To gain the emic perspective on a culture means to view the world as a member of that culture views it. If you were born and brought up in one culture, you have been socialized to the emic perspective of that culture. You have acquired a view of the world which provides explanations for most of what you experience, as well as providing motives for your own and others actions. An outsider to the culture can learn an emic perspective, but it takes both time and the suspension ofethnocentrism. An emic view, for example, will enable you to explain all the nuances of finding a spouse in Pakistan, or how U.S. teenagers find dates. Obtaining an emic view of another culture is a central goal of doing ethnography, and an emic view is necessary before an etic perspective can truly be obtained.
