Cross-Cultural Communication Terms

adjective not acquainted or familiar with someone or something

preposition indicating a lack of knowledge or familiarity with something

• She was unacquainted with the new policies implemented by the company.
• I'm unacquainted with the latest gossip going around in school.
• I'm totally unacquainted with this whole TikTok thing.
• His mind was unacquainted with the concept of forgiveness.

noun a person who is attracted to foreign cultures or people

• As a xenophile, she enjoyed learning about different cultures and languages.
• My friend is such a xenophile, always trying new foods from around the world.
• I didn't realize you were such a xenophile, always watching foreign films.
• Being a xenophile in a world full of xenophobes can be challenging.

verb to assimilate or cause to assimilate a different culture

• The program aims to acculturize immigrants to the customs and values of their new country.
• They need to acculturize to the way things are done around here if they want to fit in.
• You gotta acculturize yourself to the local scene if you want to make friends.
• In order to succeed in the corporate world, you have to acculturize to the office politics and dynamics.

verb to make someone or something familiar with something by repeated exposure or practice

• It takes time to accustom oneself to a new work environment.
• I need to accustom myself to waking up early for this new job.
• I'm still trying to accustom to this crazy weather.
• She had to accustom herself to the idea of living far away from her family.