ENGLISH PRESTIGE IN INDONESIA IN THE LIGHT
OF DIGLOSSIA
Vincentius Stevian Yudhistira
Abstract
Recently the government made a policy that removes English from primary school‟s curriculum. The government said that the reason behind this policy is because English has become more prestigious than Bahasa Indonesia. The present study investigates English prestige in Indonesia using Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution table by distributing questionnaires to 5 universities in Java that represent all university students in Indonesia. The result was compared to Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution table. The result indicates that English have not yet reached higher prestige than Bahasa Indonesia in Indonesia. The main reason is because after comparing the gained data and Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution table, most of the participant chose that English is rarely used in the given domains. The result can be used for consideration to the government‟s policy in removing English subject from elementary school.
Key words: Diglossia, Prestige, Prestige Shift
Introduction
Jakarta Globe newspaper, "I don't know if it's because of the prestige (relates to the context of students) associated with learning English, or if it's something else, but this is what is happening right now (Jakarta Globe, 2012, October 25)." His statement indicates that he has prejudice that the cause of the issue is the high prestige of English which dominates over Bahasa Indonesia.
Diglossia is a phenomenon when two distinct forms of a language that exist
with clear functional separation in a socially stable situation (Llamas, Mullany, &
Stockwell, 2007). In diglossic region, the high language is learned in education
institution after one masters the low language as the first language. English in Indonesia can be learned in education institution after one masters Indonesian and no one or few people Indonesian learn English as their first language (as in case of diglossia). If that is so, we may infer that the government thinks that English in Indonesia may have reached the diglossia phenomenon. Therefore, it is essential to see English in Indonesia as how the government sees this issue, through the light of diglossia.
English and Bahasa Indonesia is suited with the typical diglossic distribution of language varieties. This study focuses more on the university students in Java, because they are engaged in many domains that are potential to English use and because Java has more universities compared to other islands in Indonesia.
By 2015, ASEAN Economy Community (henceforth AEC), or commonly kwon as East Asian open market, will officially be applied. The use of English as lingua franca will play a significant role. How can Indonesia survive AEC if we do not master the language used in the open market? If Indonesian wants to survive AEC, the government should not even consider removing English from the primary schools curriculum. Instead, English teaching should have been encouraged, since at a younger age human ability to absorb and learn a new language is at its best. Based on this concern, this research seeks to find the present state of English prestige (compared to Bahasa Indonesia) in Indonesia through the light of diglossia. If English is proven to be more prestigious, the government‟s policy of removing English from the primary school‟s curriculum may be the correct solution to prevent the language
shift that may happen. On the other hand, if Bahasa Indonesia is proven to be more prestigious, we may conclude that this policy is rather rash or not well-thought.
encourage the learning of English. This research is important because it may provide a consideration for Indonesian educational institutes in making language policy in micro scale. Language policy can be divided into two kinds, macro and micro scale. Macro language policy is on supranational or national level, while micro language policy is on individual, group or institution level (Coleman, 2011). The micro scale language policy in here means language policy that covers languages institutes‟ policies independently disregarding the language policy that the government made, including a language policy that regulates English lesson in schools. Another importance that may result from this study is to provide English and Bahasa Indonesia diglossic mapping with Java Island as its region.
Theoretical Framework
planning can be used and seen through another dimension of language planning which sociolinguists called as prestige planning. Prestige planning is directed towards creating a favorable psychological background which is crucial for the long-term success of language planning activities (Haarmann, 1990). Prestige planning, however, is vital when the promoted language has previously been limited to low-culture functions (as in the case of diglossia it might be limited to be used in the activities where low-language is commonly used). In order to make the promoted status changes socially acceptable, it is necessary to improve the prestige of the respective language (low language). Thus, prestige planning often becomes a prerequisite for status planning.
Language-planners distinguish many possible functions that a language can occupy in society. This prestige planning is being done in a domain where language serves its educational function. Educational function of language is the use of a language „as a medium of primary or secondary education, either regionally or nationally‟ (Stewart, 1968). There should be a serious issue underlying the language
policy that the government implements, otherwise the government would not apply this policy in a very crucial domain (education). Through the statements that Dedi Gumelar and Abdul Chaer pointed out, which represents the government, we may infer that the government is worried of the high prestige of English which dominates over Bahasa Indonesia.
To consider how prestigious a language is viewed, a certain kind of measurement is needed. To measure the prestige of a language, it is a prerequisite to provide the domains of which the high and the low language might appear then compare them to the result of a previous study that has been done by sociolinguists.
Before getting involved in further discussion it is necessary to get better understanding toward the concept of domain. Fishman (1972) drew on the concept of domains as a way of establishing such general regularities. He argued that, in stable bilingual communities, languages were associated with different domains of use. “Domains enable us to understand that language choice and topic...are...related to
widespread socio-cultural norms and expectations (Fishman, 1972).” He has introduced domain analysis which describes the use of languages in various institutional contexts in a multilingual society. The concept of domains is an attempt to designate the major clusters of interaction situations that occur in particular multilingual settings.
However, it is possible that the highest social class may speak a language that has low prestige, as how Meyerhoff (2006) stated that prestige is not necessarily something speakers are consciously aware of, nor something that is associated with the highest social class or more powerful speakers in a community.
Prestige is closely related to domains (Ferguson, 1959). Diglossia is a phenomenon when two distinct forms of a language that exist with clear functional
separation in a socially stable situation. Those forms are categorized as a
„high‟variety and a „low‟ variety. The high variety is the prestigious form used in
formal situations, whereas the low variety is the informal form used in everyday talk
(Ferguson, 1959). Speakers are conscious of the switch from high to low varieties
(Llamas, Mullany, & Stockwell, 2007). The theory states, one domain compared to another may have different view of which language is more likely to be used based on its prestige or for everyday talk (Ferguson, 1959). The result of his study of the typical diglossic distribution of language varieties, there are ten domains that can represent all of the domains available in the sociolinguistic scope.
the low language appears in instruction to servants, waiters, workmen and clerks, personal letter, conversation with family, friends and colleagues, radio „soap opera‟, newspaper editorial, news story and caption on picture, caption on political cartoon, and folk literature. Those domains are tabulated into the following Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution table.
Domain H L
Sermon in church or mosque V
Instruction to servants, waiters, workmen, clerks V
Personal letter V
Speech in parliament, political speech V
University lecture V
Conversation with family, friends, colleagues V
News broadcast V
Radio „soap opera‟ V
Newspaper editorial, news story, caption on picture V
Caption on political cartoon V
Poetry V
Folk literature V
There is some confusion that may happen when one tries to see in one bilingual speech community and consider whether the phenomenon is included in bilingualism or diglossia. In order to gain better perspective on how English and Bahasa Indonesia is seen in this research, one should know the similarity of the context between Bahasa Indonesia-English bilingualism in Indonesia and Guarani-Spanish bilingualism in Paraguay (as described in Hudson, 2002). Like Guarani in Paraguay, Bahasa Indonesia is the mother tongue of the population. Like Spanish in Paraguay, English in Indonesia is also learned in schools. Just like in Indonesia, in Paraguay code-switching often occurs. Because of the similarity of the context, in this research, the phenomenon will be seen as a case where diglossia co-exists with bilingualism, such as the case of diglossia that happens in Guarani-Spanish bilingualism in Paraguay (Hudson, 2002). Without this set of view, mostly code-switching is seen as the indicator of bilingualism. But with the help of this set of view, one may consider that code-switching happens in diglossia also. This set of view is important, since in Indonesia diglossia will also occur in form of code-switching. If such set of view is used, we can make use of the typical digossic distribution that Ferguson has invented.
Diglosia can be applied to the way in which two (or more) distinct languages come to divide up the domains in the linguistic repertoire of a speech community (Spolsky, 1998). As we see from the context above, the speech community is not limited by a single country, but consists of different countries that are closely located to each other. As globalization took place, those countries try to build political contacts. Two (or more) distinct languages are used, and they are used in different domains of the speech community. In Indonesia, this effect of the globalization does not only affect the people that are working on the field of politics, but also in every sector of life.
In order to develop modern science and technology for the advancement of Indonesia, the need for learning English has been increasingly recognized during recent years. On December 12, 1967, the Minister of Education issued Decree No 096/1967, declare English as the first foreign language to be taught in Indonesian
schools (Pusat Pembinaan & Pengembangan Bahasa, 1984: p.126). School plays significant roles in one‟s language development even after school. Through that way
diglossia had fully reached Indonesia.
Responding the government‟s statements which suggest that English is more
The Study
Context of the Study
The research was done in Java, since Java has the largest number of universities compared to other regions in Indonesia. Since the participants were all university students, the domains are limited to the domains of which the students frequently encountered.
Research Method
This research is quantitatively seeking the frequency of English use (compared to Bahasa Indonesia) in the domains that are available on Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution of language varieties.
To measure how prestigious English is to Indonesian this research used typical diglossic distribution of language varieties as the benchmark. The typical diglossic distribution of language varieties was proposed by Ferguson (1959). It is displayed in the form of a table showing in which domains the prestigious language is used, and in which domains the less prestigious language is used. In this theory, prestigious language is symbolized as “H” referring to “High-language” which is a variety that shows high social prestige, while “L” referring to “Low-language” which
Instrument
This quantitative research used questionnaire as its instrument. The questionnaire is based on the table of typical diglossic distribution of language varieties by Ferguson (1959). Then the result of the questionnaire was compared with the finding of Ferguson in his typical diglossic distribution of language varieties table to determine which language is considered to be more prestigious in the given domains.
Because Ferguson (1959) did not provide any further discussion on the comparison of the use of high and low language frequency exclusively in each domain, this research‟s focus is on the overall domains comparison. However, we also need to discuss the domain in which low language appears the most and the domain in which high language appears the most. We also need to discuss the frequency of high language and low language appearance on the education domain.
To narrow down the result of this research by considering the focus of this research, which is the prestige of English in Indonesia, I made an arrangement with Ferguson‟s table of typical diglossic distribution of language varieties. The domains
In respect toward the participants, who were not necessarily from English Department, the questionnaire used Bahasa Indonesia. Another thing that needed consideration was the terms that are used in the questionnaire. The terms were not marked words (uncommon words/special terms) to avoid confusion of the participants that do not understand the special terms. Uncommon words should be elicited and the questionnaire should use more common words. Another thing to be considered was one domain, which was speech in parliament and/or political speech. Considering the participant who were university students, that particular domain was modified into another domain which was frequently encountered by the participants, but still closely related to the original domain. (The final form of the questionnaire can be seen in the appendix 1).
Participants
directly connected to English prestige that this research seeks to answer, but it proves that university students will be directly affected by AEC. It cemented the position of university students as the participants. On the other side, students from Java Island were chosen, since education in Indonesia (especially at university level) is centralized in Java. Java has the biggest number of university students compared to other regions in Indonesia. Therefore, university students in Java Island are the most suitable representative participants. To represent all of the post-highschool education area, the participants came from private university, state university, technology institute, and college.
Data Collection and Discussion
data was quantitatively analyzed. If the most of the questionnaire result shows „often‟ as its answer, then it is true that English is more prestigious than Bahasa Indonesia.
Findings and Discussions
125 questionaires were distributed to 5 universities representing 5 areas in Java (Jakarta, Bandung, Solo, Semarang, and Surabaya). From the distributed 125 questionaires, 113 questionares were retreived. The result is shown in table 1.
Table 1. diglossic distribution of English used by Indonesian University students
Domain
The use of English Percentage of people who said English is
frequently used Frequent Rare
Sermon in church or mosque (religion) 21 92 18%
Speech in parliament, political speech (political)
29 84 25%
University lecture (education) 46 67 40%
News broadcast (news) 52 61 46%
Overall, by looking at the obtained data, on the 5 domains that are available in the questionnaire, English are used less compared to Bahasa Indonesia or possibly other languages. In religious domain, only 18% of the participant said that English is frequently used. In political domain, only 25% of the participant said that English is frequently used. In education domain, only 40% of the participant said that English is frequently used. In news domain, only 46% of the participant said that English is frequently used. In Poetry/literature domain, only 41% of the participant said that English is frequently used. We may conclude that in each domain, Bahasa Indonesia is used more than English. By comparing the result of the questionnaires and Ferguson‟s typical diglossic distribution table, we may draw a conclusion that
English is less prestigious than Bahasa Indonesia.
After seeing the overall result of the data and comparing it with Ferguson‟s typical diglossic distribution table, I will discuss this English prestige phenomenon in Indonesia on each domain that are available on Ferguson‟s typical diglossic
distribution table.
each domain. By understanding how close those domains are to prestige shift, the government may be able to weigh which domains are needed to be given the policy that prevents prestige shift. Without this perspective, the government might make a policy that is not suitable for the target domain. Without the perspective, the government might publish a policy on a domain where English does not threat any prestige shift, while on the domain on which prestige shift is imminent might be left unregulated. In other words, it is necessary to see the frequency of English use on each domain individually.
As stated above, Ferguson (1959) did not discuss the use of High-language and Low-language percentage on each domain individually. Therefore, it is impossible to use the same approach that we used determine how prestigious English is compared to Bahasa Indonesia as a whole using Ferguson‟s typical diglossic
distribution table. That is why different approaches are used to determine how close prestige shift is in each individual domain.
chose that English is frequently used. The fifth rank goes to religion domain, where 18% of the people chose that English is frequently used. By looking at this rank alone, we may infer that even in the first rank, prestige shift has not happened yet.
The percentage of English use in this perspective cannot necessarily be understood as if, for example in the news domain, the participants fully use 46% English and 54% Bahasa Indonesia. We need to understand the fact that in the questionnaire they are only asked to choose whether English often occurs in that domain, and not to count and compare the percentage of English use compared to Indonesian in particular event in a given domain. Rather, the questionnaires ask them to choose how frequent English phrases or terminologies occur in a whole experience in each domain. I believe that if we compare the use of English and the use of Bahasa Indonesia in the real world, the percentage of English use will be much lower. If we compare the number of words that appear in certain domain, the number of Bahasa Indonesia words used in a certain domain is far more frequently used than English.
On the fourth rank, there are 84 out of 113 participants that chose to say that the rarely hear or use English in the political domain. Indonesia is a country with a strong will to be independent without the influence of the western world, including the United States. A lot of Indonesians still feel suspicious toward western influences, just like what happened in the recent presidential election. Sadly sometimes English became the scapegoat of this westernization. They think that American and Western pop culture, along with English as their lingua franca, is the reason that Indonesian people leave their community‟s values that date back to the pre-colonization era.
Politicians on the other hand, are trying to accommodate these kinds of people to vote them as well as others who do not have problem with westernization. I think they try to build an image of someone who loves their country more than the western world. It was proven in the latest presidential election, being related to westernization has become a tool for the both opposing presidential candidates to build bad images toward each other. Speaking mostly Bahasa Indonesia will be a wise choice for the politician if they want to be elected. I think this is why in the political domain, Bahasa Indonesia, has become the dominant language compared to English.
able to write academic writings, university students should master English so that they can make use of those international academic journal, paper, thesis, and disertation as references. Therefore, universities in Indonesia decided that learning English is obligatory. Most of Indonesian universities use TOEFL test as a prerequisite of their students‟ graduation. Each of the university sets different minimum TOEFL scores as the prerequisite. For instance, Surabaya Technology Institute (ITS) sets 450 as the minimum TOEFL passing grade for bachelor degree, while Yogyakarta National University (UNY) sets 400 as the minimum TOEFL passing grade for bachelor degree. I think the frequency of English use in education domain had reached a pretty high number because of this policies that Indonesia universities applied.
On the second rank, there are 66 out of 113 participants that chose to say that they rarely hear or use English in the poetry or literature domain. The number of the English use in this domain is pretty high. I believe that it is caused by the strong influence of Britain‟s literature works not only in Indonesia but also to the rest of the world. Since occurrence of Shakespeare‟s works, the literature world is dominated by his work, which is written in English. Even nowadays Britain‟s literature works like J.K. Rowling‟s still dominate today‟s literature world. The extent and quality of
translated, there are a certain moods or messages that are not perfectly captured by the reader. Therefore, frequent use of English might be encountered in this domain.
Ranked the first, English are mostly used in News. 52 out of 113 participants said that they often hear or use English in that particular domain. I think that some of the newspapers and news in some of the TV stations are aware of the needs of English in delivering the news. We may think that there are only one domestic TV station that broadcasts English News and one domestic news paper that publised in English, but if we take a deeper look, even in the news that are delivered in Bahasa Indonesia, English are commonly used through code-mixing and code-switching. These news might be responsible for the frequent use of English in this domain. Another possible explanation why the most frequent use of English is found on this domain, it might be because university students are becoming more Involved in news domain through news websites‟ comments.
After we discuss the frequency in each domain, we need to get back and address the initial inquiry of this study; “Is it a wise policy for the government to erase English from primary school‟s syllabus?”. To answer that, we need to see education domain‟s rank compared to other domains in the gathered data. If we take a
Conclusion
By matching Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution table and the retreived data, it can be concluded that most of the university students in Java rarely use or hear the use of English compared to Bahasa Indonesia or possibly other languages in the five domains. By infering to the data and Ferguson‟s diglossic distribution table, we may conclude that Bahasa Indonesia still has more prestige compared to English. Therefore, Abul Chaer‟s and Dedy Gumelar‟s worries in which English has became more prestigious than Bahasa Indonesia, might be considered invalid. Even more, if we look at the findings, it is actually the news domain that has the highest number of English use. It is the news domain that has more prestige shift threat compared to educational domain.
Since there are no reason for the policy maker to take away English from the curriculum, and by looking at the fact that English is needed in the upcoming AEC, The Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia should reconsider their policy to remove English from the curriculum. If the government want to anticipate English from being seen as the more prestigious language compared to Bahasa Indonesia, they should make a policy on the news domain, rather than on educational domain.
diglossic distribution table. Therefore, further study on the same field can find the exact number of the percentage of English use compared to Bahasa Indonesia use in each domain that are available in Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution table. The further study might be done by observing events that are related to the domains that are available in Ferguson‟s (1959) typical diglossic distribution table.
Acknowledgement
First, I would like to thank to Jesus Christ for the inspiration, favor and strength to finish this study. I am also very grateful to my supervisor and the examiner for the guidance, feedback and suggestion during this study. I would also personally thank Victor Pramusanto, Kunta Nirbaya, Ester Pranita, Nadia Sekar Sidhanti, and Michael Gadis for being the representatives of the 5 universities to help me to distribute the questionnaires. Finally, I would like to thank to my parents for always cheer, support and inspire me during the process.
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Appendix 1 the distributed questionnaire
Seberapa sering anda mendengar bahasa Inggris dalam kegiatan-kegiatan berikut?
Jenis kegiatan Penggunaan Bahasa Inggris
Sering Jarang
Kegiatan keagamaan (Misa, Kebaktian, Khotbah, dll)
Kegiatan dunia politik (interview dengan politisi, orasi politik, dll)
