noun
- the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group.
- the result of this process.
“the adoption and assimilation of an alien culture,” 1880, from ad- “to” + culture (n.) + -ation.
The learning of the ideas, values, conventions, and behavior that characterize a social group. (See socialization.) Acculturation is also used to describe the results of contact between two or more different cultures; a new, composite culture emerges, in which some existing cultural features are combined, some are lost, and new features are generated. Usually one culture is dominant (as in the case of colonization).