Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/34578

Since 1990s, the EU countries which have accepted many immigrants from the third-countries force the immigrants to acquire their national language. Norway, which is not the member of the EU, also approved the legislation which virtually obliges immigrants to learn Norwegian in 2006. This paper analyzes the reason why Norway, which has been considered one of the most liberal states towards immigrants, shifted her language policy towards immigrants by utilizing Esping-Andersen's concept, ‘the Welfare Regimes’. I conclude that the “Social Democratic Regime” itself required the transition of the policy. This is because language is a vital means to integrate immigrants into the labour market without their commodification and stratification.