Immigrants And Local Culture

Every person, or group of persons, has an identity and a culture tied to them from the country in which they grew up. An identity is the image someone present to the rest of the world, and culture is the image which one has of his/herself. Countries are similar to a person; over its history of being influenced by other countries, it has formed an identity and culture for itself. It has been stated that the worst act performed by others on another is to take away their identity, and deny them of their culture. Immigrants in America experience the loss of cultural norms/ values, cultural practices/ traits, adjustment to a new culture and changes in identity and concept of self. It is important to note that most immigrants are from minority groups.

Cultural practices cause some problems for families because their way of living or morals may not be accepted. Some immigrants relocate to North America for employment; however immigrants want to share their beliefs with their families. Families want to continue to practice their religion, eat the same food, and discipline their children according to their culture.

Immigration did not necessarily mean they wanted abandon their old culture. The Myth of the Melting Pot promised these types of immigrants that they could retain parts of their culture as long as they adopted some parts of other cultures. One of the things that they would newly adopt is striving to be like a model family. Both myths touch deeply into the heart of a modern immigrant: their family, happiness, and culture. These two myths work well together because they touch on the issues that are most urgent to newly arrived

culture in order to fully become part of a different society (“Assimilate”, 2015). This type of

It is a basic tenet of anthropological knowledge that all normal human beings have the capacity to learn any cultural behavior. The American experience with immigrants from hundreds of different language and cultural backgrounds who have acquired some version of American culture traits and behavior is the clearest evidence of this fact. Moreover, people of all physical variations have learned different cultural behaviors and continue to do so as modern transportation moves millions of immigrants around the world.

The immigrant children will learn American traditions and may express and exchange ideas that will benefit not only them but the American culture as well. "Immigrant communities bring time-tested traditional practices, customs, and knowledge from their countries that can inform and uplift American culture" (Kumar). Immigrants have introduced Americans to spiritual teachings, farming methods, medical treatments, and even food trends. Learning and exchanging each other's cultural backgrounds positively benefits immigrants and Americans; being exposed to new ideas leads to greater

It is expected that ultimately there will be a loss of ethnic distinctiveness for immigrants in the U.S., meaning the lack of attachment to the country of origin. (Golash-Boza, 2006) It is argued that all ethnic distinctiveness will no longer exist by the seventh or eighth generations. Before exploring the influence of foreign born vs. U.S. born parents on their children’s cultural assimilation; the different theories of assimilation will be explored. The idea of Assimilation came about in the early 20th century. (Golash-Boza, 2006) Assimilation is surrounded by two theories, the first that all immigrants will assimilate sooner or later and that the generational status of the individual is one of the main factors in determining the

The Cultural environment is a set of beliefs, practices, customs, and behaviors which are familiar to people in a specific population. There are essential components of culture which include language and symbols. Symbols show the meaning and actions of events while the word conveys the values and beliefs of religion which allows the members of the society to pass on the cultural expectations of other generations. The following factors affect the culture of immigrants to a new population where they settle (Oberg, 1960).

Millions of people come to America, the most diverse country in the world, in search for the American Dream. Everyone has their own of American Dream leading them to success. Culture shapes our way of life and is learned through the society that we were born into. Many different kinds of immigrants come to America including white, black, rich, poor, religious, etc. Each have their own way of life and their own customs. Coming to America will be a different lifestyle and it will take time to get used to adopting the various mannerisms. Being born into a certain culture can determine one’s values and behaviors. Traditions change when entering a new setting. Immigrants coming to America have to assimilate to a great degree in an economic and social

California During the late 1800’s to mid-1900’s was extremely unwelcoming to many of the immigrants including: Japanese, Chinese, Latinos and many other immigrant groups. Early Japanese immigration started around the 1880’s with the Chinese immigrants working in the railroad construction and as contract laborers in the fields. Throughout history many immigrants that migrated to the United States have been the feared by many native born citizens as being a threat to the American Culture and many available jobs. Even though the Japanese contributed greatly to California’s agricultural bloom and where a model to citizens, they were still treated as second citizens by the native citizens for this country and had been excluded from many opportunities being offered to United States citizens; the treatment was inhumane, working enslaved many hours and not being able to grow in business or increase the possibility of obtaining money Many Japanese had the intention of returning back to Japan before the Gentleman Agreement was signed in 1907. The agreement between the governments of Japan and the United States was that the U.S would lower their restrictions on Japanese staying in California and offer some protections granted to American citizens, while the Japanese agreed to limit the numbers of unskilled Japanese workers immigrating to the United States.

Culture plays a significant role in defining our identity and worldview. For newcomers, culture is the primary frame that shapes their interaction with other newcomers and with established residents in their new community. This interaction can occur anywhere and

Acculturation is known as a cultural change and psychological change that results following meeting between cultures at multiple levels in both interacting cultures. It has also been referred to the changes in personal values, beliefs, behaviours, and ways of living that an immigrant or minority individual makes as a result of adapting to the mainstream cultural or behavioural norms (Berry, Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987). Acculturation often results in changes to culture, customs, and social institutions. In this modern era, through technology and media, people have been constantly engaging online to learn and understand new cultures, norms and languages. Acculturation is more than simply learning the English language, but also understanding the history of a new country, navigating its idioms and understanding the concepts behind its holidays.

Second generation immigrants are becoming more and more common in different countries, as first generation immigrants start having kids. These children are becoming much more integrated into the countries that they are born in and due to that, many of them are becoming assimilated into that country’s culture. This causes several problems with the parents of these children, as the parents feel that their children are losing their cultural and their identity, while the children believe that the best way to integrate into that country is to become like everyone else there. Several things are thought to correlate with second generation immigrants and their integration into society. Some examples include, education, family relationships, and cultural

Culture is the third challenge that immigrants face here. Immigrants have their own cultures and living styles in their home country. The culture of dressing, talking, eating, social life etc… is different here from immigrants’ home country. For example, here man and woman can kiss on the lips anywhere, but this is taboo in my country, Ethiopia. Another example is the way girls’ dress, here girls can wear whatever they like such as shorts and mini dresses. However, in my country, this is not accepted and girls should wear clothes that don’t expose their body. Thus, they should wear shorts and dresses which are below to their knees. The other thing here people eat their food anywhere; they can even eat walking on the street. However, in my country people, especially girls, cannot walk on the street while eating or drinking. There are several customs here that are counted as taboo in

My family moved here to the United States in 1989; from Eritrea, located in east africa. My father lived in the largest city in Eritrea, named Asmara and my mother lived in the second largest city named, Keren. My mother made an hour and a half trip to school everyday. My parents met when they were only 16 years old. In 1988 my mother Kudusan gave birth to my brother Michael. My parents planned to have more kids but they wanted to provide a better life for a family. My parents decided to move to the United states where they didn’t know anyone, they didn’t have a job, and they didn’t know a lot of english. They moved to the states with just enough money to last them an apartment for a couple months while they looked for work. My father found