Why Does A Language Could Go To Be Extinct?
Since language is a part of culture
Picture by: breaking reza
Language is a tool to express someone’s thoughts through voices. The voices then become some words which is interpreted or understood by the others. However, language is a truly tool for one person to another in order to communicate, interact, or to share something orally through mind to each other. There are so many languages that exist in around the world. The very famous language is English; the origin language of England; where it is used also for communicating between two persons or more from different country. So that, English is known as the world language since there are many countries use it as the first languge, second language or even the third language that is spoken around the world. Beside English, the other big languages are Arabics, Chinese, Spanish and so forth. In ASEAN, the most famous languages are Indonesian, Malay, Thai, etc.
The more a langauge used, the safer it as well. While the less a language used, the more it goes to a danger. As we know the world has so many languages. Different country diverse languges used also. However, we know terms about standard languages and local languages or mother tongue, and it shows that languages are incalculable. They are spread in the whole countries or regencies. However, since there are many languages, some of them are about dying, disappearing, even going to be extinct. These happen because some languages are rarely to be used, rarely to be spoken alongside the others or even people never used those anymore because of some factors. When people stop using a language orally, no more interaction, no more writing, the language then lost, disappear slowly and at the end, it goes to be extinct. It is prooved by a linguist called Janet Holmes. Holmes (2008) through her book mentioned that the Manx Language which was once spoken by those who lived in the Isle of Man, it is completely lost when its last speaker passed away. This is one of many other things that caused a languge goes to be extinct.
Some linguists then tried to figure out the other possible factors that may be could ride languages disappear. Some linguists like Holmes, Krauss, and even Fishman have been illustrating the explanation about those factors that could be a possibility to drag a language to a death. Those are as follow below:
- Lexical Change
Bloomfield (1965) said that one of the causes of lexical change occurs is because the continuity of borrowing words. However, borrowing words continuously by some people can replace the native words of its language. And as time goes by, the native words could not be used anymore since many people prefer to borrow and borrow then totally stop using the original ones.
Moreover, based on the study of Innocent (2014), lexical change can occur when the assumption of ‘modern’ and ‘primitive’ take place in a/some regions. These two terms have a vital role because when people think a level of their language is lower than another one, have no high prastige at all, sounds rude, that people then decide to use another higher language (based on their thoughts); slowly, the origin one could be abandoned which is began by the occuration of lexical change.
The most interesting one for the writer that was mentioned by Innocent is gender — could be the possibility of lexical change. Anyway, in Banda Aceh especially; writer’s origin city; between man and woman; personally, the writer found that they prefer to use Indonesian, as a standard language, rather to speak up in Acehnese, as their local language or mother tongue. However, those guys, they know Acehnese each other for sure, and it is okay for them to speak up using this language since they understand one to another. But then, they communicate using Indonesian. This usually occurs in Aceh especially Banda Aceh between teenagers of men and women. That the study which was conducted by Innocent now happens in Banda Aceh.
- The role of parents to their children
When children are rarely or even totally stop teaching mother tongue which is taught by their parents, then children could be unfamiliar to their local language. Some will not understand it, the others could be have negative thoughts toward their mother tongue. This is what Krauss (1992) illustrated as if the linguist wanted to tell us that the elders is the important side to keep a language alive by transfering or teaching it to the younger ones. Anyway, a language safe when there is a cycle between its speaker, in this case between elders and youngers (parents and children)
- Speakers’ Attitude
The attitude toward a language is very important as mentioned by Ravindranath (2013) that it can influence a language to keep maintaining. The more positive thoughts to a language the safer language is and vice verca. Moreover, Letsholo (2009) and Garcia (2013) agree that young generation attitude palys the important role in maintaining a language to keep alive. However, youngers are the one that can bring a language to keep be spoken as the era keep on changing to the modern. In other side, logically, youngers have big possibility to live longer than the elders have. Therefore, younger speakers are the responsible ones of the existence of language.
The interesting side was found by Al-auwal (2017). Based on his study about Acehnese in youngers scope, many of Acehnese youth consider that the language sounds weird and rude rather to Indonesian which is have a higher prestige level. This shows how younger speakers in Aceh especially in urbanized areas assume about their local language.
- Language Domains
Fishman (1972) have mentioned five domains of language use as follow; family, friendship, religion, education, and employment. However, it cannot be denied that each sector, people use a specific language in order to interact to another. In traditional market for instance, people commonly use a lower language. As well as when someone has communication in friendship scope; in this case the conversation between best friends; he/she will prefer to choose a specific language whether high or low language, as long as his/her friends understand and it can be also acceptable by each other.
While at school or at the office, people commonly use a high prestige language such as standard language, as well as in family scope when a son or a daughter are talking to parents, he/she will commonly choose the best language to be spoken, depends on the assumption which one is deserved to be used between standard language or mother tongue.
However, based on the writer opinion, when people have the ability to speak two or more languages, and in some places like the offices, schools, mosques etc. they are commonly use specific language such as Indonesian; in this case; it may be a possibility for them that they keep using that language than to speak up in Acehnese when they are in the other places like traditional markets, at home, in coffee shops and other unofficial places. Since, Indonesian is used often more than the Acehnese language. However, each person will usually use a specific language if he/she feels much more comfortable when speaks it up.
Those are some points that could drag a language to be abandoned and slowly may become to an extinct. Lexical change, the role between parents and children, speakers’ attitude, as well as languge domains are some factors that could drive a language to be abandoned and slowly take it to an extinct. Even though they are small things of how a language could be extinct, some have taken place in the daily life. As the era keeps going through forward, and there are many other linguists conduct this study, the writer believes that some other factors have been found more than those.
In the end, there will not be a trouble when a language die if we try to figure out from the other languages that are still exist in around the world, because each person can decide what language that he/she wants to speak up. But it can be a serious problem if we look at the culture. Why? Because language is a part of culture, a part of nation which has its own characteristics. And when a language lost, so does its culture and its identity in each country/regency.
This writing based on the data found by a graduate student at Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Syiah Kuala University, who was conducted a study entitle “An Investigation of Potentially-Lost Adjectives in Acehnese” in order to sumbit final examination of undergraduate study program during 2018 to 2019.
