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Indonesia: A battlefield of linguistic survival
Indonesia boasts rich multilingual communities which constitute the largest multilingual population in the world only after Papua New Guinea
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ndonesia boasts rich multilingual communities which constitute the largest multilingual population in the world only after Papua New Guinea. There are approximately 735 languages spoken across the archipelago.
A research conducted by Summer Institute of Linguistics suggests that among the 735 languages recorded, 637 are endangered with less than 100,000 native speakers.
Along with the strong campaign of the government to speak “Good Indonesian” and the fact that English is promoted starting at primary education, the portrait of multilingualism in Indonesia is unfortunately severely deteriorated.
Reflecting on these facts, it is depressing to say that multilingualism in Indonesia is in a real state of catastrophe.
To me, it seems that Indonesia is not a safe place for multilingualism. It is more like a battlefield of linguistic survival than a melting pot of languages.
While local languages or vernaculars as diverse as Batak, Malay, Sundanese and Javanese, which provide a rich array of linguistic research that might be of interest to many scholars worldwide, the conservation of these vernaculars is far from satisfactory.
The main reason attributed to this, as scholars such as Chaedar Al Wasilah argue, is the widely held belief among Indonesians that associate local languages with ancient values as opposed to modernity.
Nevertheless, to pretend that nothing can be done for endangered languages is erroneous. What needs to be accounted for is a judicious combination between direct community building efforts as well as sound language policy efforts.
First of all, intergenerational transmission is of significant value. Despite being able to speak Javanese, my mother’s mother tongue; I am so unlucky not to be able to speak Bimanese, a language spoken by my father. I am not the only one, unfortunately.
I am sure there are lots of other youths growing up in urban areas who do not speak the vernacular of either one of their parents, or even both. Educator Arief Rachman states that the number is believed to grow even bigger from one year to another.
The prejudice toward local languages and the belief that local languages are ancient should be minimized. It is true that vernaculars lack concepts related to technology and modernity, but they are rich in terms of the local wisdoms of our ancestors.
People need to realize that the richness of our culture is mirrored in the local wisdoms being portrayed by our vernaculars.
Local traditions associated with our local languages are good because they tell us who we are: Indonesians. Such awareness would be beneficial not only to protect the vernaculars, but also to build a good sense of pride of being Indonesians.
Although using Indonesian and learning English are necessarily important, those who live in big cities should not be ashamed of talking to their offspring in their vernacular(s). In other words, parents in urban areas need to be able to pass on their vernacular to their children by using it at home.
In fact, the ability to code switch or code-mix from Indonesian and their vernacular is commendable in order to maintain multilingualism in Indonesia.
Thus, the effort to preserve vernaculars, to effectively spread Indonesian, and to build awareness to learn English should start with the family.
Second, it is necessary that governments at the local level play a central role by instigating strategic programs. For example, publications written in vernaculars should be made available. This can be accomplished by codifying vernaculars, including the grammar, vocabulary and phonetics.
Outlining the linguistics landscape of a vernacular is necessary in order to provide a description of the lives of the people of a particular ethnicity who speak the vernacular, as well as their history. Later on, knowledge of our culture can be developed though this means.
The National Center for Language Cultivation and Development has conducted research projects on conservation of the vernaculars in Indonesia. They have been projected not only to dominant languages in Java, but also minority languages in remotes areas.
The center of vernacular cultivation has been built in Greater Jakarta, and has branches in 22 provinces in the country. Efforts to depict the corpus of languages such as Ampanang, Bahau, Jangkang, Kayan Mahakam, Kayan Busang, Kelabit, Kereho, Modang, Mualang, Okolot, Paku, Punan Aput, Putoh, Ribun, Tagal Murut, Fordata, Galela, Gane, Haruku, Nadebang, Retta, Rongga, Tukang Besi, have been made.
This, however, is insufficient without the local governments’ help. In the era of regional autonomy, local governments should play much bigger roles in keeping vernaculars from extinction.
Furthermore, campaigns should be run to instill a sense of pride associated with using one’s local vernaculars. Publications of local stories and news in magazines, newspapers and books in vernaculars also need to be given emphasis, along with the broadcast of local TV stations using vernaculars.
What is no less important is that young generations need to be awakened. They need to realize the importance of vernaculars. Competitions that allow young generations to write or deliver a speech in a vernacular should be propagated by the local governments, schools and related stakeholders.
Finally, the status of vernaculars should also be lifted. Since Law No. 24/2009 on Language deals very much with the protection and development of the national language, it is necessary that equal attention be paid to local languages.
The author is a PhD candidate at the Australian National University (ANU) and is currently employed as an English Instructor at the University of Canberra’s English Language Institute.
