transculturation: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Academic / Technical
Quick answer
What does “transculturation” mean?
The process whereby a culture adopts and transforms elements from another culture.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
The process whereby a culture adopts and transforms elements from another culture.
A complex, bidirectional cultural exchange that results in the creation of new cultural forms, distinct from mere borrowing or assimilation, involving transformation of both the receiving and influencing cultures.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is identical in both varieties; the term is primarily academic.
Connotations
Neutral to positive in academic contexts, implying creative synthesis. Can have critical connotations in discussions of power imbalances.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in general discourse, confined almost exclusively to scholarly writing in both varieties.
Grammar
How to Use “transculturation” in a Sentence
The [NOUN] underwent a process of transculturation.Transculturation between [CULTURE A] and [CULTURE B] resulted in [OUTCOME].Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “transculturation” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The communities transculturated over centuries, creating a unique dialect.
- Cuisine often transculturates faster than language.
American English
- The film transculturates elements of western and samurai genres.
- Musical styles constantly transculturate in a globalized world.
adverb
British English
- The styles fused transculturatively.
- He argued that influence spread transculturatively.
American English
- The novel was written transculturatively, blending narrative forms.
- Ideas moved transculturatively across the empire.
adjective
British English
- The transculturative process was evident in the architecture.
- They studied the region's transculturational dynamics.
American English
- The artist's work is deeply transculturative.
- We analysed the transculturational effects of the trade route.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rarely used. Might appear in discussions of global marketing strategies adapting to local cultures.
Academic
Core term in cultural studies, anthropology, and postcolonial theory.
Everyday
Virtually never used.
Technical
Used precisely to describe specific processes of cultural change and synthesis.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “transculturation”
Strong
Neutral
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “transculturation”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “transculturation”
- Confusing it with 'acculturation'.
- Using it to describe simple cultural borrowing.
- Misspelling as 'transculturation' or 'trans-culturation'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Acculturation often implies a one-way adaptation of a minority culture to a dominant one, while transculturation emphasises a reciprocal, transformative process that changes both cultures involved.
The term was coined by Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz in the 1940s to describe the Cuban cultural process, contrasting it with the term 'acculturation'.
The development of Cuban Santería is a classic example, where West African Yoruba religious practices and Spanish Catholicism transculturated to form a distinct new religion.
In academic usage, it is generally a neutral, descriptive term. However, it can be viewed positively as creative synthesis or critically when analysing power imbalances in cultural contact.
The process whereby a culture adopts and transforms elements from another culture.
Transculturation is usually academic / technical in register.
Transculturation: in British English it is pronounced /ˌtrænz.kʌl.tʃəˈreɪ.ʃən/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌtrænz.kʌl.tʃəˈreɪ.ʃən/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None specific to this term.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think 'TRANSforming CULTURE through inteGRATION' -> transculturation.
Conceptual Metaphor
CULTURAL EXCHANGE IS A CHEMICAL REACTION (producing a new compound).
Practice
Quiz
In which field is 'transculturation' most commonly used?