Language and Nationalism
Language and Nationalism
If nationalism is defined as ideas related to creating and maintaining the sovereignty of a nation (in English "nation") to create a unified concept of common identity, where is the relationship between nationalism and language? Is it true that nationalism is marked by love of the language of their people? Is it true of the phrase "language indicates the" we can find the relevant significance between nationalism and language?
If a language marks the language of a nation and as people use it, between nations and languages that are mutually determining. The statement is suitable for, say, the Chinese with the Chinese, the Japanese with Japanese language, the English with English, French with French people, or the Germans with the German language.
However, the problem is, sociolinguistic facts show that not every nation has a language of unity "show people" it. There are people who use multiple languages. In the meantime, there are also some people who have one language as the national language, but language was not hers, not from the existing language in the nation. There are also people who use one language as the official communication tool, but it was the official language used by some other nation. English, for example, but used by the English themselves, used also by the United States, Australia, India, the Philippines, and some of the former British colony as a communications hub in the nation respectively.
On the other hand, there are some people who managed to lift one regional language became the national language, such as East Timor separated from Indonesia and become an independent state and a new government to make provision for the language. Chapter 13 on 'Official Language and National Language "of the Democratic Republic of East Timor which was set on March 22, 2002 mentions that the Tetum language (one of the local languages in East Timor) as its official language in addition to Portuguese.
However, there are some people who end up taking some of the language even though the language was derived from the existing areas in the nation itself. In India, although the national language Hindi language, there is also an alternative national language, namely English. Hindi language set as the official language in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, but the Indo Aryan group, such as Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, and Punjabi, insisted on the language of each . Dravidian groups, such as Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam, also insisted on the language of each. In fact, most Indian Muslims loyal literary language Urdu.
Some facts about the choice of language in a nation shows that the choice of language is motivated politically diverse interests and created in various formats. Nevertheless, there is an underlying common view, namely that the decision was political choices about the language used for a particular purpose. Therefore, a "language policy" explicitly based on diversity of language backgrounds who live in a variety of government and aims to regulate the function of language usage.
Discharging the function of language problems would certainly involve the community he said. That means not only the sociolinguistic issues, but also political. Often because of the complexity of the problem in such a language choice, the government should intervene to handle it. Factors that make language into an object of the inevitable political choices as well as historical (Coulmas 2006:184; Moeliono, 1985:1; Alwasilah 1993:91).
Canada, because of its historical and political facts, it requires states establish English and French as its official language. Nearly 98% of Canadians speak either in English or French or both, although the country's nine native languages, the Chipewyan, Dogrib, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Cree, North Slavey, South Slavey and. The only indigenous languages can be fully trusted tersokong today is Cree (with 72 885 mother tongue speakers).
Swiss nation at a time using the four official languages, namely German, French, Italian, and Romans. The Swiss government took a policy position as it backed a major international tourist destination and as a "neutral country" where other nations to negotiate international issues, including a host of many international organizations, such as the Red Cross and the WTO.
Another example, until recently in Belgium uses two official languages, namely French and Dutch, as in the country's two groups of speakers of the language is strong enough to maintain their language. Of course, the Belgian government would be unwise if the only sets the Dutch language (used by tribes Flanders about 60% of the population) as the official language of the country because the country was inhabited by people who use the French language (spoken by tribes Wallonia) is a hereditary . Since the 1970s, political parties in Belgium is divided according to political interests and language. Ministers who spoke Dutch and French have equal rights and are described in the constitution.
In connection with the sociolinguistic facts, whether the nationalism of the United States, Canada, Belgium, or Switzerland is questionable because it uses language that is "not genuine" hers? The problem is, if interpreted in the strict sense of nationalism as a pride to the country, we have no right to judge anyone on it. In the use of diversity in the Indonesian language spoken, whether as a citizen of Indonesia speak Indonesian, but the American accent and accidental "Caucasian" because American father, meaning he does not love Indonesia? There is a sense of pride and love in their hearts. One language or dialect in the speech does not indicate levels of nationalism. Likewise, not a guarantee for sure if there are people who live in the territory of Indonesia, Indonesia blooded, and use the Indonesian language with native accent Indonesia hundred percent proud of Indonesia.
From the aspect of language as the identity of a nation, Indonesia may be more fortunate than Canada, Belgium, or India. Indonesia has the language of the nation's "original" that shows one's own nationalism. Thanks to the political choices of the youth in the Indonesian Youth Congress on October 28, 1928 which pledged Youth Pledge, Indonesia has a national language that unites hundreds of local languages and dialects. Indonesia national political statement "We are sons and daughters of Indonesia uphold the unity of Indonesian language" has put the Indonesian language as the national language that unifies the diversity of Indonesian society. As an illustration, Anton M. Moeliono (2000) states that in 1928 Indonesia population of people who use Malay as their mother tongue only 4.9%, whereas 47.8% Javanese, and Sundanese 14.5%.
During its development, through vernakularisasi, proved that the political choices in 1928 that has led the Indonesian language is rooted in the Malay language became the language of a new society called Indonesia. Indonesian has been able to bring together a variety of different walks of social and cultural backgrounds, languages, dialects, and ethnic diversity into a unity of Indonesia. Indonesian was then received the inaugural Indonesia as a political struggle culminated on August 17, 1945. Indonesian language set as an independent country in 1945 Constitution Article 36.
In this regard also, the political status options inaugural Indonesian and Indonesian language is a planning effort that can not be avoided. At least, the rapid development of the Indonesian language and incessant "attacks" have a foreign language requires it. Status increase or reduce the use of foreign languages to be able to develop the policy assume two things, namely the development of the Indonesian language and created a social situation, such as improving the status of the Indonesian language speakers proud. On the other hand, the official language in government and education is an attempt to unify the language development of a sense of nationalism.
However, for some people of Indonesia, nationalism is still considered a new idea because the concept is considered to be only used in the realm of government, politics, and just a shield to anticipate foreign influence-not about how to understand the unity and the unity of the nation. Until now we still can not be separated from the primordial and the difference is regarded as something unpleasant. Each group is still making its own territory.
At these levels, the construction of socio-cultural-political we should reflect on the fact the existence of the Indonesian language can be used in cross-border. Identity as a "nationalist Indonesia" a construction that should be held as a personal thing. One need not be native to Indonesia because the love life of the current global order allows us to be in another continent and "Indonesian-ness" is no longer a territorial issue because the world has become a global village. Far away from Indonesia Indonesia certainly many people who spoke with Indonesian accent inggrisan keinggris-or-belandaan kebelanda. It was only a matter of determining the line of his life that he must be away from his homeland, but nationalism is not necessarily keinggris-inggrisan or kebelanda-belandaan. Once again, the language or dialect a person speaks does not indicate the level of nationalism.
(Ganjar Harimansyah, http://pusatbahasa.kemdiknas.go.id)
Bibliography
Alwasilah, Chaedar A. 1993. Pengantar Sosiologi Bahasa. Bandung: Angkasa.
Alwi, Hasan dan Dendy Sugono (Ed.) 2003. Politik Bahasa. Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa, Depdiknas and Penerbit Progress.
Coulmas, Florian. 2006. Sociolinguistics: The Study of Speaker’s Choices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kaplan, Robert B. dan Baldauf Jr, Richard B. 1997. Language Planning from Practice to Theory. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Moeliono, Anton M. 1985. Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Ancangan Alternatif di dalam Perencanaan Bahasa (Seri ILDEP). Jakarta: Djambatan.
Moeliono, Anton M. 2000. “Kedudukan dan Fungsi Bahasa Indonesia dalam Era Globalisasi” dalam Bahasa Indonesia dalam Era Globalisasi (Hasan Alwi, Dendy Sugono, dan A. Rozak Zaidan (Ed.). Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa