Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Kommunen tilbyr norskkurs for innvandrere for å støtte integrering. - The municipality offers Norwegian courses for immigrants to support integration.

Norwegian often uses a definite noun like this to talk about a specific public body that is understood from context (the local municipality where you live), so using the definite form here is natural.

What gender is kommune, and how does that affect kommunen?

Kommune is grammatically masculine (and in many dialects it can also behave as feminine, but masculine is standard).

Masculine pattern:

en kommune – a municipality
kommunen – the municipality
kommuner – municipalities
kommunene – the municipalities

In the sentence you see kommunen (definite singular), because we’re talking about one specific municipality.

Why is norskkurs written as one word and not norsk kurs?

Norwegian likes to form compound nouns by gluing words together:

norsk (Norwegian) + kurs (course) → norskkurs (Norwegian course)

Writing norsk kurs as two separate words would sound more like a course that happens to be Norwegian (e.g. a “Norwegian-style course”), whereas the standard way to say “Norwegian language course” is the compound norskkurs.

General rule: when one noun (or adjective) describes what kind of thing another noun is, you usually make a single compound word:

språkkurs – language course
sommerkurs – summer course
matkurs – cooking/food course

Why are there two k’s in norskkurs?

This is just normal spelling when you form a compound:

norsk ends in -sk
kurs begins with k

When you put them together, you keep both letters: norsk + kurs → norskkurs.

Norwegian doesn’t “simplify” the double consonant at the boundary in compounds; you just write what each part has.

Does norskkurs refer to one course or several courses?

It can actually be either, depending on context.

Grammatically, norskkurs here is most naturally read as a collective or generic singular:

Kommunen tilbyr norskkurs …
→ “The municipality offers Norwegian courses / Norwegian course instruction …”

If you really want to stress that there are several separate courses, you might say:

Kommunen tilbyr flere norskkurs – The municipality offers several Norwegian courses.

If you want to talk about one specific course, you’d more clearly show that with an article:

Kommunen tilbyr et norskkurs – The municipality offers a Norwegian course (one specific course).

Why is there no article before norskkurs (why not et norskkurs)?

When talking about types of education, courses, or activities in general, Norwegian often uses a noun without an article, where English would use a or … courses:

Hun tar norskkurs. – She is taking a Norwegian course / Norwegian classes.
De går på språkkurs. – They are going to a language course / language courses.

In Kommunen tilbyr norskkurs …, the focus is on the service in general (“Norwegian classes as a service”), not on a single, countable course. That’s why there’s no article.

What exactly does tilbyr mean, and how is it different from gir?

Tilbyr is the present tense of å tilby – to offer.

Kommunen tilbyr norskkurs … – The municipality offers Norwegian courses …

Difference from å gi (to give):

å tilby: to make something available, to offer it as an option.
- De tilbyr gratis kurs. – They offer free courses.
å gi: to actually give / hand over / provide something.
- De gir gratis undervisning. – They give free instruction.

You’d use tilbyr when you talk about services being available to people.

What does for innvandrere mean exactly, and why is for used?

For innvandrere means for immigrants.

for here marks the target group / intended recipients of the service.
innvandrere is the indefinite plural of innvandrer (immigrant).

Forms of innvandrer:

en innvandrer – an immigrant
innvandreren – the immigrant
innvandrere – immigrants
innvandrerne – the immigrants

In for innvandrere, the idea is for immigrants (in general), not some particular group already identified; therefore the indefinite plural (innvandrere) is used.

Why are there two for in the sentence (for innvandrere for å støtte integrering)? Do they mean the same thing?

They are the same word (for), but they play slightly different roles:

for innvandrere
- for marks the recipient / target group:
  - courses for immigrants
for å støtte integrering
- for å forms a purpose expression:
  - for å støtte = in order to support

So you can think of it as:

courses for immigrants,
in order to support integration.

Both are grammatically correct and natural, even though English might not repeat for in exactly the same way.

What does for å støtte mean, and why not just å støtte?

For å støtte translates to in order to support.

å støtte alone just means to support (infinitive).
for å
- infinitive expresses purpose / intention.

Compare:

Kommunen tilbyr norskkurs for å støtte integrering.
– The municipality offers Norwegian courses in order to support integration.

If you said only å støtte integrering after a comma, it would sound less clearly like purpose and more like just “also to support integration”; for å makes the goal explicit.

What is integrering, and how is it different from integrasjon?

Both relate to integration, but there’s a nuance:

integrering – the ongoing process of integrating (a verbal noun from å integrere).
integrasjon – integration as a more abstract noun, often used in more formal or technical contexts.

In everyday language about immigration policy and social inclusion, integrering is very common:

å støtte integrering – to support integration (the process)

You could say støtte integrasjon as well; it wouldn’t be wrong, but integrering feels slightly more process-focused and everyday in this context.

Can the word order for å støtte integrering be moved earlier in the sentence?

Yes, you can move that purpose phrase, but you need to respect Norwegian V2 word order (the verb is in second position in main clauses).

Original:

Kommunen tilbyr norskkurs for innvandrere for å støtte integrering.

You could say, for example:

For å støtte integrering tilbyr kommunen norskkurs for innvandrere.

Here:

For å støtte integrering – placed first (adverbial)
tilbyr – the verb in second position
kommunen – the subject

That word order is correct and sounds natural, just a bit more emphatic about the purpose.

Why is norsk in norskkurs not capitalized, even though Norwegian is capitalized in English?

In Norwegian, names of languages are not capitalized, unless they start a sentence:

norsk – Norwegian
engelsk – English
arabisk – Arabic

Therefore:

et norskkurs – a Norwegian course
Jeg lærer norsk. – I am learning Norwegian.

So norskkurs is correctly written with a lowercase n.