Deculturalized

Deculturalized refers to the process of stripping away or losing the cultural identity, traditions, values, and practices of an individual or a group, often through forced assimilation, displacement, or exposure to a dominant culture. This can lead to a sense of alienation, loss of belonging, and a diminished connection to one's heritage. Deculturalization can be a deliberate act by a colonizing force, or it can result from broader social and economic pressures, impacting language, social structures, and artistic expressions. It's the erosion of cultural foundations, resulting in either a complete loss or diluted adaptation.

Deculturalized meaning with examples

• Following the government's policy of forced integration, many Indigenous children were deculturalized in residential schools, forbidden from speaking their languages or practicing their customs. They were forced to adopt the dominant culture, severing ties with their heritage. This resulted in generations of trauma and loss of cultural knowledge.
• Immigrants, initially embracing their heritage, sometimes become deculturalized over time, pressured to assimilate into the host nation. The adoption of local customs, language, and societal norms, though helpful for integration, slowly replaces the original, sometimes unintentionally.
• As globalization spreads, some worry about the deculturalization of local traditions, as mass media and consumerism homogenize cultural experiences. Traditional crafts, languages, and practices might diminish, replaced by standardized products and trends.
• The systematic erasure of Mayan cultural sites and traditions during Spanish colonialism deculturalized countless individuals. Indigenous religious practices were suppressed, and communal structures were fractured, causing generational cultural damage.
• Having spent years in a Western country, she felt deculturalized when she returned to her home country, finding herself out of sync with many of the customs and social nuances she'd once intimately known, a stark reminder of her cultural drift.