The Case of Osing in Banyuwangi, Indonesia
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Copyright Jonas B. Wittke 2019 Abstract Status Planning and Regional Identity: The Case of Osing in Banyuwangi, Indonesia by Jonas Wittke Due to recent, state-sponsored status planning efforts, Osing (ISO 639-3: osi) is currently experiencing a renaissance, resulting in increased language use and the emergence of a new Osing identity. Osing has gained enough popularity in recent years that people of other (non-Osing) ethnicities have begun speaking the language and adopting Osing cultural practices (Arps, 2009: 10). Based on interview data, this research examines emergent regional identities of Banyuwangians and the results of the commodification of Osing in the public sphere. Indonesia has formally tasked local governments with promoting regional languages and cultures and to “create atmospheres conducive to speaking local languages, including the empowerment and establishment of local traditional institutions, in order to increase positive attitudes so that people have an awareness, pride, and loyalty to the local language norms.” (Yudhoyono, 2009: 17). Osing is recently taught alongside Javanese and Indonesian in Banyuwangi schools (in all 25 kecamatan ‘districts’ as of 2017) and the local government recognizes Osing as a language distinct from Javanese and specific to Banyuwangi. Further, policymakers are embracing the opportunity to promote Osing culture by organizing Osing-themed cultural events and festivals as well as promoting the village of Kemiren as “Desa Wisata Osing” (‘Osing Tourism Village’) and as an adat budaya ‘indigenous culture’ tourist destination. As the government promotes Osing language and culture—elements of which are valued as commodities for achieving “semua potensi yang ada di Banyuwangi” (‘the whole of Banyuwangi’s potential’) Banyuwangians have begun to identify as Osing. This research finds that the social expansion of Osingness in recent years is reflected in speakers’ sociolinguistic identities: While “Osing” was primarily associated with an ethnicity as recently as 20 years ago, it now has a supra-ethnic, regional association with Banyuwangi at large. In interviews, consultants negotiate identities (their own and those of others)—determining who is and who is not Osing based on sociocultural factors and language ideologies—reflecting a very recent, state-sponsored recontextualization of Osingness. Acknowledgments During my first semester as a Ph.D. student in Linguistics at Rice, I approached my advisor (Dr. Robert Englebretson) with a question about whether to choose German or Spanish to satisfy my foreign language requirement for the degree. (Both would have required a bit of “brushing up”.) His answer left me stunned, and I still remember daydreaming about it that afternoon. He said, “Both are fine choices! Or, you could throw a dart at a map, or pick any language in the world, because when else will you have a chance to do that? Oh, and if the dart lands on Indonesia, I can help you get started learning Indonesian.” The following week, I picked up a copy of Beginning Indonesian Through Self- Instruction (Wolff, Oetomo, & Fietkiewicz, 1992). Robert and I rehearsed dialogues from the book for the next three months. This dialogic approach to language learning was enjoyable and effective, and my minor achievements over those three months catapulted my interest in pursuing research in Indonesia. Robert has been a central figure in my life over the past five years, coaching me and trusting me to mature into the researcher, teacher, and linguist I am today. To my mentor and friend: Thanks for the darts! Between 2014 and 2017 I received four scholarships related to my pursuit of fieldwork in Indonesia. The first two granted me opportunities to study Indonesian in an immersive setting; the third and fourth provided funding for field research. Working backward from most recent, I would like to thank the Wagoner Family (sponsors of the Wagoner Foreign Study Fellowship) for providing the funds necessary for me to vi complete my dissertation research in Indonesia in 2017; the Rice University Social Sciences Research Institute for funding my first research trip in 2016; the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State for the opportunity to participate in the Critical Language Scholarship program in Indonesia in 2015, and the U.S. Department of Education for its Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, which allowed me to participate in the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014. I wish to thank the many people involved with affording me these opportunities. The biggest “Thank You” goes to the people of Banyuwangi for their generosity, hospitality, and kindheartedness. From the dozens of consultants I worked with to the village leaders who allowed me into their communities, each and every individual has treated me with respect and open arms. As it would be impossible to thank every single person individually, I would like to acknowledge my friend Pak Antariksawan Jusuf for his help and support, along with two other specific people who have played significant roles in my success. Pak Aekanu Hariyono, a true champion of Osing language and culture, provided my first introduction to Banyuwangi by inviting me to a festival on August 15, 2015. Since then, he has been immeasurably helpful in granting me access to public festivals and private events, and has been the point of introduction for many other contacts in Banyuwangi. One such contact was Pak Hasnan Singodimayan, whom I first met the following day. Famous throughout Banyuwangi as its elder budayawan (‘culturalist’), Pak Hasnan has provided a running commentary of sorts during my exploration of the social and linguistic landscape of Banyuwangi. Although I am grateful vii for all of their help, I am even more so grateful for their genuine friendship and brotherhood, which continues to this day. Thank you to the entire Linguistics Department at Rice University, including all faculty, staff, and students past and present (you know who you are!); to the students of LING 300 for an amazing semester and for claiming I look much younger than my years; to my former advisors Edith Moravcsik—especially for her continued support and friendship—and [the late] Mickey Noonan; to Mike Cullinane and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison for awarding my Honorary Fellowship in 2018; to Thomas Conners and Jozina Vander Klok for inviting me to join the organizing committee of the International Symposium on the Languages of Java (ISLOJ); and to David Gil for inviting me to join the organizing committee of the International Symposium on Malay/Indonesian Linguistics (ISMIL). A very special Thank You goes to dissertation committee members Nancy Niedzielski and Kerry Ward, whose encouragement and support I will never forget. Thank you both for the crucial roles you have played—and continue to play—in my success. Thank you to my Mom, Dad, and brother, and to my extended and expanded family in America and Indonesia, for helping me see this through. And, lastly, thank you to my loving wife, to whom I dedicate this work. Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... v Contents.................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................ xi List of Tables ............................................................................................................ xii Overview .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Indonesia .................................................................................................................. 3 1.1.1. Governance and administrative units ............................................................... 5 1.1.1.1. Provinces, regencies, districts, cities, and villages ...................................... 5 1.1.1.2. Regional representative council(s) ............................................................. 8 1.1.1.3. Ministries and departments........................................................................ 8 1.1.2. The linguistic ecology of Banyuwangi ................................................................ 9 1.1.2.1. Language planning in Indonesia ................................................................ 12 1.1.2.2. Present-day language planning in Banyuwangi ........................................ 13 1.1.2.3. Osing language and people ....................................................................... 15 1.2. Field research ......................................................................................................... 18 1.2.1. Research questions .......................................................................................... 19 1.2.2. Data .................................................................................................................. 21 1.2.2.1. Conversation data ..................................................................................... 21 1.2.2.2. Interviews .................................................................................................