Canada is a bicultural country, where inhabitants of French and English roots coexist.
bicultural region
A region is bicultural when there are two predominant cultures in its territory. Note that using this term to officially declare the diversity of cultures predominant in a country usually generates discontent in those who do not belong to either of the two. This has led in more than one case to adopt the title multicultural , which leaves room for three or more cultures as part of a nation .
Canada is an example of a bicultural nation . In this North American country there are English-speaking areas whose roots are linked to England , and other French-speaking areas with customs that have their origin in France .
Another bicultural country is Belgium , where we find French and Dutch speaking citizens; Although German is also recognized as an official language, it is spoken by only 1 percent of its population. It is a sovereign state of the European Union , located in the northwest of the continent. Its total area is 30,528 square kilometers and it has more than 11,500,000 inhabitants, according to a 2021 census . Its bilingual nature entails different cultural and political problems typical of other nations with this characteristic.
The Republic of Paraguay is a special case, since 90 percent of its population speaks Guaraní, and almost 100 percent of it also speaks Spanish. It is part of the Southern Common Market , which also includes Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. Its capital is Asunción, although its full name is Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción , and it is one of the tourist destinations in the country. The city of Encarnación, known as "Pearl of the South" and the Monday waterfall also stand out in this aspect.
Difference with bilingual
At this point it is important to differentiate between bicultural and bilingual . Bicultural , as we said, implies the presence of two cultures , while bilingual refers specifically to two languages . Typically, bicultural is also bilingual, although bilingual may not be bicultural.
Take the case of educational establishments. In a bilingual school , the curriculum includes classes in a second language (English, to name one possibility). In a bicultural school , in addition to these classes, students are taught about cultural aspects of a nation where that second language is spoken: if the classes are in English, complementary instruction can be dedicated to England or the United States .
In Paraguay, Guaraní and Spanish are the two official languages.
bicultural person
Many times people are bicultural for family and social reasons. Suppose that a Peruvian couple settles in Japan , where their child is born. This child will grow up listening to his parents speak in Spanish; He will eat typical dishes from the land of his parents such as ceviche and anticuchos; and he will grow up with the music of Chabuca Granda . At the same time, because of his birthplace, he will also speak Japanese, enjoy sushi, and like sumo. The little one, in this way, will be a bicultural individual.
Bicultural upbringing may seem tempting or enviable from the outside, and in some cases it is very positive, but it can also cause integration problems , both in childhood and in adulthood. Speaking two languages naturally is a blessing in the working world, but those raised with foreign families often have insufficient linguistic training in both: practice at home is not enough to master their parents', and the disruption that this means for the study of the local language negatively affects your skill.