Taiwan's fifth ethnic group: A study of the acculturation and cultural fusion of women who have married into families in Taiwan

Todd L. Sandel, Chung-Hui Liang

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    32 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    One of the under-studied effects of global migration has been an increase in transnational marriages. This phenomenon has greatly impacted Taiwan as women from Southeast Asian nations and Mainland China, through professional marriage brokers or personal contacts, enter into marriages with Taiwanese men. How well these women adapt to Taiwan's culture and learn its local languages is studied through the lens of two theories of intercultural communication: Kim's theory of cross-cultural adaptation and Kramer's theory of cultural fusion. Based upon in-depth interviews with 28 women, results show some support for both theories. However, the postulates of cultural fusion demonstrate a better fit: Learning is an additive process; long-term association with coethnics appears to correlate with greater satisfaction and adaptation; and women's negotiated identities follow a range of outcomes.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)249-275
    Number of pages27
    JournalJournal of International and Intercultural Communication
    Volume3
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 1 Aug 2010

    Keywords

    • Acculturation
    • Cross-cultural adaptation
    • Cultural fusion
    • Taiwan
    • Transnational families

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