BRIN Says Indonesian Regional Languages at Risk of Extinction
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9 October 2023 10:41 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) disclosed several reasons why regional languages could be endangered. Obing Katubi, the Head of the BRIN's Language and Literature Preservation Research Center (Kapusris), said this could be due to several factors.
These include a lack of transmission of regional languages from parents to children, negative attitudes towards regional languages, the perception that regional languages have no economic value, a lack of attention from regional governments, and massive language contact due to digital media.
“The increasingly massive language contact due to digital media makes it easier for members of the language community to explore other languages in cyberspace. This is also one of the factors,” Obing said on Sunday, October 8, 2023, as reported by Antara.
In addition, he assessed that there is dominance and subordination of language use, both at the national and regional scales.
What is meant by the failure of regional language transmission from parents to children, he explained, is that parents are reluctant to use their regional language in communication at the family level. This means that the children acting as young speakers cannot inherit the regional language from their parents.
There is also a bad perception that regional languages are less prestigious to learn than foreign languages. The assumption that they have no economic value or cannot provide economic welfare for children in the future is also one of the reasons why regional languages are in danger of disappearing.
Based on Law No. 24 of 2009 on the National Flag, Language, Emblem, and National Anthem, the obligation to revitalize regional languages lies with the local government.
“The law says that the protection or revitalization of regional languages is actually the responsibility of the regional government,” Obing concluded.
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