Sociology

Culture is a peoples way of life and what defines a specific society. Cultural relativism is the notion that no culture in the world is superior to any other in relation to its way of life. Ethnocentrism on the other hand is the belief that a certain groups culture is superior to other cultures (Singer, 2008). Jamaica has its culture related to its traditions. The American culture is distinct due to the European and British originality. This paper aims to bring out the comparison and contrast of the Jamaican and American culture in relation to the approaches adopted by each.            

What are the differences and similarities of the two cultures
For the last three hundred years, Jamaicas official language has always been English. There is however a foreign language known as patois, which is a combination of English, Portuguese, Spanish and African phrases. This language has a rhythm unlike traditional English Similarly, America is a multilingual society. According to the American community survey conducted in 2007, Spanish is the co-official language after English. Spanish speakers are found in Mexico, Illinois, New York and Arizona. Bilingual speakers sensibly use Spanish and English and sometimes code-switch to a language known as Spanglish (Pillai, 2008).

The two cultures have a cuisine full of diversity. In America, wheat is the main grain used as cereal. Traditional American cuisine never lacks ingredients like sweet potatoes, squash, corn and turkey. Pork and beef which is slow cooked, potato chips, and barbecues are peculiarly American styles. Soul food is a type of food which was developed by the slaves and is very popular in America. Coffee is preferred to tea in America.  Jamaican cuisine on the other hand is enriched with special Jamaican foods like jerk pork, jerk chicken recipes and the red stripe beer. The Jamaican national dish is salt fish and ackkee, while the Jamaican rum is the national drink (Pillai, 2008).

Jamaicans are large Anglicans, Jehovahs witnesses, Baptists, Rastafarians, Pocomania and the Roman Catholic. The Pocomania and the Rastafarian religious groups are indeed unique. As far as religion is concerned, Jamaica has an ethnocentric approach. This is because the Jamaicans who practice Rastafarian religion believe that their religion has the true foundations and their form of worship is unique. In America, a cultural relativist approach exists as all citizens from different religions enjoy freedom of worship. Religion plays a very vital role to its citizens. America consists of mainly Jews, Buddhists, and Christians (Pillai, 2008).

Sports in America are an important part of culture and it is uniquely different from Jamaica. Baseball, Basketball and Bowling are the major sports played in America. Sports in America are very important especially during occasions like homecoming. People assemble to welcome the old students by playing a game such as ice hockey or basketball. Ethnocentrism in the sports culture exists as they believe that Baseball and basketball are originally Americans and that its teams deserve to participate and win in all tournaments. Contrary to America, Jamaica has a great passion for football and athletics (short races). These two unite the people as they are loved and adored by many. Other popular games include polo, cricket and golf (Pillai, 2008).

Music is inseparable from any culture in the world. Reggae music is a strong component of the Jamaican culture. It has derivatives as dance hall and rock steady have their origin from Jamaica. Singers like Shaggy and Melody makers are celebrities in that music genre. America consists of what is known as nostalgic music, or the oldies goodies. America has an ethnocentric approach to music. American music has become internationally recognized, and they perceive it as the best music globally. Some of the musicians in this field include Elton John and the Carpenters. America has popular music which is heard in almost all parts of the world (Pillai, 2008 Singer, 2008). In conclusion, culture differs from one group to another and it is therefore the role of every one to embrace different cultures so as to live harmoniously.