Cultural vs Social
Cultural and Social are two words that are often confused due to the similarity in their meanings. Strictly speaking, there is no similarity in their meanings. Both the words should be construed as two different words with different meanings.
The word ‘cultural’ is primarily used as an adjective, and it has the primary meaning of ‘artistic’. On the other hand, the word ‘social’ is used as an adjective, and it has the primary meaning of ‘public’. This is the main difference between the two words.
The word ‘cultural’ has a few other meanings too such as ‘educational’ and ‘civilizing’ as in the sentences
1. The cultural show was a grand success.
2. Robert showed tremendous interest in cultural aspects of life.
In the first sentence, the word ‘cultural’ is used in the sense of ‘educational’ and hence, the sentence could be rewritten as ‘the educational show was a grand success’, and in the second sentence, the word ‘cultural’ is used in the sense of ‘civilizing’ and hence, the meaning of the sentence would be ‘Robert showed tremendous interest in civilizing aspects of life’.
On the other hand, the word ‘social’ is used in a few other senses too such as ‘societal’ and ‘communal’ in addition to its primary meaning ‘public’ as in the sentences
1. Francis involved himself deeply in social life.
2. Angela did not show interest in social life.
In the first sentence, the word ‘social’ is used in the sense of ‘public’ and hence, the meaning of the sentence would be ‘Francis involved himself deeply in public life’, and in the second sentence, the word ‘social’ is used in the sense of ‘societal’ and hence, the meaning of the sentence would be ‘Angela did not show interest in societal life’. These are the differences between the two words.