- published: 27 Apr 2014
- views: 26233
An ethnic group or ethnicity is a category of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural or national experience. Unlike most other social groups, ethnicity is primarily an inherited status. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language and/or dialect, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art, and physical appearance.
Ethnic groups, derived from the same historical founder population, often continue to speak related languages and share a similar gene pool. By way of language shift, acculturation, adoption and religious conversion, it is possible for some individuals or groups to leave one ethnic group and become part of another (except for ethnic groups emphasizing racial purity as a key membership criterion).
Ethnicity is often used synonymously with ambiguous terms such as nation or people.
Depending on which source of group identity is emphasized to define membership, the following types of (often mutually overlapping) groups can be identified:
Aaahhh, I Xeneetia to hairete,
Jivaeri mou,
To moshoulouloutho mou,
Sigana, sigana, sigana ke tapeena.
Aaahhh, Ego eemouna pou to steela,
Jivaeri mou,
Me theleema thiko mou,
Sigana, sigana, sigana pato sti gee.
Aaahhh, Panathema se xeneetia,
Jivaeri mou,
Ese ke to kalo so,
Sigana, sigana, sigana ke tapeena.
Aaahhh, Mou peeres to petahki mou,
Jivaeri mou,
Ke tokanes thiko sou,
Sigana, sigana, sigana pato sti gee.