Baraya,
Nepi ka kieuna basa Sunda teh geuing.
mh
========
Sundanese, a vanishing language
National News - June 09, 2005
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Three-and-a-half-year-old Rinda Nurliyanti, the only daughter of a native
Sundanese couple living in Sindangjaya subdistrict, Arcamanik, Bandung, speaks
fluent Sundanese, but this has not exactly endeared her to her neighbors.
"Kumaha aing siah. Anjing teh, goblok," (a curse in Sundanese that means
"I do as I wish, you stupid dog"), has often come out of little Rinda's mouth
whenever her parents or neighbors remind her not to spend too much money on
jajan (sweets or snacks low in nutritional content).
A neighbor, Mamah Dodong, 50, can only shake her head in disbelief on hearing
such a small girl speaking as rudely as the teenagers who hang out at the end
of the lane where Rinda often plays. "Nyarios teh sing sae atuh, geulis (speak
nicely, sweet girl)," replied Mamah Dodong.
Mamah disclosed that when she was young living in a village situated about
eight kilometers from Bandung city center, none of the children would ever dare
to use such profane language like Rinda.
"Children were afraid of being sinful if they spoke impolitely. Parents taught
their children to speak good and proper Sundanese from a very young age," she
said.
As a native Sundanese, she said that she worried about the use of coarse
Sundanese among the young generation that tended to belittle the identity of
Sundanese people who are known for their politeness. Most young Sundanese
parents are now reluctant to use the language at home.
"For instance, when addressing parents, we call our parents emak (mother)
and bapak (father), but most younger parents have taken on misplaced pride
using addresses such as mama-papa, mami-papi like the Dutch, or bunda-ayah,"
said Mamah.
Head of the Sunda Study Center in Bandung, Professor Edi S. Ekadjati,
disclosed that the use of Sundanese among the younger generation was declining
in terms of quantity and quality. He estimated that only around 50 percent of
children and youth of major cities in West Java were still using Sundanese as
an everyday language.
"Unfortunately, the quality of language that they use is very poor, and they
are definitely not aware of grammar or the formality of the various levels of
speech to elders, friends of the same age or to younger children," Edi said.
Edi said that scholars and Sundanese cultural observers were concerned over
bad and improper usage of Sundanese because a language reflects the identity of
its users, says Edi. If it is used improperly, then the identity of the user is
bought into question.
"Sundanese, like any other ethnic language in Indonesia, contains the
philosophy and cultural identity of an ethnic group. If the language is used
inappropriately, the identity of the user will also be so, and the person will
not be strong in facing the multi-ethnic culture developing in the cities,"
said Edi.
Concern over declining use of the language among youngsters has actually
been expressed over quite a long time.
Reports at the West Java chapter of the National Development Planning Board
(Bappeda) indicate that the problem has been going on since the 1950s, with the
language progressively being mixed up with Indonesian language, especially by
Sundanese living in major cities, like Jakarta, or even Bandung.
Many Sundanese living in cities have given up using their language in their
everyday lives.
Edi viewed this as evidence of the lackadaisical attitude of the Sundanese
themselves in not exercising the hierarchical language. Sundanese words for
things change in accordance to an age group, making in particularly difficult
to learn in an age when most people demand practicality.
For example, the word eat: in Sundanese tuang is used when speaking to an
elder person, dahar to a younger person and neda to those who are of a similar
age.
The relaxed attitude of most Sundanese in using their mother tongue has been
severely criticized by an internationally-acclaimed Sundanese cultural
observer, Ajip Rosidi.
He noted that the Sundanese was in the lineup of languages about to vanish
from the earth, because the Sundanese people were reluctant to speak their own
language.
"According to linguists, there are about 6,000 languages in the world right
now. By the end of the century, only about half will remain.
"So, about 3,000 languages will become extinct by the end of the 21st century,
which means that (on average) 30 languages will vanish every year,
two-and-a-half every month, or approximately one language every ten days, and
the Sundanese language is (going to be) among them," wrote Ajip in the June
edition of Cupumanik magazine.
=====
Situs: http://www.urang-sunda.or.id/
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