Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung
The Lampung administration plans to draft an ordinance on cultural preservation that will include the development and preservation of Lampung's indigenous language as an integral part of the province's culture.
The secretary in charge of drafting the ordinance, Khaidarmansyah, said the plan was an initiative of the Lampung Council for a Balanced Culture (MPAL).
""MPAL submitted its ideas to the Lampung administration through the legal office, which has studied the draft law by involving relevant parties,"" said Khaidarmansyah, the head of the cultural division at the Lampung Education and Culture Office.
""We will hold a seminar next year to discuss the draft law, after which (we will submit the draft) to the provincial legislature. We are optimistic it will be passed next year,"" said Khaidarmansyah.
Lampung Governor Sjachroedin Z.P. said his office would introduce several measures to preserve the local language, including requiring students from kindergarten to junior high to study it in school.
The adminstration will also name streets, buildings, housing complexes, offices, trading centers, trademarks and education institutions in the local language.
The provincial administration will also promote its use in the media.
""We will also require civil servants to use the language in government offices certain days and hours,"" said Sjachroedin.
A Lampung linguist Hafizi Hasan expressed pessimism the language could be developed or preserved if indigenous Lampung people themselves were not proud of their own language.
""Indigenous Lampung people are a minority in Lampung, consisting of less than 25 percent of the entire population of 7.2 million people. Most of them are ashamed to use their own language on a daily basis,"" said Hasan.
Head of the Language Development Center, Mustakim, said there were around 13 languages in Indonesia spoken by more than one million people, including the indigenous language of Lampung.
However, there are also languages spoken only by dozens of people.
""One of them is a language in Halmahera, North Maluku, which is spoken by only 40 elderly people. Just imagine if they all were to pass away and no one documented the language. The language would vanish forever,"" he said.
