assimilation

/ə,simi'leiʃn/

Thân thiện

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The process of absorbing and integrating new ideas, information, or experiences into an existing framework of knowledge or belief. This is a key concept in cognitive psychology, referring to how individuals incorporate new learning into their current understanding.
   • The process by which a sound in a word changes to become more like a neighboring sound. This is a linguistic process that occurs in spoken language, often making pronunciation easier and more fluid.
   • The biological process of absorbing and converting digested food into the substance of the body. This refers to the stage after digestion where nutrients enter the bloodstream and are used by cells.
   • The social and cultural process by which a minority group or individual adopts the customs, attitudes, and language of a dominant culture, often leading to a loss of distinct identity. This can be a gradual, often complex process of integration.
   • The state or result of being absorbed, integrated, or made similar. This describes the outcome of any assimilation process.

Usage Examples

• Cognitive Assimilation:

  • The child's assimilation of the concept of "mammal" allowed her to correctly identify whales and bats as part of the same group.
  • Learning a new programming language involves the assimilation of its syntax into your existing knowledge of logic.

• Linguistic Assimilation:

  • In the word "input," the /n/ sound often undergoes assimilation, becoming /m/ ("imput") because of the following /p/ sound.
  • The assimilation of the final /s/ to /ʃ/ before /j/ is common in rapid speech, as in "this year" sounding like "thi[sh] year."

• Biological Assimilation:

  • Proper assimilation of vitamins is crucial for maintaining good health.
  • The small intestine is the primary site for nutrient assimilation.

• Social/Cultural Assimilation:

  • The policy encouraged the assimilation of immigrants into the mainstream culture.
  • Complete cultural assimilation can sometimes lead to the erosion of traditional practices.

Advanced Usage

• "Forced assimilation": A policy or practice where a dominant group compels a minority group to adopt its culture, often through coercive means.

  • The history of many indigenous peoples includes painful periods of forced assimilation.

• "Selective assimilation": The process where individuals or groups adopt some aspects of a new culture while retaining core elements of their original identity.

  • Many second-generation immigrants practice selective assimilation, blending customs from both their heritage and their new country.

Variants and Related Words

• Assimilate (verb): To absorb and integrate.

  • It takes time to assimilate complex information.
  • The community gradually assimilated the new arrivals.

• Assimilative (adjective): Having the quality of causing or undergoing assimilation.

  • The country's assimilative policies were debated for decades.

• Assimilable (adjective): Capable of being assimilated.

  • The material was presented in easily assimilable chunks.

Synonyms

• Integration: The process of combining or incorporating parts into a whole. (Often used interchangeably in social contexts, though "integration" can imply more mutual adjustment than the one-way direction sometimes implied by "assimilation".)
• Absorption: The process of soaking up or taking in. (Common in biological and general contexts.)
• Incorporation: The action of including something as part of a whole.
• Acculturation: Cultural modification resulting from cross-cultural imitation; can be a more mutual process than assimilation.

Related Phrases

• "Cultural assimilation": The specific process of a minority culture adopting the traits of the dominant culture.

  • The debate centered on the benefits and costs of cultural assimilation.

• "Phonological assimilation": The linguistic process where a speech sound changes to become more like a nearby sound.

  • The textbook had a chapter on common types of phonological assimilation.

Related Idioms

• "To be assimilated into the mainstream": To become part of the dominant culture or group.
  • Over generations, the family was fully assimilated into the mainstream.

Học thuật

Noun

1. in the theories of Jean Piaget: the application of a general schema to a particular instance
2. the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure
3. a linguistic process by which a sound becomes similar to an adjacent sound
4. the process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion
5. the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another
6. the state of being assimilated; people of different backgrounds come to see themselves as part of a larger national family

Từ đồng nghĩa

• acculturation
• absorption