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LANGUAGE ATTITUDES TOWARD VERNACULAR LANGUAGES

Meida Rabia Sihite


ABSTRACT
The objectives of this paper are to investigate how the language attitudes of In
donesian people toward vernacular languages are and to find out the reasons why
it happens the way it does. The term vernacular is used in a number of ways. It
generally refers to a language which has not been standardized and which does no
t have official status. There are hundreds of vernacular languages, such Javanes
e, Bataknese, and Sundanese languages. Within the subcategory of sociolinguistic
s, the term vernacular has been applied to several concepts for instance in an i
nformal register, a non-standard dialect, representation of vernacular languages
, and social acceptability of vernacular. Based on the explanation and elaborati
on, it is concluded that there are two sides of attitudes toward vernacular lang
uages namely the positive side which shows the respectful feelings toward vernac
ular languages and the second is the negative side which shows the feelings of u
nderestimating vernacular languages. Therefore it is suggested that Indonesian p
eople have positive attitudes toward vernacular languages and use vernacular lan
guages correctly in the right spatial and temporal settings
Keywords: language, attitudes, vernacular
A. INTRODUCTION
The term vernacular is used in a number of ways. It generally refers to a langua
ge which has not been standardized and which does not have official status. Ther
e are hundreds of vernacular languages, such Javanese, Bataknese, and Sundanese
languages. In many have never been written down or described. In a multilingual
speech community, there many different ethnic or tribal languages used by differ
ent groups are referred to as vernacular language languages. Vernaculars are usu
ally the first languages learned by people in multilingual communities, and they
are often used for a relatively narrow range of informal functions.
There are three components of the meaning of the term vernacular, then. The most
basic refers to the fact that a vernacular is an uncodified or unstandardised v
ariety. The second refers to the way it is acquired â in the home, as a first vari
ety. The third is the fact that it is used for relatively circumscribed function
s. The first component has been most widely used as the defining criterion, but
emphasis on one or other of the components has led to the use of the term vernac
ular with somewhat different meanings.
The term vernacular generally refers to the most colloquial variety in a personâ s
linguistic repertoire. In a multilingual community this variety will often be an
unstandardised ethnic or tribal language. The vernacular is the variety used fo
r communication in the home and with close friends. It is the language of solida
rity between people from the sane ethnic group. By extension the term has been u
sed to refer in a monolingual community to the most informal and colloquial vari
ety of a language which may also have a standardized variety
Finally the term vernacular is sometimes used to indicate that a language is use
d for everyday interaction, without implying that it is appropriate only in info
rmal domains. Hebrew, for example, was a language of ritual and religion with no
native speakers. It was no oneâ s â parental tongueâ , and was certainly not considered
a vernacular language.
1. Problems
a. How are the language attitudes of Indonesian people toward vernacular la
nguages?
b. Why does it happen the way it does?
2. Objectives
a. To investigate how the language attitudes of Indonesian people toward ve
rnacular languages are.
b. To find out the reasons why it happens the way it does.
B. DISCUSSION
In general linguistics, a vernacular is opposed to a lingua franca, a third-part
y language in which persons speaking different vernaculars not understood by eac
h other may communicate.
Sociolinguistics
Within the subcategory of sociolinguistics, the term vernacular has been applied
to several concepts; unfortunately, it is only possible to identify which is me
ant in an authored work by context.
An informal register
In variation theory, pioneered by William Labov, language is a large set of styl
es or registers from which the speaker selects according to the social setting o
f the moment. The vernacular is "the least self-conscious style of people in a r
elaxed conversation", or "the most basic style"; that is, casual variety used sp
ontaneously rather than self-consciously, informal talk used in intimate situati
ons. In other contexts the speaker does conscious work to select the appropriate
variations. The one he can use without this effort is the first form of speech
acquired.
A non-standard dialect
In another theory, the vernacular is opposed to the standard. The non-standard v
arieties thus defined are dialects, which are to be identified as complexes of f
actors: "social class, region, ethnicity, situation, and so forth." Both the sta
ndard and the non-standard language have dialects, but in contrast to the standa
rd, the non-standard have "socially disfavored" structures. The standards are pr
imarily written, but the non-standards are spoken. An example of a vernacular di
alect is African American Vernacular English.

Representation of vernacular languages


How do we write the vernacular languages? The official languages all have well e
stablished writing systems; the vernaculars do not. Writing systems exist for al
l of the vernacular languages of the Caribbean. Some of them, however, are only
known to specialists. Haitian Creole has a fully established writing and spellin
g system approved by the state. The obstacle in Haiti is not the writing system
but the level of literacy, a point to which we will have to return. In the Frenc
h departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe, a writing system that has the approv
al of scholars, writers and journalists, has gained sufficient acceptance to be
considered stable. Papiamentu of Aruba and Curacao has had long established syst
ems and contemporarily the distance that prevents a unified system from being ad
opted is relatively small. Sranan of Suriname also has an established writing sy
stem.
In the areas where English is the official language the picture is somewhat diff
erent. For continuity, we can take the cases of St. Lucia and Dominica first. Th
ere is a scientifically accepted system for St. Lucian and Dominican Creoles. It
has not been sufficiently popularised, though that one can assume its usefulnes
s. The same can be said for Jamaican Creole. The system developed by Cassidy and
Le Page has enjoyed significant acceptance but competition from other systems h
as been growing. The existence of the Cassidy and Le Page dictionary, keeps the
balance in their favour. No other variety of English-Lexicon Creole beyond Jamai
can yet has a well established system supported by a major reference work. Dicti
onaries of various coverage and type are available for French Creole, Papiamentu
and Sranan.
From the point of view of a media communicator, a decision to use a Creole verna
cular in writing can draw on a number of resources. They are not evenly distribu
ted, but significant work has been done and with competent linguistic advice, a
journalist or communicator in another field can make sensible use of written ver
nacular.
The conditioning consideration is literacy - in two senses: in the primary sense
of whether the target population can read, and secondarily, whether the target
population can read the written vernacular. In the Caribbean, few persons are li
terate in a vernacular language. Indeed, a majority of those who are acquire the
skills after being literate in the official language of their country. It is a
feature of this region and of many former colonial regions that literacy has bee
n available, not through a first language, but through an official school langua
ge that is in many respects alien to the user. This situation adds evidence of t
he difference in status of vernaculars and standard languages.
The question of the representation of the vernacular and the current restricted
extent of literacy is if the vernacular does not relate to end-user alone - i.e.
to the members of a target population. It affects media workers themselves and
all the categories of communicators. It is not restricted to print but extends t
o audio and audiovisual media too, because the professional communicator is obli
ged to use print as an intermediate step for non-print communication.
Consider also the categories of persons who might be called upon to cooperate in
what would be non-print communication as far as the target group is concerned,
but who must in the process use print - the producer, the typist, the artist, th
e technician, the presenter.
It should be clear from this line of reasoning that the application of a vernacu
lar language to public communication challenges us to undertake or to accelerate
the development of reference resources and archival material on an ongoing basi
s if we are not to be limited to tokenism and trivialisation of a critically imp
ortant resource.
Social acceptability of vernacular language
As it is turned to the social acceptability of language varieties, some modifica
tions to those basic positions are introduced. Despite the basic ascription of v
alues of official languages and vernaculars that underlie our society, very sign
ificant changes have been taking place in the region. The rise of vernacular lan
guages e.g. Javanese language and the evolution of popular culture have affected
media communication profoundly. Vernacular languages have increasingly penetrat
ed the former preserves of the official languages. The pathway is interesting to
observe - entertainment has been a path breaker for serious communication on a
large number of issues.
There has been a chain progression: music and entertainment; advertisement; humo
ur and popular drama; information for rural consumers; community information of
a parochial nature; control and survival information, finally yielding to the ex
pression of views of the vernacular speaker on matters of all kind through live
event coverage and call-in type programming. Vernacular languages in the region
are therefore no strangers to the audio and audio visual media.
However, it is clear that the deliberate output of messages by communicators thr
ough the vernaculars is significantly less than the expression of views by verna
cular users and certainly less than the messages that really need to be transmit
ted. Put simply, the State, the establishment, the communicator speak to the pop
ulace in a different language from that used by the populace to address the Stat
e, establishment, or communicator. The social acceptability of the vernacular is
, in media terms, still skewed because the approved voice is the voice of the of
ficial language.
If communications are to capitalise on the power of two-way communication with t
he population in its language of easiest expressivity and comprehension, a few m
ore barriers have to be broken. But they cannot be broken carelessly. They must
yield to reasoned decisions by communicators.
C. CLOSING
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
a. Conclusion
It is concluded that there are two sides in the attitudes toward vernacular lang
uages. The first is the positive side which shows the respectful feelings toward
vernacular languages. For example, the use of vernacular languages in the right
time and places for instance at home with the family members. People should not
speak vernacular languages such setting as in educational institutions, in admi
nistration and in the propagation of government policies. The second is the nega
tive side which shows the feelings of underestimating vernacular languages. For
example, young generation nowadays would not like to speak vernacular languages
anymore. Some of them argue that speaking vernacular languages will make them l
ook much more outback than those who do not speak. As a matter of fact vernacula
r languages are becoming underestimated and there is a possibility that the lang
uage will disappear.
b. Suggestion
It is suggested that Indonesian people have positive attitudes toward vernacular
languages and use vernacular languages correctly in the right spatial and tempo
ral settings

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