It is more likely that there will continue to be many varied and constantly changing definitions of the American family, and this will continue to confuse those learning English as they attempt to make concrete connections between words and concepts from their own language and those of the new -- and constantly developing -- culture and language they have adopted.
When making cultural comparisons, it is important to refrain from qualitative judgments, and I do not mean to imply any here. The Korean concept of the family and its responsibilities is more concrete than the American cultural and linguistic definitions, but this does not necessarily make it better. The American ideals of freedom and self-determination...
It is the difference in vantage point, and not in any perceived difference in quality, that proves a barrier.
Works Cited
Graff, E.J. "What Makes a Family?" Frame Work. Ed. Gary Columbo, Bonnie Lisle, Sandra Mno. Boston: Bedford, 1997, 26-38.
New York Daily News. "American Role Models." 6 November 2008. Editorial: pg. 32
Tan, Amy. "Four Directions" Frame Work. Ed. Gary Columbo, Bonnie Lisle, Sandra Mno. Boston: Bedford, 1997, 124-127.
Wetzstein, Cheryl. "American Family Needs Some Help." Washington Times, 8 March 2009, M15.
Zhou, Min. "Growing Up American: The Challenge Confronting Immigrant Children and Children of
Immigrants." Annual Review of
Sociology, Vol. 23 (1997), pp. 63-95.
