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Bicultural Conflict
| Article
# : |
15247 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1989 |
5,800 Words |
| Author
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Betty Lee Sung
Betty Lee Sung, professor of Asian studies at City College of
New York, is the author of many books and articles on Chinese
immigrants in the United States. This article is a reedition
of chapter 8, "Bicultural Conflict," from Sung's most recent
book, The Experience of Adjustment: Chinese Immigrant Children
in New York City, and appears by permission of the Center of
Migration Studies of New York, Inc. |
The moment a child is born, he begins to absorb the culture of his primary group; these ways are so ingrained they become a second nature to him. Imagine for a moment how wrenching it must be for an immigrant child who finds his cumulative life experiences completely invalidated, and who must learn a whole new set of speech patterns and behaviors when he settles in a new country. The severity of this culture shock is underlined by Teper's definition of culture: Culture is called a habit system in which "truths" that have been perpetutated by a group over centuries have permeated the unconscious. This basic belief system, from which "rational" conclusions spring, may be so deeply ingrained that it becomes indistinguishable from human perception--the way one sees, feels, believes, knows. It is the continuity of cultural assumptions and patterns that gives order to one's world, reduces an infinite variety of options to a manageable stream of beliefs, gives a person a firm footing in time and space, and binds the lone individual to the communality of a groups.
The language barrier was the problem most commonly mentioned by the immigrant Chinese among whom I have conducted field research. Language looms largest because it is the conduit through which people interact with other people. It is the means by which we think, learn, and express ourselves. Less obvious is the basis upon which we speak or act or think. If there are bicultural conflicts, these may engender problems and psychological difficulties, which may not be immediately apparent but may nevertheless impact on the development of immigrant children.
This article will address some of the cultural conflicts that commonly confront the Chinese child in the home and,
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