acculturation
Adopting another's customs
Acculturation is the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group, typically when individuals or communities encounter a dominant culture.
It often implies gradual, sometimes incomplete absorption: Acculturation was faster for immigrant children than for their parents.
The word appears frequently in anthropology and sociology, where it describes cultural change through sustained contact rather than conquest or coercion.
Fusion of different beliefs
- hybridityMixed-origin quality
- fusionJoining into unity
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
- diffusionPassive molecular spreading
cross-pollination · mutual influence · creolization · hybridization
People who move elsewhere
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
- resettlementReestablishing in new place
- host countryNation organizing an event
newcomers · expatriates · citizenship · naturalization · second generation · immigrant experience · country of origin · settlement
State of being apart
- enclaveSurrounded distinct territory
- heritage languageLanguage of one's ancestors
- traditional valuesLong-established cultural principles
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
Process of taking in
- homogenizationMaking things the same
- mainstreamingIncluding in standard settings
- conformityAdherence to norms
- adoptionLegal family formation
alignment · convergence · identity loss · intermarriage · melting pot
Long-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- ancestral practicesTraditions from earlier generations
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
ethnic identity · mother tongue · ceremonies · values · beliefs · intergenerational · ethnic food · traditional dress
Alteration to improve fit
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
- acclimatizationAdjusting to new conditions
- familiarizationBecoming acquainted with something
- learningGaining knowledge gradually
conditioning · orientation · acquisition · transformation · transition · modification · reorientation · coping
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- dual identityHaving two distinct selves
- hyphenated identityCombined ancestry descriptor
- alternationSequential interchange of elements
- bilingualismProficiency in two languages
Loss of spatial awareness
- alienationState of being isolated
- homesicknessLonging for one's dwelling
- identity confusionUnclear sense of self
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
marginalization · discrimination · language barrier · social isolation · nostalgia · uprootedness · displacement
syncretism
Fusion of different beliefs
diffusion · cross-pollination · mutual influence · creolization · hybridization
migrants
People who move elsewhere
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
- resettlementReestablishing in new place
host country · newcomers · expatriates · citizenship · naturalization · second generation · immigrant experience · country of origin · settlement · relocation
separation
State of being apart
- enclaveSurrounded distinct territory
- heritage languageLanguage of one's ancestors
- traditional valuesLong-established cultural principles
absorption
Process of taking in
- homogenizationMaking things the same
- mainstreamingIncluding in standard settings
- conformityAdherence to norms
adoption · alignment · convergence · identity loss · intermarriage · melting pot
traditions
Long-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- ancestral practicesTraditions from earlier generations
folklore · ethnic identity · mother tongue · ceremonies · values · beliefs · intergenerational · ethnic food · traditional dress
adjustment
Alteration to improve fit
- habituationDiminished reaction over time
- acclimatizationAdjusting to new conditions
- familiarizationBecoming acquainted with something
learning · conditioning · orientation · acquisition · transformation · transition · modification · reorientation · coping · behavioral change
code-switching
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- dual identityHaving two distinct selves
- hyphenated identityCombined ancestry descriptor
- alternationSequential interchange of elements
disorientation
Loss of spatial awareness
- alienationState of being isolated
- homesicknessLonging for one's dwelling
- identity confusionUnclear sense of self
anxiety · marginalization · discrimination · language barrier · social isolation · nostalgia · uprootedness · displacement
- culturemusic taste, beliefs, food preferences, custom, festivals
- immigrationimmigrant, immigrants, visa, refugee, citizenship
- Cultural Fusionfusion cuisine, fusion jazz, fusion dance, syncretism, hybridity
- culturescounterculture, underground, bohemian, monoculture, enculturation
- socializationsocialization, social learning, enculturation, norms, values
- anthropologyanthropology, fieldwork, ethnography, social anthropology, paleoanthropology
acculturationcultural isolation
Separation from outside societies
isolationism · separatism · insularity · seclusion · ghettoization
acculturationcultural preservation
Protecting community traditions and artifacts
enculturation · heritage preservation · traditionalism · indigenization · nativism
acculturationcultural isolation
Separation from outside societies
segregation · separation · separatism · marginalization · exclusion