7. The development of English as lingua franca in Indonesia and
the extinction of local languages
Agus Setia Budi, S.Pd., M.Pd.
Department of Language, Communication and Tourism, Politeknik Negeri Jember,
Indonesia
Abstract
The development of English as a lingua franca in Indonesia can give positive and negative impacts to Indonesian people. Some positive impacts of English as a lingua franca are including the use of English in the Educational System, the use of English in Indonesian Linguistic Landscapes, the use of English in Media such as television, internet and radio, the use of English in Interpersonal Communication, the use of English in Academic Setting and the use of English in the Workplace. While, one of the negative impacts of this is the dominance of English as a lingua franca in Indonesia can cause and accelerate the local languages extinction in Indonesia.
Keywords: English, lingua franca, local language, extinction
Introduction
English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) refers to the use of English as the medium of communication among the people of different languages from all of the countries in the world. The people use English as their additional language beside their second and first languages. They have agreed that English is their lingua franca.
Nowadays, English has become global, worldwide and across all social classes in most countries and societies. It is stated by House (2003) that now English is not only owned and used by native speakers but also used by non native speakers in international contacts. From his statement, we can conclude that English is now dominant or official language in most countries in the world. Furthermore, Crystal (2003) estimates that in 2000 there were approximately 1,500 million speakers of English worldwide, consisting of around 329 million native speakers, 430 million speakers as second language and about 750 million speakers of English as a foreign language. Because of this reasons, it can be concluded that English is a vital means of communication for millions people around the world. As it is stated that English is chosen as the means of communication among people from different first language backgrounds, across linguacultural boundaries, the preferred term is ‘English as a lingua franca’ (Seidlhofer 2001).
politics, diplomacy, international trade and industry, commerce, science and technology, education, media, information technology, and popular culture. Related to this Crystal (2003) stated that English is regarded important because it has the role in the areas of economics and business, international relations, the media, education, communication and international travel. He explained that (1) in the area of economics and business, organizations have to use English if they want to enter international market, (2) in the area of international relations, English is one of the official languages used by diplomats beside they learn the language of a country. (3) in the area of media, English dominates cinema especially film from western countries like box office from America released in English, (4) in the area of education, a large proportion of the scientific papers in all subjects are published in English and it is taught as a foreign language for students or as a requirement for employment, (5) in the area of communications, it is used as a means of international communication with the people from other countries, and (5) in the area of international travel and safety, English is used for navigation at sea and for air traffic control.
The History of English Language in Indonesia
English in Indonesia is generally used as a foreign language. Foreign language is a language that is not used as a communication tool by Indonesian people in their daily life. On the other hand, like in Singapore, English is used as a second language. It is used in communication and conversation in the country.
As a foreign subject, in Indonesia, English is usually taught as a subject in the school with the goal of mastering the four English skills like listening, reading, writing, and speaking as well as the English components like structure, vocabulary and pronunciation.
In Indonesia, the policy of teaching English as a foreign language change over time and change of policies that most influence economic and political sectors.
About the history of English in Indonesia, Lauder (2008) explained that English has been already taught during the Dutch colonial period but only few Indonesians received any education, even at primary level. This policy caused the colonized people in the dark situation of knowledge that it is contradictive and different with the British colonialism in their territories. The few secondary schools that existed in Indonesia were attended only by Dutch children and the children of a select few local officials and well-connected people. Although English was taught as a foreign language in these schools, very few indigenous children attended them. English was first taught to Indonesians in junior high school in 1914. While in senior high school was set up in 1918. Then, the privileged class of Indonesians received Dutch and English but English was never taught to be used as a medium of communication.
The Role of English in Indonesia
English language has become a global language since a long time ago. Indonesian people agree that English is regarded as a global language because of some considerations. First, English has been used since the colonial era in many countries because at that time The British Empire had so many colonized countries. Second, English language has been the medium in the scientific world because most of the influencing scientists are from the English speaking countries. Third, English is considered as a quite simple language. Based on the reasons, international world then proclaimed English as the global language, even though there have been the other global languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and so on.
As a global language, it is obvious that English plays an important role in the international interaction. International interactions include economic relationship among countries, international business relationship, global trading and others. In this kind of international interaction, English mainly has a function as a global lingua franca. Lingua franca is a language that is used to communicate among different people from different countries (Sneddon, 2008).
Finally, English language is very important in the current era, that is why most people in Indonesia are urged to know and master English as a foreign language. English has been prerequisite in the job-fields. Moreover, people are considered qualified if they are able to master and speak English. In addition, it has also been a medium in education field.
The use of English in Indonesia covers a number of important purposes (Dardjowidjojo, 2003):
1. as a means of international communication in practically all fields or aspects of life;
2. as a media to access scientific knowledge and new technologies;
3. as a source of vocabulary for the development and modernization of Indonesian; 4. as a way to know the native speakers of English, their language, culture and
literature.
From the statement above, it can be concluded that in the globalization era, English has several functions. The first function is for the establishment of close relations with other nations because English can be used as a means of global communication in all aspects of life. Second, English can be used as a tool in learning and mastering science and technology.
The Implications of English Development in Indonesia
As a lingua franca, English has some implications for Indonesian people in their daily life. The implications are as follows;
1. English in the Educational System
school). And, now there has been a growing tendency in many big countries to teach English starting from the lower levels of primary schools and even from kindergarten. She explained that even though English has been taught throughout secondary schools and at the university level, the competence of English among the secondary schools and university graduates is generally low. Only students coming from middle and upper socio-economic classes have the easy access to enhance their English proficiency beyond that of their peer level through private courses, computer-aided language instruction, internet, and other facilities. This condition has an implication that English has never been widely used as a lingua franca for the majority of population in Indonesia.
2. English in Indonesian Linguistic Landscapes
Using English in a society can be indicated from the language used in the public contexts of some areas such as cities and towns, and within them, streets, squares, etc. English is commonly used in those public areas. As it is stated by Laundry and Bourhis (in Barni and Bagna 2009) that “the presence of languages in a given territory can be described by observing their traces within the social communication space”. In
Indonesia, the presence of English is noticeable in the streets, as you look at shop signs. It is very common to see the name of a public facilities in English, with a mixture of English and Indonesia. The impact of English on Indonesia shop signs especially in big cities or in a tourism areas can be indicated. The fact also provides evidence that English is commonly associated with values such as modernity and fashion. In addition, it is the language more frequently employed in the settings of telecommunications and new technologies.
It is also important to highlight the role of tourism in Indonesia. Tourism can give an influence not only for the Indonesian culture, but also for the Indonesian language. These tourists commonly use English to communicate with Indonesian people in order to create an understanding to each other.
Then, Goddard (1998) gave a comment that English is also commonly used in advertising, as it is perceived as a very fashionable language. Sometimes, English is chosen as a foreign language for advertising products in Indonesia because it is not only appeals to customers as a fashionable language, but it also makes prospective customers feel good when they are able to understand these words in English.
3. English in the Media
Television
Internet
Nowadays, in Indonesia, the internet is popular to be used in communication. It is a very useful tool in the globalization era. By using internet, the people can contact other people anywhere and anytime. English is regarded as the most frequently used language on the internet (Graddol ,2006). Once more, English is used as a lingua franca, as it serves the purposes of communication of people whose native languages are different. Moreover, English is the most chosen language for the largest Indonesian companies in Indonesia when they want to advertise their products on-line. Then, English is also most foreign language used for academic journals published on-line, since the international academic world is dominated by English.
Radio
English is often presented in radio stations especially in some big cities in Indonesia. The radio stations usually present current and classic music in English. In addition, there are a number of radio stations in Indonesia that broadcast programmes in English such as talk shows and news program.
4. English in Interpersonal Communication
The globalization era affects the increasing development of communication technologies that allow fast and easy contact among Indonesian people and the people from other countries. In the communication, especially with the people from other countries, Indonesian people usually use English because it serves the purpose of communication. When doing this, English becomes a pluralised entity, with its different accents, pronunciations, vocabulary and so on. In this case, English is playing the role of lingua franca in Indonesia.
5. English in Academic Setting
Academic setting in Indonesia is gradually being dominated by English language. All of the academic journals especially for the abstract is written in English. Furthermore, Some of reputable journals in any field like medicine, computers, engineering, telecommunications, and linguistics are published in English version. Thus, the readers of the journals needs to have a mastery of English to read the articles. Furthermore, if the researchers want to publish their findings at a global level, rather than locally, it has to be done in English. Then, if they want to attend at international conferences whether they are as speakers or participants have to know, understand and master English because the conferences are presented in English.
5. English in the Workplace
positions posted include a good level of English as a compulsory or, at least, desired requirement. In some government institutions, there are some tests to get a position. This test may be compulsory or optional depending on each position. Then, English is necessary for many different professions such as waiters, taxi drivers, hotel receptionists, travel agents, bank employees. All of them need to be able to communicate with foreign speakers. In this case, English is used as the lingua franca in communication.
Local Languages in Indonesia
Indonesia is the largest archipelago country in the world. Maruli (2010) said that Indonesia currently has 13 000 islands stretching from Sabang to Merauke, with a coastline of more than 80791 km and the territorial area of 7.89235 million sq km. Indonesia also has rich culture and local wisdom in extraordinary number and diversity. It is a regarded as a very large nation with a correspondingly large population and great linguistic diversity. It comprises a population of approximately 220 million inhabitants. There are many languages and dialects spoken in Indonesia. They normally belong to different ethnic groups of the population. According to Marti (2005) there are 726
languages in the country making it the world’s second most diverse, after Papua New Guinea which has 823 languages.
The Extinction of Local Languages in Indonesia
A lot of local languages in Indonesia face a serious risk of extinction. Local language extinction occurs when the language has no more native speakers and there is no one speaks the language at all. According to Sugiono, the Head of Improvement and Control Language Body Language Ministry of National Education , as reported by Wardah (2011), there are hundreds of local languages in Indonesia are threatened with extinction because of the more rarely used. It is predicted that in late 21 century is only about 10 percent, or only about 75 of the 746 local languages that will survive. Furthermore Jansen (2003) states that there are five stages in the process of language extinction. The first stage is about the condition of the local language in which it is potentially endangered because the local language is seldom spoken by the youths. In this stage, they are attracted to use the dominant language or foreign language rather than the local language. The second stage is about the condition in which the local language is endangered because it is no longer spoken by children. The third stage is seriously endangered for the local language because it is the condition in which the youngest speakers of the local languages are 50 years old and above. The fourth stage is terminally endangered for the local language because in this stage there are only a few old speakers left who use the local language. The fifth stage is the death stage because there are no speakers of the local language.
Language extinction may be caused by some factors. They are external factors such as military, economic, religious, cultural, or educational subjugation and internal
factors such as a community’s negative attitude towards the local languages (Brenzinger
the local language speakers abandon their languages and in the hope of overcoming discrimination, to secure a livelihood and enhance social mobility for themselves and their children.
Here are some factors that cause the extinction of local languages in Indonesia. They are as follows:
1. Migration (Transmigration or Urbanization)
Urbanization in Indonesia increased greatly following the country’s
development. As a result, Indonesia has been facing high urbanization rate driven by rural-urban migration. Besides the government still has a policy related to internal migration or transmigration. These two activities are one of factors that can cause the extinction of local languages In Indonesia because the members of the urban community who are born to a mixed marriage tend to speak the Indonesian language for their daily conversation rather than their parent’s first language. Then, the people in
urbanization and transmigration areas tend to use Indonesian language or other dominant languages such as Javanese language in communication with other people especially when they communicate with the people from different ethnics. As it is stated by Lauder (2008) that about 58 percent of the total of Indonesian People used the Indonesian language for daily conversation. In addition Steinhauer (1994) stated that the results of transmigration policy can be seen in data extracted from the 1990 national census, which shows that Javanese was spoken by more than 10% of the population in eight provinces outside the island of Java on Sumatera and Kalimantan. The condition above cause the people in urban areas need to acquire proficiency in the dominant languages such as Indonesian language and Javanese language. Consequently, the other local languages are threatened to be extinct. The geographic mobility which is gained by transmigration and urbanization creates opportunities for people from different cultures and languages to come into contact with one to another. As a result, their local language and culture are exchanged with wider culture and language or one culture or language that is assimilated within a more dominant culture or language. This phenomenon has an effect in accelerating local languages extinction.
2. The dominance of Indonesian Language
After the Republic of Indonesia declared independence in 1945, Bahasa Indonesia has been the national language. This language has some functions such as a language of administration and education and the language of the national media. Because of this fact, Indonesian language becomes the dominant language in Indonesia. Indonesian language is commonly used by Indonesian people in their daily life. Their local languages are not in common use anymore. It will be the dangerous stage for their local languages. Nowadays, the use of Indonesian language in almost all activities of Indonesian people makes unbalanced of their local language. The pervasive use of Bahasa Indonesia is gradually threatening the existence of local languages in the country. As it is stated by Darwis (2011) that local languages have been threatened because of the dominance of Indonesian language.
In the globalization era in which there is a broadening, deepening and speeding up of world-wide interconnectedness in all aspects of life, English is no longer a very unusual thing, but English has become the norm especially in the era of globalization. Able to speak well and fluently English no longer be an added value, but it has become demands or needs for every people in today's era of globalization. Many people say that in the era of globalization, it is very important to master at least English or other foreign languages. They say that without mastery of the English language, a country will not advance. Because of this fact, English becomes a dominant language beside Indonesian language. English is dominant in the Internet. It is reported that English covers about half of all Web pages and its proportion of them are falling as other nations and linguistic groups expand their presence on the Web. Paolillo (2005) points the dominance of English in writing the Web, both commercial and regulatory, to the extent that the latter exist. English is also dominant in electronic media. For the most part, radio and television programs have been broadcast in just a handful of languages. In the business world, English is used for business, correspondence, a meeting with strangers who do not want to learn and cannot speak Indonesian. We know that the development technology requires each individual to be able to understand English in order to control technology most of which use English. According to Nettle and Romaine (2000),
English was the language of 70 percent of the world’s mail and 60 percent of radio and
television broadcasts. Based on the fact above, Indonesian people tend to learn, master and use English rather than their local languages and it can be concluded that the English as one of the dominant languages may threaten the local languages in Indonesia.
Conclusion
English as a foreign language tends to be a lingua franca in Indonesia. Even it is not used as a tool of communication in the daily life of Indonesian people but it is often used in many sectors such as in economy, science, technology, politics, education etc. Then, in education, it is taught as the foreign language subject starting from the colonial period up to now. Moreover, in the globalization era, English is regarded as the global language and it is used by the people from all of the countries around the world. As a result, it plays an important role in the international interaction including economic relationship among countries, international business relationship, global trading, and others. Because of this reasons, Indonesian people regard that it is very important for them to know and master English as a lingua franca.
The development and the use of English as a lingua franca in Indonesia has some implications for the Indonesian people. The implications are including the use of English in the Educational System, the use of English in Indonesian Linguistic Landscapes, the use of English in Media such as television, internet and radio, the use of English in Interpersonal Communication, the use of English in Academic Setting and the use of English in the Workplace.
languages. Because of this fact, English becomes a dominant language beside Indonesian language. Finally, it can be concluded that the English as one of the dominant of language may threaten the local languages in Indonesia.
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