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“Could Our Generation Stand on Mother Language from the Effects of Globalization?”
By: Vitalis Goo
From many elements of the culture, language is one of the important culture’s elements. Because the language is the implement or the realization of the culture that is used by people to communicate or be connected to each other, even through the article, oral, nor the movement (the sign language), with the aim of sending the heart intention to their interlocutor. Through the language, people could adjust to the customs and traditions, the behavior, the community's etiquette, and at the same time easy to mix themselves with all community elements.
The language has several functions that could be divided into the public function and the special function. The function of the language generally are as the implement to express, communicate, and the implement to hold the integration and the social adaptation. Whereas the function of the language specially are to establish relations in the everyday conversation, brought about art (literature), study the old texts, and to exploit science and technology, (quoted from the internet http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/the Culture).
After seeing the meaning and the function of the language above, then we must reconsider the process of the language development that postscript initially used the mother tongue each available ethnic group all over the world. This is very close with reticent connection of an ethnic group against the outside world and didn’t have people, who carried out the adventure to the outside world. Basically at that time, people didn’t know the development in the field of “Triple T” (Transportation, Telecommunication, and Technology) it was not like at this time that felt by us. So as everywhere still used their mother language was their respective and very thick with their culture.
Day by day people experienced any progresses, on way of thinking, the behavior and the action of creating something that new (new thing). From here, people began to explore the earth, and finally found the other ethnic groups outside there and formed one country based on the agreement, the equality histories, the entity (unity), the ethnic group, the subjugation, etc. Then they agreed and determined the national language was based on the very long struggle process. For example, America recently has the national language only after May 18, 2006. Beforehand the USA didn't have the national language. The USA has it about 230 years after independent. The struggle to made English, as their national language wasn’t easy. In the voting of quite a few members of the Senate that wanted another thing: the complexity of the language also like the complexity of ethnicity in the country. In the USA indeed there are people from various ethnicities. They also used various languages there. It is not surprising when emerging the national anthem in Spain. In 1981 was the early to struggle English to be national language of the USA.
In spite of that, the Indonesian emergence its personally not suddenly. Initially the traders in Indonesian Archipelago ports used the Malay language to communicate. Jakarta, Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Manado, Makassar, Ternate, and Ambon were the place port of the trader stopped over. They’re developing the language withered with the local special characteristics: the Betawi language (Jakarta), the Manado language (Manado), the Banjar language (Banjarmasin), withered Makassar (Makassar), and the language withered Ambon (Ambon). However, on the other side of the national language invited the most foreign feeling and not more comfortable it seems, if we are gathering and suddenly had the person that felt more glad discussing with the other colleague used the mother language. Possibly had certain matters that better to be discussed with the mother language, that possibly no more just right if being heard.
Now, emerge a question is, could our generation maintain the mother language or the mother tongue in the middle of the noisiness of the globalization? This is the main matter that ought to be thought by us at this time, if we will bequeath the mother language, how far we for ourselves know and charge it. Because according to my observation, in fact some of us know that most young Papuans who had domiciled at the city territories, where the life of city community that experienced the mixture of the culture from various available ethnic groups in Indonesia. So, want or not the environmental situation around them will be affected their children that generally used the national language, namely Indonesian as the communications equipment in daily conversation on their life. So unintentionally, their children won't use their mother language personally. It’s happened, because of their parents didn’t realize yet how importance is it.
If many people of our generation were tossed about helplessly towards the nationalization of Indonesian, our children or the next generation will forget it and completely in fact, they will forget their national language and will be used international language. That’s why we could raise a predictive question, is if the national language (Indonesian) became the source of destroyed mother language, would the international language namely English become the next turn? Definitely it would like that. I think the people who don't know, even mastered their mother language are as if a foreigner that just meet the community's group that beforehand had known by him or her.
Finally, I stressed that anyone who don't know their mother language, as well as mastered it necessarily returned to their habitat, it’s meaning that they must study their mother language to their friends who often used it, but how nice if they necessarily entered to the village because in there still keep by the culture – in the matter of the language – although experiencing their development and the changes in the language from their authenticity. And we are who know and often used it must be control it and learn more. Who else if our generations don't begin it?
I HOPE SO!!!
