Few people know what assimilation is, although we often encounter it in everyday life. This process takes place by merging different groups into one, having a common goal. This process is practiced in a variety of vital areas of science, culture and psychology.
What is assimilation?
At the moment, the concept of assimilation has dozens of definitions. In each of the areas, be it medicine, biology, religion, psychology, and so on, it means the merger of one group with another, with the aim of changing at the final stage. In the people, assimilation is the process of loss of national identity, by appropriating other people's cultural values. Thus, it led to the complete disappearance of several peoples and the complete eradication of their traditions. It can be of several types:
- natural;
- violent;
- forced.
Assimilation in Sociology
In sociological changes, this process is always present, because it guarantees an effective result. The question arises: what is assimilation and what does it mean to assimilate in sociology? This is a simple process of replacing the distinctive features of society, the other that came from another people. There is a kind of failure in the minds of people who were previously subject to their culture, religion or language.
The voluntary nature of the transition to a different culture is more attractive and this way adapts a person more quickly. Unfortunately, in life there are many cases of coercive nature. More often it can be observed in places where military operations are taking place. There are forced relocations, and the government decides for the people, what to believe in and how to behave.
Assimilation in Psychology
From a psychological point of view, the reasons for assimilation arise automatically, because without it a person simply could not harmoniously develop. This term refers to one part of the process of adaptation, which is the acquisition of a new experience. Assimilation is a simple way to know the world , because with him there is no need to accept a large amount of information. Beginning with the infant age, these learning moments accumulate in memory and remain there, gradually multiplying.
Attributes of assimilation
The standard effect of assimilation is divided according to the features in the linguistic phenomenon. Many words are written in one way, and their sound pronunciation differs by one or two letters. These processes are constantly encountered in everyday life, and our colloquial speech forms new and new non-standard turns. The convergence of similar sounds revealed the following signs of linguistic assimilation:
- contact - the fusion of two nearby sounds;
- progressive - the previous sound affects the next;
- full - different sounds become the same;
- Distact - the fusion of sounds that do not stand side by side;
- regressive - the subsequent sound affects the previous one;
- not complete - sounds remain distinguishable, but converge with each other on certain grounds.
What is assimilation different from dissimilation?
Almost everything in the world has the opposite. The difference between assimilation and dissimilation lies in the fact that in the former case there is always a rapprochement, in the second, decay. These processes are often not balanced, and therefore there is always some imbalance. The first option accumulates energy, and the second spends it and any failures lead to problems. Especially it comes with age. The process of assimilation in children before adolescence is more well developed, where the acquisition of energy prevails over its expenditure.