Language Documentation As A Revitalization Effort Regional Languages Are Starting To Extinct

International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Arts E-ISSN : 2962-1658 Volume 3, Number 3, July 2024 https://doi.org/10.47709/ijmdsa.v3i3.4123 Language Documentation As A Revitalization Effort Regional Languages Are Starting To Extinct Ade Rahima1* 1 1 Universitas Batanghari Jambi, Indonesia *Corresponding Author Article History: Submitted: 19-06-2024 Accepted: 01-07-2024 Published: 22-07-2024 Keywords: Documentation; Revitalization; Regional Languages. The Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). ABSTRACT The main aim of this research study is to determine the level of condition or vitality status of a language. This can be directed at saving this language from extinction. The method used in this research is Action Research. The status of the language from the results of the study has implications for the actions that need to be taken for the language in question, whether conservation, revitalization, or both conservation and revitalization need to be carried out. For example, conservation actions in the form of documentation alone can be carried out if the language is categorized as extinct or needs to be carried out at the same time as conservation and revitalization if the language is categorized as almost extinct or threatened with extinction.The conclusion of this research is that documenting languages is actually the first step in efforts to revitalize endangered languages. The success of revitalization still depends on the speaking community itself. INTRODUCTION The unique and rich linguistic conditions in Indonesia provide a very diverse research locus and corpus. This condition certainly presents its own challenges for those involved in the world of languages. Moreover, if it is related to efforts to protect regional languages and literature, various calculations of the number of languages and the vitality status of regional languages/literatures indicate that all parties involved in protecting language and literature have a tough task, including universities, especially those in Indonesian language and literature study programs and area. Various concrete steps certainly need to be taken immediately. At least, there is a special interest or study that leads to it. The Head of the Center for Development and Protection of the Ministry of Education and Culture's Language Development and Development Agency stated that to date there are still very few alumni of the Indonesian and Regional Language and Literature program who are involved in the field of protecting regional languages, especially those involved in their documentation. (Ismadi, 2022). From an academic perspective, in the early middle of the 20th century, efforts to protect languages to prevent language extinction became an important focus of study among linguistic experts, and even became a study by the UN World Organization through Unesco. Efforts to protect language are very important because language is an inseparable part of people's lives. This study also developed rapidly and spread widely with the core aim of documenting, developing, creating new domains and functions, and preserving language. According to sources quoted from the kemdikbud.go.id page, Indonesia has 733 regional languages that must be protected, many of which have critical status due to the disappearance of the main speakers who no longer use them and pass them on to the next generation. Among the hundreds of languages found in Indonesia, from year to year their numbers continue to decrease until they are threatened with extinction, some are even on the way to extinction. If we look at the language map in Indonesia - based on mapping made by UNESCO (Moseley, 2010) - we can find that the most endangered languages are found in eastern Indonesia. This is because language diversity in eastern Indonesia is richer. Languages that are endangered need to be revitalized. One form of revitalization that can be done is by documenting the language (Budiwiyanto, 2022). So it can be said that language documentation needs to be done as an effort to prevent the extinction of regional languages throughout Indonesia, including Jambi Province. Language protection cannot be separated from the context of language change, language shift and language death. Language documentation activities are not easy to do. There are so many challenges found in this activity. These challenges include, among other things, policies, funding, human resources and security. To be able to meet native speakers of a particular language, researchers have to work extra hard and sometimes have to risk their lives. LITERATURE REVIEW Indonesia is a nation rich with cultural diversity. This cultural diversity exists because in Indonesia there are around 1,340 ethnic groups. It is natural that Indonesia also has many regional languages. In the past, regional languages were used as local content in school learning. However, in recent years, there have been several schools that do not provide regional language lessons. Regional languages are not mandatory subjects that must be in school, but are optional. Schools are free to choose whether to provide regional language lessons or not. This is an Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. 72 International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Arts E-ISSN : 2962-1658 Volume 3, Number 3, July 2024 https://doi.org/10.47709/ijmdsa.v3i3.4123 This turns out to have an impact on the existence of the regional language itself. There are around 718 regional languages in Indonesia that are threatened with extinction. The extinction of hundreds of Indonesian languages occurred because fewer and fewer people spoke this regional language. In fact, the extinction of this regional language also occurred because the ancestors no longer had anyone to pass on their regional language skills to future generations. Especially parents in this modern era. Many parents focus more on teaching foreign languages to their children, rather than regional languages. The reason is that foreign languages are seen as more relevant in the current era of globalization. Of course, this cannot be allowed. The extinction of regional languages must not occur. However, regional languages are one of the nation's treasures that must be protected and preserved. The threat of extinction of regional languages has attracted the attention of the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Mendikbudristek), Nadiem Anwar Makarim. The Minister of Education and Culture does not want regional languages to become extinct as time goes by. Therefore, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) has issued a regional language revitalization program. The Ministry of Education and Culture believes that regional languages are national wealth that must be preserved and passed on (...truncated)