Acculturation
When two or more cultures merge and form a new culture, or transform this same culture, we call it acculturation. In this case, acculturation can occur both directly and indirectly.
Basically, the concept comes from anthropology and sociology, and designates the fusion that occurs between cultural elements, such as values, customs, habits, beliefs, etc., between two or more cultures. Thus, cultural change or transformation occurs through direct or indirect contact between different social groups .
Different social groups, when influenced by different elements, create new cultural structures and add new practices, knowledge and behaviors, for example, of a certain people. A very practical example was what happened between the Roman and Greek cultures , where the Greco-Roman culture originated.
However, it is worth remembering that the concept of culture is quite broad. This means that when we talk about cultural structures, we are referring to several important elements, such as habits, customs, ways of doing things, cultural practices, beliefs, etc. That is, culture is in constant transformation, even if there is no connection with other cultures.
Globalization process
Globalization can be considered a process of acculturation, as different social groups acquire ways of living and adhere to similar ways of acting. That is, what happens between the different social groups is greater interaction, provided mainly by technological advances.
In this way, cultural and social elements are easily disseminated by a given cultural group and incorporated by other groups. This is due to communication, which in the digital age happens quickly and information can be disseminated more widely.
In this sense, it is possible to perceive that, at the same time that cultural globalization takes away a little of the cultural identity of peoples, it also opens the way to new horizons, thus reducing xenophobia among cultural groups in the world.
Types of Acculturation
Basically, acculturation can occur in two ways: directly or indirectly. Both forms are shaped according to the type of social group and cultures that are involved in the transformation process.
Direct acculturation
occurs when cultural change processes are forced or imposed, as in the case of colonization, immigration, wars, etc.
Indirect acculturation
as the name suggests, is the form of cultural change that occurs directly. In this case, the means of communication, such as newspapers, television and radio, influence social groups to act and think in a certain way, even if these groups have different ideologies.
Within the types of acculturation it is possible to verify the existence of two aspects. The first brings acculturation as a form of cultural assimilation, where the transformation of two or more cultures occurs to add in a positive way.
On the other hand, we can also analyze the acculturation that occurs in an imposed way, where the culture that was dominated gradually loses space. In this case, the question of cultural and social influence enters, where elements of both cultures must be mixed, however, without losing cultural characteristics.
Transculturation and Endoculturation
Transculturation is a gradual process, where cultural forms and patterns are acquired by a given social group until the culture is modified or transformed. Here, there is the adoption of behaviors and beliefs from a different culture, until the process of acculturation is reached, that is, the cultural mix, which can be direct or indirect.
The endoculturation process, also known as enculturation, is the way in which, throughout life, we learn, internalize values, behaviors and norms. Therefore, this is also a process that resembles acculturation between different cultural groups.
