Essay: Cultural Hybridity

Cultural Hybridity
Globalization is a concept with many offsprings and cultural hybridity is one of the offsprings of globalization. It is the development of a new culture by blending different cultures over time through interaction and contact.
The term is a universal concept that came into existence due to continuous interaction of people from different part of the world. For instance, an African studying in the United State tends to learn the US culture and unconsciously blend it into his own culture. This is how cultural hybridity came into being.
Cultural hybridity basically refers to blending elements from different cultures. Any society where people from different cultures and traditions come together tend to have some elements of cultural hybridity.
It may interest you to know that the concept of hybridity is everywhere. It is seen in everyday food we eat, the country we live as well as the language we speak. This is why experts are of the opinion that cultural hybridity blends cultural elements like food, language or music into another culture by modifying such elements to fit in cultural norms.
In the nutshell, cultural hybridity has to do with cultures coming together to form something different and this is evident in food, countries, and languages.
Types of Cultural Hybridity
There are different types of cultural hybridity, some of them are;
#1. Language
Language is one of the areas where cultural hybridity is found. Most languages around the world have some parts borrowed from other cultures. For instance, the English language comprised of over 146 languages. Over time, different languages adapt from one another, thus bringing about a jumbo of different hybrid language.
#2. Foods
Food is another area where cultural hybridity is very obvious. In fact, fast food companies promote cultural hybridity in the area of food. They take foreign meals and localize it to their customers. Over time, these meals may unconsciously be part of their culture especially if they enjoy taking it.
#3.Dressing
Dressing is another area where cultural hybridity is very obvious. For instance, there are several Africa countries whose women cover their faces from men. Their faces can only be seen by their husbands, this is a dressing pattern peculiar to the Arabian, however, globalization has made some Africans to learn their religion and start dressing like them.
Due to globalization, several countries have become a hybrid society where we have people from different cultures living there. In other words, the culture of these countries is a blend of cultures from different countries. A good example of this Canada.
Canada always accepts immigrants from different countries, these combination of different cultures are what make Canada.
Examples of Cultural Hybridity I experienced In Everyday Life
#1. Music
One of the examples of cultural hybridity I experience every day in Life in Music. Over time, I realized that most musicians sometimes blend different languages to come up with mindblowing songs.
For instance, popular Artists like Shakira and J.LO have a way of bringing Spanish into their American songs. This will make the song more interesting and bring about more diversity to America.
You see that incorporating Spanish or any other language into an America song, will bring about more diversity and makes people listening to the song to readily accept those incorporated cultures without challenges.
Whenever I listen to Shakira’s songs, cultural hybridity is the next thing that comes to my mind. Over the years, she has perfected the art of incorporating Spanish into her song, thus making it breathtakingly interesting while deepening the diversity of America.
Source:  https://awanthropology.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/cultural-hybridization/
#2. Food
Another example of cultural hybridity I will be presenting is on food. And I will be sitting Kentucky Fried Chicken and Chinese Cuisine as an example.
Fast foods are always on the vanguard in promoting cultural hybridity with different food. Kentucky fried chicken, for instance, is an American Fast food restaurant chains with headquarter in Louisville, Kentucky. The restaurant specializes in fried chicken with a presence in several countries around the world.
Despite the fact that they still sell their fried chicken which is part of America food culture in different countries, they adjust the menus based on the country they operate while maintaining their brand. Over time, they have incorporated different culture into their menus.
Also, some restaurants will blend a Yummy half north American and half foreign meals to come up with different cuisine like the Chinese meal. This is another great example of cultural hybridity we face in our daily life.
Source: https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-hybridization/