Acculturation

Acculturation explained

Acculturation is the process through which connections between distinct cultural groups result in the introduction of additional cultural traits by one or both groups and the acquisition of all or a portion of the other group’s culture. Foster describes it as a process of re-establishing communication between groups of people previously separated. This interaction must be sufficient for “cultural transfer.”

Sociological Explanation of Acculturation

The term “acculturation” refers to the process through which a group adopts the norms and beliefs of a more dominant culture and the mutual influence of other societies.

The contrast between “material acculturation” and “ideational acculturation” highlighted by E. Franklin Frazier (1957) is shown by the differential reception and dismissal of the Jim Crow subculture within American society. Languages and other cultural expressions are transmitted via material acculturation, whereas morality and standards are transmitted through ideational acculturation. Individuals and communities may absorb a new culture’s language and cultural instruments without adopting its values and norms.

Some people and groups react positively and efficiently to acculturation, whereas others do not. There will be less antagonism and uneasiness throughout the process if the larger community regards the prospects of an arriving group’s acculturation as positive and comprehensible. There will be more antagonism and inconvenience, and the process will need more effort on the side of the incoming group if the acculturation is regarded negatively and with uneasiness by the larger community.

Example

To some extent, white Americans have adopted specific characteristics of black and immigrant communities’ cultural expression via acculturation. Music, dancing, language, accent, clothes, cuisine, and religion are cultural characteristics that undergo acculturation.