An Analysis of Interactions in Intercultural Marriages: A Field Study of Alanya

This study aims to examine the dimensions of the conflicts arising from the interactions of two different cultures in intercultural marriages and to examine under which conditions and the level to which cultural adaptation is provided. This study was conducted with 35 participants who have an intercultural marriage and live in Antalya Province’s Alanya District, where people from many cultures and nationalities can be encountered due to Alanya being a tourist region. This study obtained the data using the semi-structured interview method to investigate the conflict and adaptation that may occur as a result of intercultural marriages. The snowball technique has been used to access the participants. At the end of the interviews conducted with these individuals, foreign spouses’ process of adapting to the Turkish family structure and culture, what they’ve acquired from experiencing cultural conflict, and what conflict and adaptation processes they experienced were examined within the scope of family and social environments. The findings from the study have been compiled within the framework of conflict and adaptation as a result of cultural interaction.

The Hill of Love Is Different From the Hill of Marriage: Re-Reading Mariama Ba’s Scarlet Song

The task of this paper is to discover the wisdom behind this Wolof proverb: “When one abandons one’s own hill, the next hill which one climbs will crumble”. This paper has shown that the hill is the environment, race, cultural precepts, maternal bond, and values of the characters themselves that inhibit intercultural marriage. The theoretical framework used in this article is mainly deconstructionist theory, nonetheless eclectic approach is accommodated because of the interpretation of the concept hill. The interpretations of what constitutes a hill affected some characters negatively so that they did not achieve their goals fully. Other characters did not allow cultural pull and family ties to overwhelm them. Cultural precepts like the formidable power wielded by mother in-laws, maternal bond, mother’s culinary art, polygamy overwhelmed the protagonist to insanity. This paper recommends that mothers in-law should relax their maternal hold on their sons when they are married. The men who are not emotionally strong to withstand cultural pull should marry their own kinswomen.

KEEPING HARMONY OF INDONESIAN-JAPANESE INTERCULTURAL MARRIAGE INTERACTIONS

The purpose of this study is to explain how intercultural families interact in maintaining harmony within the family, especially the interaction between Indonesian Moms and Japanese Fathers. The method used in this study is qualitative with primary sources through in-depth interviews.Data analysis is done by reducing the data that has been obtained from the interviews, compared with the concept of intercultural communication and acculturation. The data is validated with secondary data that is the result of previous research. The results obtained show that the couple of Indonesian wives and Japanese husbands keep each other harmony interaction by choosing the appropriate language situation required. They use everyday language are: English, Japanese and Indonesian. The dominant language is the language in where they live. This result shows that they are showing respect for each other. The use of the chosen language as an effort to adapt to the culture in where they live includes also invited their children to always appreciate the cultureof their fathers and mothers equally in influence. So the three behavioral barriers do not occur as a priori, prejudice and authority that one against the other. There is a trust between them. Acculturation in this family is seen as a cultural enrichment,cultural differences do not create barriers to family interaction and with the environment. Father and Mother bequeathed culture to their children in a balanced and without dominance, there is balance in power.

Uncoupled: American Widows in Times of Uncertainty and Ambiguous Norms

This study uses the concept of uncertainty in general, and specifically objective and subjective uncertainty, as a framework for understanding how a widow experiences grief and attempts to reestablish her sense of self. It investigates how widows understand, internalize, and act on objective and subjective uncertainty and the interplay between them. Objective uncertainty usually refers to more concrete situations or conditions, for example, health and finances, and there is more consensus regarding them, whereas subjective uncertainty is more individual and volatile, and refers to relationships or interpretation of the objective conditions. The researcher used a combination of participant observation and semistructured interviews. of widows from different socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups. The research revealed that uncertainty plays a large role in the widows’ attempt to live new “suddenly single” lives and that they experience both subjective and objective uncertainty, with subjective uncertainty playing a greater role. Further research is needed to understand the effect of different familial and societal “uncertainty avoidance cultures” on widows experiencing multi-ethnic or multinational identities either by descent of intercultural marriage.

Entry into intercultural marriage: factors of spouse choice

Background. Intercultural marriages are micro-level models of intercultural relations and can help to understand the changing society of the globalization era. The objective. Revealing attitudes towards entry into intercultural marriage and factors influencing the choice of a foreign cultural marriage partner among Russians and Buryats in the Republic of Buryatia. Design. The study was conducted in 2020 in the Republic of Buryatia using a socio-psychological survey on online platform. The convenience sample was used (the “snowball” method). The sample included representatives of 2 groups: Russians (N = 111) and Buryats (N = 102). Results. The analysis showed that the attitude towards entry into intercultural marriage in these groups is above average, while no significant differences were found between the groups. The negative attitude towards intercultural marriages among Buryats to a greater extent than among Russians was determined by factors reflecting the acceptance of intercultural marriages by relatives, loved ones and society in general, which was more significant for the Buryats. Among the Russians, more than among the Buryats, negative attitudes were interconnected with factors reflecting personal characteristics of the future spouse (values, norms of behavior) and interpersonal communication. For both the Russians and the Buryats, negative attitude towards entering into intercultural marriages is associated with the importance of proximity of cooking traditions, naming, raising children and their identity, as well as religious beliefs. Conclusion. The general favorable “Zeitgeist” in Buryatia towards intercultural marriages contributes to the tolerant attitude towards the creation of such married couples among both the Russians and the Buryats.

Home-Based Acculturation and Chinese Attitude Toward Intercultural Marriage: A Cross-Generational Comparison

This paper explores factors associated with intergenerational differences in home-based acculturation (HBA) and the attitude of Chinese college students and their parents toward intercultural marriage with a focus on China’s cultural context where parents have a strong influence on child’s decisions. In two related studies, we recruited a total of 749 Chinese college students and parents (387 in Study 1 and 362 in Study 2; all are living in China) to participate in the survey. The results indicate that (a) online intercultural contact is positively associated with HBA; (b) HBA is a strong predictor of attitude of intercultural marriages by Chinese parents and college students and the socioeconomic status has a divergent effect on the two groups; and (c) Chinese college students and parents differ in terms of their HBA and online intercultural contact. Findings from the research add knowledge to our understanding of the impact of globalization and digitalization on acculturation and Chinese residents’ perspectives on intercultural marriage.

Germany’s integration politics in practice: Lived realities of Chinese-speaking skilled female family migrants

Germany imposes integration-oriented regulations before and after entry on third-country family migrants. However, little attention has been paid to how integration actually unfolds for the subjects of these regulations, usually women, who are situated in the private sphere of the family. This article examines how the concept of integration, a state-anticipated and state-stipulated goal, is connected to the early adaptation of skilled female family migrants who are married to German husbands. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 21 Chinese-speaking women across Germany, I focus on how these women mobilize resources to overcome ‘hurdles’ of entry requirements, how they define and interpret their tasks and obligation of integration upon arrival, and how the dynamics of their intercultural marriage affect their integration. Viewing these female spousal migrants as subjects in an integration-oriented family migration regime that legitimates intensive integration also in the private sphere, this article highlights these women’s ‘wife’ and ‘migrant’ roles in the family. Specifically, through interactions with their significant others and extended family members, role-related expectations are transferred. The results show that female spouses are consequently exposed to an alternative ideal of integration that is tied to their domestic role. This homebound notion of integration differs from the social integration envisioned and coveted by the German government. This research broadly unveils how these skilled female family migrants’ early acculturation can be seen as a rivalry between pre-established self-conceptions and new circumstances in the host society.