Language Policy and "Language Requirements" in Belgian Immigration Policy

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K00617
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02060:Linguistics-related
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: ISHIBE Naoto 日本大学, 理工学部, 准教授 (70579127)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 言語要件 / 移民政策 / ベルギー / 市民化 / 統合政策

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study confirms the existence of common trends in immigration and integration policies in European countries: the "normalisation" and "tightening" of language requirements. In Belgium, a federal state, the introduction of language requirements lagged behind that of neighboring countries due to the institutional feature of multiple policy entities coexisting. Once one policy entity, however, started using the language requirement, other policy entities followed (or were forced to follow suit), and the development of the system progressed rapidly throughout the country. The study was also able to reveal a kind of paradoxical development, in which policy individualisation has not developed because of institutional restrictions on authority, but because of such restrictions, policy commonisation between the various policy entities has been achieved.

Free Research Field

社会言語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究はベルギーの移民（統合）政策における言語政策に焦点を当てるものではあるが，その前提としてヨーロッパ諸国の移民（統合）政策の共通トレンドの存在に目を向けている。移民選別のための合法的手段として「言語」の利用も指摘されるなかで，本研究の成果を基に，移民政策における言語要件の利用についての包括的な国際比較研究への展開が期待される。それはまた，日本における「移民」政策の議論に言語的な側面から参照可能な事例を提供することになるという意義も有する。