LANGUAGE SHIFT and
MAINTENANCE
Question :
1. Talking about language shift, we know
there are language shift cases in our country. Give your experience about this
phenomenon! What is the impact if a language is shifting continuously?
2. In this globalization era like today
there are many foreign languages come over to our country. It is possible from
them to shift our own language. For example in some part of Java, there is
English which now very popular among people. This actually may threat the
existence of vernaculars. But, we can see that there may still communities
which can maintain their kind of vernaculars, such as Jogjakarta, Solo,
Cirebon, etc. Mention the factors that contribute in maintaining a language and
explain briefly each of them!
Answer :
1. As we know language shift is the
replacement of one or more language in community’s repertoire by a language
which is socially more powerful. This phenomenon occurs when a community who
shares similar mother tongue abandons it, and collectively shifts to speaking
another language. It is always preceded by multilingualism. Someone cannot
shift to a new language unless he or she learns to speak it. This also happens on
me myself. I come from Tegal Javanese. After passing Senior High School past
years ago, then I continued my study in another city that is Semarang. Even
though, Tegal and Semarang are in one region; Central Java, but they have
different code, Tegal use Ngapak Javanese
(Tegalan) and Semarang uses smoother
Javanese (Semarangan). Because of my
reason and the condition around which people are common to use Semarangan, so that I shift my Tegalan to Semarangan. Living in Semarang for more four years makes me common
to use Semarangan, even I know some
special terms among youth in Semarang. In this sense, I don’t forget my own
mother tongue. I will use back my Ngapak
when I meet friend who come from Tegal also, or when I come back to homeland.
The impact of a language which
shifting gradually is someone, people, or a group of community may lose their
identity. This result usually happens in second or third generations where they
are common in using the new language. This new language is unconsciously taught
by their parents because they have lived in new community for a long time and
accustomed to speak in the new one. Their new language is usually associated
with prestige, status, and social success. That is why, parents prefer speak
and use the new one to theirs.
2. When a group moved to another
community, almost all their life aspects will change, so do their language.
There are two possible, they will lose their identity or not. To keep their
identity; language, they have to maintain what they have. Here, there are several
factors contribute in maintaining a language:
a.
Larger
number of speakers
In
the community where several groups of speakers speaking different languages
live, the group with more speakers has better possibility to maintain their
language. In other words, fewer speakers have to face more challenge.
b.
Concentration
of living
In
immigrant cases, when the groups of immigrant people live together in one place
(concentration) the chance to maintain the language is better than if the
immigrants live separately from one another (separation/isolation). Surrounded by
speakers of a different languages can influence a speech community to shift to
the language spoken by those people around it, especially when they speak a
language with better economic and political value.
c.
Identity
and Pride of culture
A
group of language speakers in a small numbers may succeed in maintaining their
language if it is considered to be closely related to the culture. When the
language and the culture are related, the speakers often believe that the
language is an important cultural identity. With such a faith the speakers
carry a certain pride in using the language. This in turn pushes them to
maintain it.
d.
Better
economic condition
Immigrant
with a good economic condition may believe that their fortune is also due to
the language they use. Some reports said that if people learning English they
will have better chance so their economic will increase gradually. When this
economic promise of English continues to be dependable, it will support the
maintenance of the tongue.
As my experience I told before, I
may also lose my Tegalan when I
continuously speak in Semarangan, but
here I can maintain my identity by always saying to the people that I’m from
Tegal proudly without a shaming or regretting with my status of Tegal people. Thus, people will know and
always remember me when they meet me at another time, because in their mind they
have such kind of ‘label’ of me that is “Tegal”. That kind of what I did is can
be one of efforts of maintaining a language.
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