Similarities and Difference between American and Asian Culture

Running Head: Application Paper

Culture can be defined as the ways of thinking, ways of acting, and the material objects that make up a person’s way of life. I have decided to compare and contrast the American and Asian cultures. Both cultures have similarities when dealing with religion and family. American and Asian cultures have differences when dealing with family, food, and diet. I was shocked to learn that the American and Asian culture share similar religious beliefs.

Many in the Asian community share the same religious believes as Americans do. “Catholicism is the religious preference in twenty one percent of Asian households” (Para 1). Though I never knew exactly what religious believes were practiced by Asian’s, I was very shocked to see that twenty one percent practices Catholicism. The similarity comes from the role that faith plays in our lives gives the American and Asian community a solid family core.

Both the American and Asian culture had similarities and differences when it comes to family life. When it comes down to family life, both cultures have strong family believes. Also both cultures view education as important. The difference falls in the fact that the American culture is more lack in their requirements for grades. The Asian community prides their selves in having a four point zero grade point average. The American community encourages their children to do well. I take this to mean that it is more of a priority for the Asian community.

Another area in which both ...

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Another area in which both cultures differ is food. The American culture and Asian culture cook with different styles and tastes. Another difference would be at meal time. The Asian community enjoys making meal time the time for family gathering, socialization, and celebration. In the American culture meal times are also a time for family gathering, however it is also very rushed at times.

When it comes to diet, the American culture and Asian culture have big differences. The Asian culture has three major dietary cultures, and they adhere to them well. Even though they adapt different dietary cultures, they very seldom are American meals. Some of the Asian cultures use spices and seasonings as medicines. The American culture is just now starting to adopt foods to be used as a form of medicine.

Some of the more obvious differences in the cultures would include the language and forms of writing our languages. Asian cultures generally use symbols when writing their language. Whereas in the American culture we write using words and letters. Also both cultures speak in different ways. In the American culture we have adapted to using the English language. In the Asian culture they have different languages depending on the area.

In conclusion, I have learned that there are many differences between the American culture and the Asian culture. I have also found that there are a few things that both cultures have in common. Some of the differences are family, food, diet, and language. The things that both cultures have in common are religion and family. I hope that I was able to teach you something you did not know about one or both of these cultures.

References

Similarities and differences in American and Asian culture. (2008). Asian American Alliance.