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Acculturation - Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

1 : cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits

from another culture; also : a merging of cultures as a result of prolonged contact

2 : the process by which a human being acquires the culture of a particular society from infancy

Cultural diffusion

Cultural diffusion is the process by which culture traits or complexes of one society or ethnic
group are borrowed by another, resulting in their spread from a center of origin to other distant,
geographical areas. It is, along with independent discovery and invention, an important process
of culture change and is regarded by some anthropologists as the predominant force behind
culture change. The so-called Irish potato, maize, and tobacco were diffused to Europe and the
rest of the world from the New World culture of the American Indian. Similarly, European
culture acquired by diffusion coffee from Arabia, refined sugar from the Middle East, pajamas
from South Asia, and many other material traits and practices that are often mistakenly viewed as
indigenous to the West.

Cultural Assimilation

'assimilation' is an intense process of consistent integration whereby members of an ethno-

cultural group, typically immigrants, or other minority groups, are "absorbed" into an
established, generally larger community. This presumes a loss of all or many characteristics
which make the newcomers different. A region where assimilation is occurring is sometimes
referred to as a "melting pot".

According to the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (© 2000),

integration means "the bringing of people of different racial or ethnic groups into unrestricted
and equal association, as in society or an organization;