Cultural integration

Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture resembles those of a dominant group. The term is used to refer to both individuals and groups; the latter case can refer to a range of social groups, including ethnic minorities, immigrants, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups such as sexual minorities who adapt to being culturally dominated by another societal group.

Cultural assimilation may involve either a quick or a gradual change depending on circumstances of the group. Full assimilation occurs when members of a society become indistinguishable from those of the dominant group.

Whether it is desirable for a given group to assimilate is often disputed by both members of the group and those of the dominant society. Cultural assimilation does not guarantee social homophily though as this article states, geographical and other natural barriers between cultures even if started by the same dominant culture will be culturally different.

A place (a state or an ethnicity) can spontaneously adopt a different culture due to its political relevance, or to its perceived cultural 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, richer, or otherwise more dominant cultures forcibly absorb subordinate cultures.

The term assimilation is often used not only with regard to indigenous groups who find themselves in the minority before another culture perceived as more sophisticated or prestigious, but also 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 and within varying social contexts, 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.

...
Wikipedia