago. Okra
Jerk Chicken
17

18. Economy
The traditional basis of the west indies´ economy is agriculture.
However, it has been declining its production and employment, as
most countries are not self-sufficient in relation to food production.
Sugar, spices, citrus, bananas and cocoa are the main exports and
the most important source of foreign exchange for some countries.
Manufacturing in the West Indies represents a minor sector of the
total economic activity.
On the other hand, it has been developed serious mineral
industries by countries such as Cuba, Dominican Republic,
Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, whose main mineral
exports are petroleum from Trinidad and bauxite from Jamaica.
Another major industry on most islands is tourism, which has
become a considerable source of income, but tends to decline
during times of economic recession.
While trying to conquer issues of small size and dependence on a
few export items, economic unions have been formed by the
Caribbean countries, including the Central American Common
Market, which established a regional free-trade zone; The
Caribbean Community and Common Market, which promotes
cooperation between English speaking countries; and the African,
Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, whose individuals receive
preferential tariffs from the European Union.
Population
People in the West Indies are ethnically diverse and mostly derived from an early plantation society based on slave
labor. Most of the population emerges from African slaves or from British, French, Spanish, or Dutch colonists.
Creole is the local language spoken in the West Indies, but as it evolved from different variants of European languages,
there are many branches.
The French and English creoles are a mix of these dialects with African and West Indian languages. By contrast, the
significant Spanish-language communities—Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic—talk neat Spanish.
Papiamentu, a Spanish-Dutch Portuguese-English Creole, is widely spoken on Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire.
South Asians constitute a substantial minority in the region, especially in Trinidad and Tobago, where they make up
almost four-tenths of the population.
Chinese constitute a smaller minority, and people of European (principally Spanish) descent represent for some seven-
tenths of the inhabitants of Puerto Rico.
Regarding religion, Roman Catholicism is the prevalent doctrine in the Spanish- and French-speaking islands, while
Protestantism is the standard in the English-speaking and Dutch territories.
Flora and fauna
A large number of plant species in the
Caribbean are indigenous to the region. At
high elevations in the Greater Antilles, species
more typical of midlatitude and subarctic flora
are found. Land fauna is a devastated
adaptation of the fauna found on the nearby
South American territory.
There are numerous rodents, including the
rabbit like agouti, and various types of bats
and reptiles. Feathered creature species
include a few parrots, hummingbirds, ibis, and
flamingos.
The coastal seas are rich in marine life,
including turtles, shellfish, caiman, dolphin,
red snapper, bonito, and flying fish. Marine life
is to a great extent unexploited for
sustenance.
Interesting fact:
The name Caribbean comes for the name
of the Carib people, indigenous natives of
the Americas, whom colonists believe were
cannibals. The Europeans referred to them
as “cannibalistic Caribs,” which reflected
the xenophobic attitude towards the original
inhabitants of the region.
18

19. Australia is the sixth biggest country in the world and the
smallest continent. It borders the Indian Ocean and the
Southern Pacific Ocean.
Australia consists of mainly Australia, the island of Tasmania
and several small islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is
often called Down Under because the whole continent lies south
of the equator.
All the world’s climates are found on the continent—from the
tropical rainforest in the north to the cool and temperate climates
in the south and southeast.
. Regarding The government system, it is a federal
parliamentary democracy and a commonwealth realm. The chief
of state is the queen and the head of government is the prime
minister.
Australia was once a British colony and after its discovery in
1788 people from Great Britain settled there. In the past
decades people from all over the world have come to Australia.
Today it is a multicultural society.
Australia
Early History and Colonization
The groups comprising the aborigines are thought to have migrated from Southeast Asia. Skeletal remains indicate that
aborigines arrived in Australia 50,000 years ago, and some evidence suggests that they were active there about
100,000 years ago. They travelled from Asia across land bridges that were exposed when sea levels were lower.
A Dutch explorer, Willem Janszoon, landed in Australia in 1606, and named the land “New Holland.
In 1788 the first British settlement was made and by 1829 the whole continent was a British dependency.
Most of the settlers were criminals, undesirables from the British Isles, sent to live in Australia as punishment. For a
short time, the newcomers lived peacefully with the Aboriginal people.
But soon, fighting broke out over who owned the land.
Later, in 1851, gold was discovered in Australia. A rush to find riches brought thousands of new immigrants, and by
1859, six separate colonies existed.
Finally, in 1901, these colonies joined to form a British commonwealth.
•The australian flag is dark blue with the British
Union Jack in the upper left corner, the seven–
pointed white Commonwealth star below the
Union Jack, and to the right five white stars
representing the Southern Cross constellation.
•The national animal emblem is the kangaroo
• The floral emblem is the golden wattle tree
•Until 1984 the national anthem was the British
"God Save the Queen," but it was changed to
"Advance Australia Fair" as part of a movement
toward asserting greater separation from the
legacy of the colonial power.
Interesting fact:
Before the arrival of
humans, Australia was
home to megafauna:
three meter tall kangaroos,
seven meter long goannas,
horse-sized ducks, and a
marsupial lion the size of a
leopard.
19

20. Traditional food
In Australia, when Europeans from other countries started to come, they brought their eating
habits with them. Today, you can find Italian, Greek and other restaurants all over the county.
The most popular alcoholic drink is Beer, but many Australians also like to drink wine which is
produced in the southern and south eastern part of the continent.
Older people still drink lots of tea, like in Great Britain, but younger ones drink more and more
coffee.
Australian chefs are known worldwide for their "fusion cuisine," a blending of European cooking
traditions with Asian flavors and products. However, some dishes are a national emblem, such
as:
Vegemite
(a yeast extract spread)
Milo
(a powdered base for
chocolate milk drinks)
Anzac biscuits
(oat biscuits sent to
soldiers in World
War I)
Damper
(a wheat flour-based loaf
traditionally cooked in the
ashes of a fire by settlers).
On the other hand, Australians are among the world leaders in fast-food consumption. Burger and
chicken chain stores, such as Mc Donald´s, are prominent in the suburbs, having displaced the
traditional meat pies and fish and chips.
Before World War II Australians drank about twenty times more beer than wine; beer
consumption remains high, but wine drinking has increased at a much greater rate, and the
country has become a significant exporter of wine. While Australians were long known as tea
drinkers, coffee and wine have become increasingly popular.
Interesting fact:
63% of Australians
are overweight
Trade
In order of economic significance, Australia's current
major trading partners include the United States,
Japan, China, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, and
New Zealand. Australia is one of the world's largest
exporters of wool, meat, and wheat and a major
supplier of sugar, dairy products, fruits, cotton, and
rice.
Major imports include passenger motor vehicles,
telecommunications equipment, and crude petroleum
oils
20

21. New Zealand
Let’s talk about a country, home of Maori tribes, with
essentially a western culture influenced by the environment
and geographic isolation of the islands, and the cultural input
of the indigenous Maori and the various waves of multi-ethnic
migration which followed the British colonisation of New
Zealand.
These days after difficult moments of wars with indigenous
Maori, people could find peace, and the” treaty of
Waitangi”(signed in 1840 by Maori chiefs intended to enable
the tribes to live peacefully) became part of the school
curriculum in the late 20th century, to promote understanding
between Maori and pakeha.
The Kiwi has become the New Zealand icon.
European New Zealand (pakeha), despite its location far from
Europe, retained strong cultural ties to “Mother England".
These ties were weakened by the demise of the British
Empire and loss of special access to British meal and dairy
markets. Pakeha culture began to forge a separate identity
influenced by their ploncering history, a rural lifestyle and
unique environment.
Some of the traditional food that we can find in New Zealand are:
•Sea food, with more than 14,000 kilometres of coastline, is home to some amazing sea food. Fresh diverse and
delicious, Kiwis love their food, while you're in New Zealand, seek out a couple of the following quintessential kiwi
foods.
•Roast Lamb
Succulent and tender , roast lamb is a kiwi favourite, is held in high esteem throughout the world and is one of the
country's top export meals.
•Mahori hangi
One of the best places to enjoy this cultural feast is Rotorua, in the Central North Island-book for a Maori cultural
experience.
And we can’t forget dessert
Kiwis are passionate about good ice cream- honey pokey (creamy vanilla ice cream with piece of honey comb), and
also love their pavlova. A merengue type dessert that's topped with cream and fresh fruit.
Traditional Food
Roast lamb
Pavlova Maori Sweets
Interesting facts
•Blue Lake, in Nelson Lakes National Park, has the clearest water in the world.
•New Zealand is home to the world's smallest dolphin species. 21

22. Talking about tourism here are some important places to visit if you're in New Zealand:
This is the top ten best places to go :
• Bay of Island
• Milford sound
• Auckland
• Waiheke Island
• Christchurch
• White Island
• Queenstown
• Te whakarewarewa geothermal valley
• Waitomo glowworm caves
• Franz josef Glacier (with the glacier hot pools)
In these places there are different things that you can do, like scuba diving, dolphin eco experience , the Auckland
Bridge climb or bungee jump, or something quite cultural like visiting one of the many museums, such as Auckland art
gallery.
Tourism
Queenstown
Te whakarewarewa
geothermal valley
Bay of Island Milford sound
Famous people that we all know
Finally we will name some important people from New Zealand, like
Russell Crowe, Actor-Gladiator, born in wellington, to Jocelyn
Yvonne(Wemmyss) and John Alexander Crowe, both of whom
catered movie sets, his maternal grandfather, Stanley Wemyss, was
a cinematographer.
Martin Campbell, director-casino royale, who knows how to
entertain an audience when he steps behind the camera, when he
directed La mascara del Zorro; the movie earned Academy Award
and Golden Globe nominations.
Or Andrew Niccol, the writer of the Truman Show, New Zealand-
born screenwriter-director, Andrew began his career in London ,
successfully directing TV commercials before moving to Los
Angeles in order to make films longer than 60 seconds. He
interested high powered producer Scolt Rudin in his the Truman
Show script, but Rudin was not willing to gamble on a rookie
director
Russell Crowe
Andrew Niccol
Martin Campbell
Literature
Here we show some novels to know more about this great country.
.
•Long cloud ride (2007)
by Josie Dew.
•The bone people (1984) by Ken
Hulme.
22

23. Asia
Culture
If we talk about the culture of Asia, we could find that it is
diverse due to the different kind of cultural heritage of
many nationalities, societies and ethnic groups. The
continent is more commonly divided into more natural
geographic and cultural subregions, including central
Asia, East Asia, North Asia, South Asia, southeast Asia
and west Asia, culturally, there has been little unity or
common history for many of the culture and people of
Asia.
Something that we can learn about families is that it has
very strong family value, they teach their kids that the
family is their protection and the major source of their
identity. They expect loyalty from their children.
Parents define the law ,and the children are expected to
obey them. This is called filial piety, the respect for one's
parents and olders.
Traditional festivals
Festivals and celebrations in Asia are variety, like we mentioned
before, in china for example they have Chinese new year,
Dragon Boat festival and Mid-Autumn Moon festival are
traditional holidays, or Japan New year, National Foundation
Day, children's Day, O-bon The Emperor's Birthday and
Christmas are popular.
Whirl the Philippines is also tagged as the “ Fiesta Country”,
some of these are influenced by other countries like Spain for
example.
Sports
We can't forget sports. Due to the
vastness of Asia, popular varieties greatly
cross the continent.. Association Football
is widely popular in Asia, along with
boxing, badminton and table tennis. In
East Asia Baseball in Japan, south Korea
and Taiwan cricket, is especially popular
in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka.
23

24. Places to visit
The tourism in this continent offers something for everyone,
from Thailand's magnificent beaches to Beijing's famed
shopping district and the Temples of Hanoi, it's practically
guaranteed to discover a perfect destination.
You can take look some pictures of different places to meet.
Asian celebrities
Here we are going to show you, some people that we all ready know, who were born in Asia.
• Vanessa Hudgens: Irish, native American from her dad's side. Her mother is a Filipino, Spanish and
Chinese descent.
Many people will remember her from High School Musical.
• Bruno Mars: His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez, he was born in
Honolulu.
• Dean Cain: Plays the desired role of Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman in the television series. His
birth name is Dean George Tanaka. Ethnicity a mix of French-Canadian, welsh, Irish and fda
approval for Cymbalta Japanese.
• Jackie Chan and Jet Li: These two are good together for a Prozac dosage increase reason.
They are the top action martial arts in Hollywood. Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong china,
while Jet Li was born in Beijing China.
Literature
If you want to know more about this fabulous continent there are some novels you can't miss:
•Interpreter of
Maladies by Jhumpa
Lahiri
•The good of Small things by Arundhati
Roy
Interesting facts
•Although linguistics experts generally agree that "Asia" is a Greek word, no one is certain where the word originated.
•"Asia" is used as a female name and means "sunrise." The name "Asia" is thought to possibly be a variant of Aisha,
the name of Muhammad’s favorite wife.
•The 14 tallest mountains on earth, known collectively as the Eight-Thousanders, are all located in Asia — all are over
8,000 meters (26,246 feet) tall! 24

25. Africa
Culture
The continent of Africa has a varied and manifold culture,
consisting of a mixture of tribes that each love their own unique
characteristics. African culture is expressed in its arts and crafts,
folklore and religion, clothing, cuisine, music and languages. It is
so full of culture, with it not only changing from one country to
another, but within a single country, many cultures can be
discovered. Even though African cultures are widely diverse,
they tend to have many similarities, like the morals they uphold,
their love and respect for their cultures as well as the strong
respect they hold for the aged and the important i.e. kings and
Chiefs.
Africa has influenced and been influenced by other continents.
This can be portrayed in the willingness to adapt to the ever-
changing modern world rather than staying rooted to their static
culture. The westernized few, persuaded by European culture
and Christianity, but with the increase of African nationalism, a
cultural recovery occurred, the governments of most African
nations encourage national dancers and music groups,
museums and to a power a lower degree, artist and writers.
African traditions
These are expressed by many different art forms, such as music,
dance, art, sculpture and beadwork.
African languages are “tone language", meaning that pitch level
determines meaning.
Oral tradition is very important in African culture, as it insures the
passage of cultural practices from one generation to another.
Listening is an equally important skill, which has been perfected by
the oral practice. Numerous songs and dances have been
transmitted by word of mouth.
Singing is very important to the African society, the songs are often
sung in call-and-response form.
Music is a form of communication and it plays a functional role in
society. Music is often used to ward off evil spirits and to pay
respect to good spirits, the dead and ancestors. However, the
musical style and instruments vary from region to region.
Dance is an integral part of the culture, and it utilizes symbolic
gestures, masks, customs, body painting and props to
communicate. The movements can be simple or complex with
intricate actions including fast rotation, ripples of the body and
contraction and release. Is used to express emption, whether joyful
or sorrowful, and it isn't limited to just dancers.
Often spectators will be encouraged to join in.
25

26. Folklore
Folklore and religion represents a variety of social facets of the
various cultures in Africa. Culture and religion share space and
are deeply inter twined in Africa cultures. In Ethiopia,
Christianity and Islam form the core aspect of Ethiopian culture
and inform dietary customs as well as rituals and rites.
An important role in many African cultures, stories reflect a
group cultural identity and preserving the stories of Africa will
help preserve an entire culture.
There are different types of African stories: animal tales and
day-to-day tales. Animal tales are more oriented towards
entertainment, but still have more and lessons to them. African
stories all have a certain structure. The villagers would gather
around a common meeting place at the end of the day to listen
and tell their stories.
Important people from Africa
Olaudah Equiano (1745-
1797) The first black African
slave . His book 'the
interesting Narrative of the
life of Olaudah Equiano'
played a pivotal role in
turning public opinion Britain
against slavery.
Haile Selassie (1892-
1975) Emperor of
Ethiopia from 1930.
Selassie became an
inspirational figure in the
movement for African
Independence for the way
he resisted the Italian
invasion of Ethiopia
during the 1930s.
Nelson Mandela (1918-
2013) He was an active
member of the fight against
apartheid in South Africa.
Mandela was imprisoned for
over 27 years for trying to
overthrow the apartheid
regime. In 1990 he became
the first democratically
elected President of South
Africa, in 1994 his
personality helped to heal
the rift between the white
and black populations,
awarded the Nobel Peace
prize in 1993.
Literature
If you want to read a
good novel, you may
read 'cry freedom' by
John Briley
Interesting facts
•The Sahara is the largest desert in the world and is
bigger than the continental USA.
•Nigeria is fourth largest Oil exporter in the world,
and Africa's biggest producer with about 2.2 million
barrels produced every day.
• Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the
second-largest freshwater lake in the world.
26