What Is Assimilasjon? Meaning, Types, and Real Examples

What is assimilasjon?

Assimilasjon is the process where individuals or groups adopt the language, values, and cultural traits of another community, usually the dominant one. This can happen voluntarily or under pressure, often impacting identity, language, and social inclusion.

Why understanding assimilasjon matters

In a world of increasing migration and globalization, assimilasjon is more than a policy, it is a personal journey, a societal choice, and sometimes a historical burden.
Understanding it helps us navigate the delicate space between unity and cultural preservation.

Whether it’s a student trying to fit in at school or an entire population recovering from forced assimilation, this process shapes identities, communities, and histories.

Cultural assimilasjon

A closer look at cultural adoption

Cultural assimilasjon involves individuals or groups gradually adopting the behaviors, customs, language, and social norms of a dominant culture. This often means the diminishing visibility of minority cultures in public or private life.

It can show up in how people dress, speak, eat, worship or how they stop doing these things to fit in.

Real-life examples

• An immigrant family in France stops speaking their native language at home to help their children succeed in school.

• During the 1900s in Norway, many Sámi children were sent to boarding schools where they were discouraged or even forbidden from using their native Sámi language.

• A professional changes their name or accent at work to sound more “local.”

In every instance, assimilasjon affects people’s lives in tangible ways emotionally, socially, and culturally.

Voluntary vs. forced assimilasjon

Voluntary assimilation

When chosen freely, assimilasjon can be a tool for personal growth and opportunity. People might choose to adopt the dominant culture to access:

• Education

• Employment

• Social acceptance

• Legal or citizenship benefits

Voluntary assimilation often involves a personal cost but can also bring a sense of belonging.

Forced assimilation

This occurs when individuals or groups are pressured directly or indirectly to abandon their culture. Tactics include:

• Banning native languages in schools

• Criminalizing traditional clothing or rituals

• Denying land or legal rights unless people conform

• Social shaming or economic exclusion

Examples of forced assimilasjon include the Norwegianization of Sámi communities, the residential school system in Canada, and the marginalization of Uyghurs in China today.

Linguistic assimilasjon

What is linguistic assimilasjon?

In phonetics, it refers to how sounds change to resemble neighboring ones for example, “don’t you” sounding like “don’tcha.”
But linguistically, it also includes how entire communities stop speaking their mother tongue to survive in dominant-language environments.

Language shift as cultural loss

Linguistic assimilasjon isn’t always harmful. It can reflect natural evolution.
But when it results from pressure or exclusion, it leads to the disappearance of languages often within just two generations.

Preserving minority languages (like Sámi, Ainu, Basque, or Welsh) requires proactive cultural policies and education.

What drives assimilasjon?

External pressures

• Government policy: Laws or public systems that promote one culture over others

• Social norms: Societal expectations around dress, behavior, or communication

• Economic systems: Jobs, housing, and education often favor cultural conformity

• Religious pressure: Majority faiths sometimes marginalize indigenous beliefs

Internal motivations

• Desire for acceptance

• Fear of discrimination

• Practical adaptation for a better life

• Pride in becoming “part of the new society”

It’s rarely one reason alone, it’s usually a blend of many.

Benefits of assimilasjon (when chosen)

When respectful and freely chosen, assimilasjon can offer:

• Easier access to jobs and housing

• Stronger connections with broader society

• Reduced isolation or discrimination

• Increased self-confidence in public spaces

• Opportunities for shared growth across cultures

However, even in voluntary cases, the loss of original identity should be acknowledged and supported.

Risks and consequences

Cultural disappearance

Entire languages and practices can vanish in just two or three generations.
This represents not just a loss for one group, but a loss of human heritage.

Identity conflict

Many individuals experience “cultural grief” or confusion when pressured to abandon their roots. This can manifest as:

• Low self-esteem

• Anxiety in social settings

• Emotional distance from family or elders

• Feeling “too foreign” for one group and “not enough” for another

Societal imbalance

Forced or aggressive assimilasjon can create long-term resentment, distrust, and inequality.
Societies lose their richness when everyone is expected to look, speak, or behave the same.

Multiculturalism vs assimilasjon

Assimilasjon model

• Encourages sameness

• Often favors dominant culture

• Seeks cohesion through conformity

Multicultural model

• Embraces cultural difference

• Values diverse contributions

• Encourages intercultural learning

Countries like Canada and New Zealand have adopted multicultural frameworks, while others still operate under assimilative pressures.

How to promote respectful integration

For individuals

• Learn about your own roots and story

• Respect other people’s identities without assumptions

• Engage in open conversations—ask, don’t assume

• Support inclusive language and spaces

For institutions

• Offer cultural competency training

• Include heritage education in schools

• Celebrate minority languages and holidays

• Provide interpretation and translation services

Integration means adapting together not forcing one group to disappear into another.

Real-world spotlight: The Sámi experience

From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, Norwegian authorities tried to erase Sámi culture. Land laws, language bans, and schooling systems discouraged Sámi identity. Many children grew up ashamed to speak their mother tongue.

Today, Sámi activists, artists, and educators are working hard to reverse this damage—reclaiming language, regaining land rights, and teaching young people that assimilation is not the only path.

Questions to ask yourself

• Have I ever hidden part of who I am to fit in?

• Do I unconsciously expect others to “act” like me to belong?

• Am I learning from other cultures, or just tolerating them?

• How can I support someone facing pressure to assimilate?

Conclusion: Be mindful, be inclusive, be kind

Assimilasjon is complex. It can offer opportunity, but it can also erase generations of knowledge, language, and identity.
When chosen freely, it can build bridges. When forced, it builds walls.

The future belongs to societies that embrace both common ground and cultural difference. Let us choose respect over erasure.

We must create a world where people feel accepted as they are, not only when they leave part of themselves behind.

What to do next

• Attend a local cultural festival or minority-led event

• Support a language preservation campaign in your region

• Reflect on your own identity journey and share it

• Start a conversation in your workplace or classroom about inclusion

• Use your voice to protect others’ right to theirs