Assimilation (sociology)

Cultural assimilation is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group. The term is used to refer to both individuals and groups, and in the latter case it can refer to either immigrant diasporas or native residents that come to be culturally dominated by another society. Cultural assimilation may involve either a quick or gradual change depending on circumstances of the group. Full assimilation occurs when new members of a society become indistinguishable from members of the other group. Whether or not it is desirable for an immigrant group to assimilate is often disputed by both members of the group and those of the dominant society.

A place (a state or an ethnicity) can spontaneously adopt a different culture due to its political relevance, or to its perceived superiority. The first is the case of the Latin language and culture, that were gradually adopted by most of the subjugated people.

Cultural assimilation can happen either spontaneously or forcibly. A culture can spontaneously adopt a different culture or older and richer cultures forcibly integrate other weak cultures. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. A new culture and new attitudes toward the origin culture are obtained through contact and communication. Cultural changing is not simply a one-way process. Assimilation assumes that relatively tenuous culture gets to be united to one unified culture. This process happens through contact and accommodation between each culture. The current definition of assimilation is usually used to refer to immigrants, but in multiculturalism, cultural assimilation can happen all over the world, not just be limited to specific areas. For example, a shared language gives people the chance to study and work internationally, not just being limited to the same cultural group. People from different countries contribute to diversity and form the "global culture" which means the culture combined by the elements from different countries. This "global culture" can be seen as a part of assimilation that causes cultures from different areas to affect each other.

During Chinese immigrants' early settlement in Canada, Chinese Canadians experienced different levels of assimilation due to the encounter of Chinese and Western culture. In 1860, the influx of Chinese immigrants started to arrive in Canada mostly from rural areas of southern China. An estimated population of 7,000 Chinese were settled in Vancouver Island and British Columbia, creating the first Chinese community during that time in Canada. The arrivals of non-British and non-French immigrants were primarily considered by the Canadian government as a way to prosper Canadian economic development. Chinese immigrants contributed greatly to the Canadian economy and completed the British Columbia's section of Canadian Pacific Railway (CRP) construction between 1880 and 1885. Despite the great importance of Chinese migrants to the country, they experienced racial discrimination and prejudice during their settlement due to discriminatory legislations and social practices of anti-Asian sentiment and xenophobia.

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