Acculturation, << uh `kuhl` chuh RAY shuhn, >> is the process by which cultural traits of one group change through the people’s contact with the culture of another group. The term also is sometimes used to describe the process by which individuals learn another culture.
Acculturation may create confusion if people cannot decide whether to follow the rules of their original culture or their newly learned culture. In many cultures, for example, young women live at home until they marry. In the United States, however, most young women move away from home before marriage. The daughter of an immigrant family might feel torn between one demand that she stay at home and another demand that she move out.
