aculturare

Aculturare is the process of cultural change that occurs when distinct cultures come into sustained contact. It entails shifts in language, values, practices, and social norms as individuals or groups adapt to new cultural environments. In Romanian-language scholarship, aculturare is the term used for what English-language literature typically calls acculturation.

The process is bidirectional: elements from the incoming culture may be adopted, while homeland culture is retained or transformed. It is influenced by factors such as power relations, duration of contact, age at onset, education, economic status, social networks, discrimination, and government policies. Language use patterns, intermarriage, media exposure, and institutional inclusion all shape outcomes.

Theoretical frameworks emphasize adaptation strategies. John W. Berry's model identifies four mainstream strategies: assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization. Aculturation can be voluntary or forced and may lead to a stable bicultural identity or blending of traits; alternatively, it may produce stress and identity conflict if pressures conflict with personal or communal values.

Outcomes vary: successful aculturare often involves greater social participation and well-being, but acculturation gaps between generations can arise. Critics note that the concept can obscure power dynamics and presuppose a unidirectional path toward “the host culture” at the expense of minority cultures.

In practice, aculturare occurs in immigrant communities, indigenous contact with colonizers, international students, refugees, and within multinational societies amid globalization and transnational networks.