Table of Contents
Definitions of Enculturation
(noun) The gradual process of an individual or group learning and adapting to the norms and values of a culture (or subculture) in which they are immersed (e.g., learning a new language or clothing style).
Examples of Enculturation
- A foreign exchange student learning to navigate a new educational system, local customs, and new foods.
- Refugees adapting to a new place after fleeing their homeland.
Enculturation Pronunciation
Syllabification: en·cul·tur·a·tion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /in-kuhl-chuhr-rAY-shuhn/
- British English – /in-kuhl-chuh-rAY-shuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English: /ɪnˌkʌltʃɚˈɹeɪʃən/
- British English: /ɪnˌkʌltʃəˈɹeɪʃ(ə)n/
Usage Notes
- Plural: enculturations
- Enculturation can be intentional or unintentional and formal or informal.
- Enculturation can occur due to cultural contact or innovation and can lead to social acceptance.
- In contrast to enculturation, acculturation is the process of change that occurs when two or more cultures come into contact.
- Some sources list acculturation, enculturation, and socialization as synonyms, while these terms are similar and easily confused, they are not synonyms in an academic context.
- Enculturation is similar to socialization and is often used synonymously. The distinction between the two is enculturation is learning cultural norms and socialization is learning societal norms, however, neither process occurs independent of the other. Enculturation typically refers to “people” in general and is informal and socialization typically refers to children and is formal or deliberate.
- Variant spelling: inculturation
- Enculturation is the process by which a culture or (noun) enculturator (verb) enculturates an individual (adverb) enculturatively through an (adjective) enculturational or (adjective) enculturative process to become (adjective) enculturated.
Related Quotation
- “The kind of person we become depends greatly on what we learn during our formative years from our surrounding social groups and social environment” (Kendall 2006:105).
Additional Information
- Word origin of “enculturation” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Blum-Kulka, Shoshana. 1997. Dinner Talk: Cultural Patterns of Sociability and Socialization in Family Discourse. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Casas, J. Manuel, Lisa A. Suzuki, Charlene M. Alexander, and Margo A. Jackson, eds. 2017. Handbook of Multicultural Counseling. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
- Chari, Sharad, and Stuart Corbridge, eds. 2008. The Development Reader. London: Routledge.
- Cherry, Andrew L. 1994. The Socializing Instincts: Individual, Family, and Social Bonds. Westport, CT: Praeger.
- Flanagan, Cara. 1999. Early Socialisation: Sociability and Attachment. London: Routledge.
- Grusec, Joan E., and Paul D. Hastings, eds. 2008. Handbook of Socialization: Theory and Research. New York: Guilford.
- Maynard, Ashley E., and Mary I. Martini, eds. 2005. Learning in Cultural Context: Family, Peers, and School. New York: Springer.
- Morawska, Ewa T. 2009. A Sociology of Immigration: (Re)making Multifaceted America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Rogoff, Barbara. 2003. The Cultural Nature of Human Development. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Sussman, Nan M. 2002. “Testing the Cultural Identity Model of the Cultural Transition Cycle: Sojourners Return Home.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 26(4):391–408. doi:10.1016/s0147-1767(02)00013-5.
- Verkuyten, Maykel. 2007. “Social Psychology and Multiculturalism.” Social and Personality Psychology Compass 1(1):280–97. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2007.00011.x.
Related Terms
Reference
Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Works Consulted
Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan Turner. 2006. The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology. 5th ed. London: Penguin.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Enculturation
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “enculturation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 25, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/enculturation/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
enculturation. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/enculturation/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “enculturation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/enculturation/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“enculturation.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/enculturation/>.