The Iceberg Concept of Culture

Like an iceberg, the majority of culture is below the surface.

food ƒ dress ƒ music ƒ
Surface Culture visual arts ƒ drama ƒ crafts
Above sea level dance ƒ literature ƒ language
Emotional load: relatively low
celebrations ƒ games

Deep Culture
courtesy ƒ contextual conversational patterns ƒ concept of time
Unspoken Rules
Partially below sea level personal space ƒ rules of conduct ƒ facial expressions
Emotional load: very high nonverbal communication ƒ body language ƒ touching ƒ eye contact
patterns of handling emotions ƒ notions of modesty ƒ concept of beauty
courtship practices ƒ relationships to animals ƒ notions of leadership
Unconscious Rules tempo of work ƒ concepts of food ƒ ideals of childrearing
Completely below sea level theory of disease ƒ social interaction rate ƒ nature of friendships
Emotional load: intense
tone of voice ƒ attitudes toward elders ƒ concept of cleanliness
notions of adolescence ƒ patterns of group decision-making
definition of insanity ƒ preference for competition or cooperation
tolerance of physical pain ƒ concept of “self” ƒ concept of past and future
definition of obscenity ƒ attitudes toward dependents ƒ problem-solving
roles in relation to age, sex, class, occupation, kinship, and so forth

Indiana Department of Education ƒ Office of English Language Learning & Migrant Education ƒ www.doe.in.gov/englishlanguagelearning