The effects of being a part of a melting pot

To begin, I would like to define the term “melting pot”. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a
“melting pot” is a place where many different people and ideas exist together, often mixing and
producing something new. Everyone in this room, is considered to be a part of a melting pot since we
come from various backgrounds whether it maybe nationalistic or racial.

https://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/bisina/bisinverdier_qje.pdf

http://resultsaccountability.com/the-end-of-the-melting-pot/
Good day Mrs. Murphy and fellow classmates. The topic I will be discussing this morning is the Effects of
being a part of a Melting Pot. But before we can discuss the Effects of being a part of a Melting Pot, we
need to know the meaning of the term “melting pot”. What is a “melting pot”? According to the
Cambridge Dictionary a “melting pot” is defined as a place where many different people and ideas exist
together, often mixing and producing something new. This process causes several changes in societal
norms. This presentation will be focusing on various aspects, both benefits and disadvantages of being a
part of a “melting pot”.

One effect of being a part of a “melting pot” is that traditions in various cultures are adapted by the
masses in society. This itself can be an advantage as well as a disadvantage. How so? Well, good traits of
a culture can be adapted and used by various persons including those of another culture to their own
benefit. For example, the use of various tea bushes for treating mild sickness and ailments. However,
negative traits of certain cultures can be picked up and maybe a cause for conflict and provide other
problems. For example, the behavior of persons while driving. Due to influx of other cultures, persons
show increased road rage while driving. Therefore, while this effect can be advantageous it can also
cause its own problems as well.

One disadvantage of being a part of a melting pot is the language barriers present within the society.
Various dialects present within a society such as basilect and acrolect makes communication difficult
between various social levels in society. Persons within a “melting pot” come from various cultures
which mean that they may speak a different language from someone else within the society. Therefore,
communication is even more strained since everyone doesn’t speak the same language and messages
communicated cannot be interpreted. However, this problem can be solved with provisions from the
government. Languages from other cultures present within the melting pot can be taught at school so
that communication can be facilitated between different cultural groups. Also, social services provided
for citizens within a country or region which is considered a “melting pot” can use other languages in
communicating with the general public. For example, At the Medical Benefits Scheme, Spanish is spoken
to communicate with persons from a cultural background whose main language is Spanish.

Another negative effect caused by being a part of a melting pot is culture erasure. But what is culture
erasure? According to the CAPE Caribbean Studies written by Ottley et al. culture erasure is the act of
neglecting, looking past, minimizing, ignoring or rendering invisible an “other” culture. When cultures
are mixed in a melting pot some cultural aspects tend to be forgotten by the younger generation born in
to the new culture. This also cause the new generation to lose interest in their hereditary culture.
However, culture can be retained and renewed in several ways. School can institute various clubs that
can help persons regain their hereditary Caribbean culture by providing extra-curricular activities which
help to preserve the culture. Also schools can teach young persons about their folklore culture (subjects
such as Social Studies, Language Arts, English Language, English Literature) from as small as kindergarten
by telling stories about characters based on hereditary culture, such as Anansi, Papa Bois, Mama Dglo,
Diablese and etc. This way the new generation will always have a piece of their hereditary culture.

One benefit of being part of a melting pot is that persons involved in the melting pot have good
intercultural communication skills. Intercultural communication is the attempt to understand how
people from different cultures and geographic regions communicate and view the world that they
coinhabit. People involved in a melting pot come from various backgrounds and cultures. Their
intercultural communication skills are nurtured because persons must constantly come into contact with
someone from another cultural background and communicate with them.