Assimilation can simply be referred to as one of the phases of acculturation due to the fact that it actually subsumes the particular cultural dimension within the society. In a nutshell, assimilation is a type of acculturation that comes as a result of the groups of persons completely replacing their own original culture with the other different cultures. Furthermore, assimilation can be seen as an adjustment to the alien ways when personally acting in any alien situation.
Indeed, it can also be used to mean the loss of identity as a given discreet group and consequently merging with the other group that is seen to be dominant. Therefore, assimilation can simply be a process where groups or individuals belonging to different ethnic heritage get absorbed into the dominant mainstream culture of the particular society.
Accommodation is the changing of an individual’s thoughts into accepting new things. The individuals from different cultural backgrounds, in some instances, appear to accept others’ cultures and immediately start practicing them; however, in this case, they do not completely lose their cultures. The Aboriginals of Australia are one of the groups that have been adversely reported to have been completely assimilated by the British colonizers. At the beginning of the year 1788, it was reported that the colonization by the British diminished the Aboriginal or the indigenous populations within Australia and completely assimilated them into their culture.
Accommodation is, therefore, more encouraged than assimilation since the individuals simply acknowledge the other peoples’ culture without losing theirs. Indeed, assimilation can be seen as racism when looked at in the context of the Aboriginals.