enculturation

English

Etymology

From en- +‎ culture +‎ -ation.

Noun

enculturation (countable and uncountable, plural enculturations)

  1. The process by which a person adopts the behaviour patterns of the culture in which they are immersed (or born).
    • 1979, Johannes Wilbert, editor, Enculturation in Latin America, University of California, page 8:
      More specifically, enculturation is the process by which the individual through informal and nonformal modes of cultural transmission learns the language, the technological, socioeconomic, ideational, as well as the cognitive and emotional patterns of culture. It is a lifelong learning process that lasts from an individual’s infancy to adulthood and “which can be said to end only with his death” (ibid., p. 40).

Usage notes

Some social scientists reverse the meanings of enculturation and acculturation.

Derived terms

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