Meaning & use
biculturalism
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Meanings
noununcountable
The state or practice of living within and identifying with two different cultures at the same time.
Grammar: An uncountable noun: say 'biculturalism is common', not 'a biculturalism'.
Patterns
- biculturalism in a community
- the rise of biculturalism
- a policy of biculturalism
Her research looks at biculturalism among the children of immigrants.
In Canada, biculturalism has been part of official policy for decades.
He wrote about the biculturalism of families who speak one language at home and another at school.
noununcountabletechnical
A social or official arrangement in which two cultures are treated as equally important within one country or group.
Grammar: Often used with words like 'official', 'state' or 'policy' before it.
Patterns
- official biculturalism
- biculturalism as policy
- the biculturalism of a nation
The treaty made biculturalism a guiding principle of the school system.
Critics argued that official biculturalism ignored smaller minority groups.
Common combinations
- official biculturalism
- Official biculturalism shapes how history is taught in the region.
- the rise of biculturalism
- The rise of biculturalism followed waves of migration.
- a policy of biculturalism
- The government adopted a policy of biculturalism in education.
- biculturalism in the workplace
- Biculturalism in the workplace can improve communication with overseas clients.
- promote biculturalism
- The festival was designed to promote biculturalism in the city.
Synonyms and how they differ
- multiculturalism
- Use this when three or more cultures are involved; biculturalism is limited to exactly two.
- cultural pluralism
- A broader, more academic term for several cultures coexisting; it is not restricted to two.
Word family
- bicultural adjective
- Relating to two cultures, as in 'a bicultural family'.
- biculturally adverb
- In a way that involves two cultures.
- culture noun
- The shared customs, beliefs and art of a group.
- culturally adverb
- In a way that relates to culture.
Commonly confused: biculturalism or bilingualism? biculturalism or bicameralism?
biculturalism vs bilingualism
Bilingualism is about using two languages; biculturalism is about belonging to two cultures, and a person can have one without the other.
biculturalism vs bicameralism
Bicameralism describes a parliament with two chambers, not two cultures.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'biculturalism' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Biculturalism' is an uncountable noun meaning two cultures living together, so it fits the sentence about schools teaching both traditions. Option A confuses it with 'bilingualism' (two languages), and option C treats an uncountable noun as a countable object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “biculturalism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.