Adapting Perspectives: The Interplay of Acculturation and Assimilation

We live in a world that is full of diversity, whether it’s about making personal choices like preference for food, clothing, music, art, etc., or making important decisions in life, whether it’s about choosing one’s career or marriage. Culture has a significant contribution in making all of these choices. According to APA, culture can be defined as “the values, beliefs, language, rituals, traditions, and other behaviours that are passed from one generation to another within any social group.” There are several cultures in the world in which we live today. Every culture is shaped by the people who live in it and also affects the people in return. Moving from one culture to another is something that has been there since the past and plays a huge role in the psychological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioural development of people.

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Acculturation

It is the process by which an individual adopts a new culture that is different from their original culture. It includes adopting their values, customs, beliefs, thought processes, language, and behaviours. For example, when an Indian student shifts to America for higher study and maybe for a better job they have to learn a new language to be able to communicate easily and change in terms of lifestyle completely. Another example could be a person marrying into a different culture, for instance, from the North to the South. Berry (1992) proposed a model of Acculturation that includes two dimensions, retention and rejection of one’s own culture while acquiring of new culture. The processes include the following: –

• Assimilation – adopting the new culture and rejecting the original culture
• Separation – rejecting the new culture and retaining the original culture
• Integration – adopting the new culture while retaining the original culture
• Marginalization – rejecting both the new and original culture

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Assimilation

Assimilation, as stated above is the process by which an individual, or group adopts a new culture. It is mostly used for immigrants who have migrated to a new location. It can be divided into two types: –

• Voluntary Assimilation: it refers to a process where any person changes their lifestyle to match the dominating culture by will. It occurs over time and integration is such that is it very difficult to identify who is native and who is not.
• Forced Assimilation: refers to a process where minority people are forced to change their lifestyle to that of the dominant culture. It occurs quickly and often involves a threat of violence.

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Difference between Acculturation and Assimilation

Both of these processes are related to major cultural changes in an individual’s life. Still, there is a slight difference. When we talk about acculturation, it’s about adopting a few elements of the dominant culture while retaining some elements of the original culture. It’s a more flexible process. For example- the incorporation of foreign words or phrases into a language is an example of linguistic acculturation. For instance, English speakers adopt words like “sushi” or “karaoke” from Japanese.

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Whereas, when we talk about assimilation, it is a process that includes complete immersion in a new culture while rejecting the ideas and practices of one’s own culture. Its complete integration into a new identity often leads to the loss of the original identity. For example- the concept of the “melting pot” in the United States, where diverse immigrant groups gradually adopt a common culture, language, and identity as part of the larger American society.

Language Adaptation

One of the core processes of the adoption of a new culture is learning the native language. It helps us to communicate freely to fulfil our needs. Many people join classes to learn a new language so they can establish themselves completely in the new culture. Others try to learn it by communicating with the natives over time. Some people learn very quickly and some have to go through a lot of difficulty creating stress for them. People try to learn vocabulary, style, pronunciation, and grammar and even change their body language to match that of the dominating culture, this process is called linguistic accommodation. The term linguistic accommodation was first introduced by sociolinguist Howard Giles in 1973 in his Communication Accommodation theory. This theory states that people change their way of communication to be able to adjust to a new culture for the creation and maintenance of relationships.

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Effects of Acculturation and Assimilation on People

Positive Effects

• Immigrants of war and socioeconomic reasons may feel safer in the new culture
• Higher quality of living in terms of schooling, employment, opportunities
• Helps in learning about different cultures and meeting people from different backgrounds.
• Improved communication
• Increased understanding and tolerance
• Developed coping strategies.

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Negative effects

Those belonging to a minority group could feel a loss of identity.

• Minority groups could experience mental health struggles, like self-esteem issues, anxiety, etc. in the process of changing to a different culture.
• Frustration and anger because of unfulfilled needs because of not being able to adjust, like, unemployment.
• Loss of support: It’s very difficult to leave all the support systems behind and find new connections.
• Reverse cultural shock: when people return to their country and they have trouble adjusting back.
• Feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.
• Feelings of loneliness and isolation.

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There are so many different cultures we see, like Asian, American, European, and many more. Every culture has its ideologies, language, food, art, history, and authenticity. If we look, there is not any one particular cultural process rather there are many cultural processes through which an individual passes throughout their lifetime. Some people might migrate to another country for education, employment, marriage, or for some political or economic reason. No matter what the reason is Acculturation is an inevitable process. It happened in the past; it happens today and it will happen for the years to come. The basic idea should always be to respect differences and increase the acceptance of different ideologies, practices, and behaviours. Only this will help all of us to live holistically.