I have a new coworker at my office named Jorge who is from Central America. He is unfamiliar with American customs and claims that he is undergoing culture shock and needs my help with the adjustment. In this paper, I will define assimilation and present the pros and cons of Jorge assimilating fully into US culture. Also, I will explain the relationship between language and culture and list some ways that Jorge can viably communicate with others in a multicultural society to help his integration into American society go smoothly.
Cultural assimilation is when an individual or individuals adopts some or all aspects of a dominant culture (such as its religion, language, norms, values etc.). Cultural assimilation is a process of socialization. It can be a voluntary process, but can also sometimes be the result of involuntary political decisions (Wikipedia, 2015).
Some pros of Jorge assimilating fully to the US culture are that he will feel that feeling more of fitting in. Once Jorge feels like he belongs more in the US, that culture shock will dissipate. Living will be so much easier. For example, if he learns and speaks English, he won’t feel so out of place and will feel like he adapted and more independent. Another pro is he would be able to make many more friends (and
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One con is that he could lose some of his own cultures, customs, and values in the process. Maybe there are some traditions in Central America that we don’t take part in here in the US and Jorge decides to lose that in order to assimilate more to the US. This could end up hurting him in the long run and can end up resenting coming to the US. Another con is the risk of Jorge living his life as a result of other cultures thinking. Jorge may feel like he lost his original culture, which could possibly lead to identity issues. Lastly, Central America might feel as though he abandoned them. His relationship there can be altered for
There are many ways for people from other countries to adjust to living in the United States. There are also things that immigrants think they have to do to fit in. In this essay I will include the best ways for immigrants to adjust to American culture. I will also include challenges immigrants face to fit in in America. Finally, I will include what immigrants do to adapt to America.
He states that assimilation happens whether one likes it or not. “It is something that can not be helped. Rodriguez recalls a time when Loatians and Mexicans lived together even though never having gotten along. Loatians were complaining about the Mexicans when Rodriguez realized they were speaking with a Spanish accent” (91). The Loatins had developed an accent from their neighbors without meaning too. When assimilation happens, it is usually because you have grown up with something that you consider home.
Language is not the only factor affecting the assimilation of people into American society, but one?s traditions also have an effect on the willingness and on the degree to which one assimilates. Some people have found that certain customs they have are not accepted in American culture and might
Growing up in a Mexican household has many definitive factors. Growing up an Hispanic child means being awoken by loud Spanish music every Sunday morning which sent a reminder to your brain telling you that it was cleaning day. It means having your parents call you names such as precioso, mi rey, and gordo at any age. Growing up in a Mexican household means never having to buy outside food because “there’s food at home”. Growing up in a Mexican household means many things but all these things make us who we are.
Hispanic's face many struggles in their lives that is why the word family is so strong. The theme of family comes in when the father leaves. They had to learn how to take care of each other and help out around the house. Even though the bond between them isn't very strong, they will always have their family come first. This is shown when the father comes back and Wilfredo tries to get into Yuniors family business. Rafa becomes infuriated of the fact that Yunior was going to tell Wilfredo about their problems. "Hey, Sinbad, Wilfredo said, his head appearing in our window. What's going on? My father wrote us a letter! Rafa rapped me on the side of the head. This is a family affair, Yunior. Don't blab it all over the place."(Diaz 81) Culture identity is not known until you find a place with your family. Yunior wasn't aware of this and since his family was poor he kept on moving around going from one house to another. Yunior also didn't want to be himself; he was always following in the footsteps of Rafa. All these themes sum up the Latin Experience. If you are Hispanic most of these problems you have faced already or will face in the future.
For immigrants in America, two radically different choices of culture exist. First, the immigrants can choose to stay loyal to their ancestral roots and deny mainstream culture. Instead of contributing to the melting pot of opinions present they isolate within themselves by refusing to learn both the English language and American culture as a whole. Because they cannot communicate with a majority of the population, they don’t maintain any amount of control over American ideals including both politically and socially. The second opportunity available would be to embrace this new found culture, no matter how foreign it is to them, and develop a sense of unity with America. If immigrants wish to break the currently controlled system of power and privilege in America and truly become a part of American customs, they must learn to assimilate culturally.
Is it true that immigrant’s native roots never leave them? Do cultures keep the best interest in mind for immigrants? I live in the great state of Texas where according to the US Census for 2016, Hispanics account for 37% of the population. My church in Buda, Texas has 3500 families and is about 70% Hispanic in membership, moreover; half of our family friends are Hispanic and most of these friends are living the US culture. Some of our employees though maintain Spanish as their primary language. Immigrants have an unbreaking bond entwined with native culture.
In American society, there are multiple cultures and races exist. Since immigrants bring the various cultures to America, Americans face a highly controversial problem. Some of the Americans believe all of the ethnic groups assimilate into a common culture can help Americans distinctly identify themselves. Others argue that ethnic groups should not abandon their cultural heritages background. As a result, merging different cultures into one new culture will cause America lose its cultural diversity which is one significant charm of this country. On the contrary, if every ethnic group only focuses on building their own community and resists communicate with others, it will aggravate the separation of a nation. Although people often argue about these two ways which one is more appropriate to Americans, I think Richard Rodriguez's idea is more realistic in nowadays American society. Rodriguez resists the idea of the melting pot, and believes that assimilation is inevitable and reciprocal. In the essay Does America Still Exist?, Rodriguez explains his thought to us through his experiences.
Assimilation patterns differ in societies that are characterized by paternalistic race relations than in societies characterized by competitive race relations. According to the lectures and readings, assimilation is defined as a process by which minority and majority groups are merged into some total societal unit. There are also three different type of assimilation which are Anglo (or dominant group) conformity, the Melting Pot, and cultural pluralism. Some additional concepts that go along with assimilation are acculturation where the minority adopts the dominant culture, amalgamation the biological blending of the groups, and the transmuting pot where the dominant group selects aspects of minority culture and modifies it to fit the
Inclusion of other cultures is a result of marrying into another culture, children become independent from the family, language barriers between the parents and children, distant from family left behind in old country, etc. Virtually every ethnic group has planted its footprint into the history and daily life of the United States (Times – News, 2008). Due to the geographical proximity of Latin countries, Hispanics have played a vital historical role in the development of this country (Times – News, 2008). The way to ensure that the family retains and remember their culture is to maintain their cultural heritage through the knowledge of one’s cultural history and how the people in that culture dealt with struggles and how they handled difficulties in life to know how their source of strength is sustained. History informs us that societies are the result of collective contributions from the various social and ethnic groups (Times – News, 2008). The United States contains the most diverse combination of cultures in the Americas, due to the contributions made by all the native and foreign cultures embraced within this nation (Times – News,
I think Tony Garza and Governor Hernandez both make excellent points. Tamaulipas will develop rewarding tourist locations if English is well-spoken, as well as break down cultural barriers. Moreover, Texas will be able to communicate more efficiently with its neighboring state if students are encouraged to learn Spanish. I believe both
In chapter one of the book The Prince of Los Cocuyos, the author, Richard Blanco, writes about his grandmother and the difficulty for her to assimilate in this new strange place full of “gringos”. The difficulty of assimilation is portrayed the most when Richard tells us readers of his grandmothers fear of even stepping into Winn-Dixie, which is of course, an all american store. She is afraid of trying something new, therefore, she keeps returning to La Sorpresita, which was a small grocery store where she has shopped ever since she moved to Miami. His grandmother receives tantalizing chicken coupons from Winn-Dixie at great deals, but his grandmother is so fixated in the thought of all American people being “gringos putos”, meaning bad people, that she throws away the coupons until one day she decides to go with Richie. Richard then goes on about the incredulous way he felt entering Winn-Dixie, and how he wishes his
Gutek (2013) discusses about assimilation in chapter 10. Gutek (2013) writes, “Assimilation was interpreted as meaning that immigrants should learn to speak an read the English language, learn the values of hard work and punctuality prescribed by the Protestant ethic, and obey the laws of the United States (p. 351). When reading about this topic I began to wonder how could Americans expect for immigrants to enter a new country and loose touch with their culture and adopt a new one? The primary source helped to explain this for me. Ravage (1919) wrote,
Latino immigrants have always had many obstacles when coming into the United States, the difference between the American and the Latin cultures is what has caused a huge hurdle that immigrants have found hard to overpass. This obstacle has caused many generations to go through cultural assimilation. Mize et al. (2012) explain that cultural assimilation is the adaptation of immigrants to unfamiliar cultural patterns, which include language and the value systems of other cultures. In order for immigrants to be successful in another country, which is not of their origin; they need to learn how to assimilate to their new homes. Immigrants have learned that they need to adapt in order to get to experience new opportunities and also to learn from new cultures that are not theirs (Mize et al., 2012). Immigrants have learned that they are not leaving behind their own believes and norms, but mixing their norms, this gives them the opportunity to create and mix their culture with the new. Cultural assimilation can be hard to achieve because in one hand it is important to change in order to live within a different culture, but on the other hand it is important for a person to maintain their identity regardless of where they live. At times immigrants find it difficult to achieve a balance and for many families it is a struggle over generations. There are different levels of assimilation, some immigrants come to the
Acculturation is the process of how a person or a group of people adapt into another culture by taking small pieces of that culture into their own culture. It is the idea of blend in with another culture, other than your own. For example, my family and relatives came to the United States for a little over 10 years now and some of the family members have assimilated into the American culture by beginning to celebrate the holidays, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Further, we are remaining embedded in the ethnic of being Hmong. Many of us decided to come to America to obtain a better lifestyle, and the America society has greatly impact our life to assimilate into the American culture.