PROCEEDINGs “The Contribution of Language, Literature, Art and Culture in Digital Era” 27-29 September 2019, Dompak, Province of Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia

Looking for the Official Identity of the Riau Regional Language Auzar Indonesian Language and Literature Education Study Program Faculty of Teacher Training and Education Riau University, Pekanbaru 28293, Indonesia [email protected]

Article Info Abstract

Keywords: This study is motivated by the condition of Riau Province which does not yet have an official potential, language that represents or becomes the regional icon of Riau Province. So far, people outside Riau Province consider the official language of Riau to be the same as the Minangkabau identity, language. This study aims to describe the potential of regional languagesto ​​ become the official, official language of Riau Province. The study was carried out descriptively theoretically by regional taking into account the number of speakers, the area of the​​ speaker, the level of closeness to the center of government, the level of frequency of speech in daily communication within the government environment, and the grammatical reliability of the languages ​​of the area. The study involved all regional languages​​of Riau Province. The results of the study indicate that the Malay languages of​​ the coastal areas have more potential to become the official language of Riau Province.

INTRODUCTION Almost all regions in the world have their own language that represents their respective regions. Even the regional languages represent​ the ethnic or ethnic characteristics of each, for example Malay and Minang languages. The language is a daily communication tool at various levels of society. In addition, the language is also used in various events, both official and informal, except in places that have been determined by the government so that the speakers do not use regional languages. Regional languages, in Sociolinguistics, are classified into regional dialectology. According to Mesthrie, et al. (2007), the term dialect is used to describe a regional dialect or group of people in a particular social group and not just to describe an area. Wardhaugh (2006) says that regional dialects are limited by the place of residence from one region to another. Wardhaugh’s statement shows that regional dialects are bounded by maps or geographical boundaries between one region and another. Furthermore, Wardhaugh states that regional dialects show a geographical relationship between the distribution of linguistic special characteristics and the lines drawn on the map. This line is called isogloss. In addition, Sumarsono (2010) said that the boundaries of differences coincide with natural boundaries, such as the sea, rivers, mountains, highways, and forests. However, linguistically, However, linguistically, geographical boundaries are not regional dialect boundaries because regional dialects can exceed these geographical boundaries. Therefore, isogloss is the most appropriate regional dialect boundary. Regional dialects appearing in this sociolingustic study are also intended to

40 PROCEEDINGs SEMIRATA 2019: International Seminar & Annual Meeting, Field of Language, Literature, Arts, and Culture BKS PTN Wilayah Barat examine language patterns or language usage that in a place and physically has a relationship in the differ between one region and another, or between interaction. The interaction is not only with fellow a community or speech community in one region residents, but also the environment so that cultural and another region. Speeches from speech areas are formed. A place without humans, can community members are the primary objects. not be a cultural area if it only has special physical Members of the speech community can be chosen characteristics, but there is no interaction with to represent the structure of the community in an the natural environment. When consciousness area, such as traditional or modern, small areas or interacts and shapes the environment to form urban areas so that variations in language can be on its own, it is called an authentic cultural area. seen. Meanwhile, if intentionally formed due to political factors or business needs, it is called synthetic or According to Wardaugh (2006), traditionally, artificial cultural areas, for example the Chicago dialect geography, such as the field of linguistic Land which is famous for its natural beauty, is studies, using historical linguistic assumptions made specifically for tourism with the aim of and methods, and the results are used to confirm promoting culture. findings from other sources, such as population study findings, written records, and archeology. With regard to the cultural realm, Zelinsky Based on this view, language distinguishes these (1992) divides the American cultural area into findings internally when the speaker distrusts two parts, namely “older set” which is the from one finding to another from time to time and traditional area and the “voluntary region” which space; change results in the creation of language is the voluntary region. Traditional territories dialects. In sufficient time, the resulting dialect are self-formed, stable, and for a long time so becomes a new language because the resulting that a newborn person automatically places him varieties of speakers are not able to understand on a certain caste, class, population, and social each other. Thus, Latin can be turned into French norms. Voluntary region or voluntary region in France, Spain in Spain, Italy in Italy, and so on. contemporaneous with the modernization process that took place in North West Europe, when a Traditionally, dialect geologists attempted person has no boundaries in the dimensions to reproduce their findings in the dialect atlas. of space or time and is free of intermediaries. They describe the geographical boundaries of the Traditional spaces and social allocations like a dissemination of certain linguistic features with lottery are gradually replaced by lifestyles, goals, stripes on the map. Such a line is called Isogloss. social niches, and self-selected housing. Voluntary The dialect boundary always coincides with a areas are formed spontaneously around important number of geographical or political factors, for areas, such as military offices or headquarters, example, mountain ridges, rivers, or old royal universities, or beaches. In this case, Zelinsky gave boundaries or dioceses. examples of cases of voluntary regions in military Language is the main communication tool urban areas such as San Diego, Colorado, Spring, of humans. In addition to communication tools, and Columbus. Fort Benning as a state which is language is also an expression of self or group a military territory dominates Columbus which so that it can be said that language represents a is a big city with a large banking and insurance particular self or group of people. Language has a industry. Business and marketing there tried to close relationship with the region or region. This attract Fort Benning’s army. Columbus was also region can exceed geographical boundaries, such used as a residence or resting place for soldiers as village, sub-district, district, provincial and who worked at Fort Benning. So, in the voluntary even national borders. According to Kretzschmar region, individuals who are free, can join and (2011), the area is divided into two parts, namely a participate in an area that they want. number of areas that are physically extraordinary Within a geographical area there are various and their nature and conditions that indicate self- regional dialects or popularly known as regional awareness in everyone who lives in a certain place. languages. In Riau Province there are several So, understanding the area here is not limited dialects, such as the Kampar, Kuantan and Singingi to an area that is limited by administrative and (Kuansing) dialects, Bengkalis, Siak, Pelalawan, geographical boundaries, but rather a space and Rokan, and Indragiri. Of these dialects, none of time that shows the population behaves or interacts them are languages that​ represent Riau Province.

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Thus, until now it has been difficult to determine According to Bell (1976), to distinguish certain the language identity of Riau Province. Outsiders languages from​ other languages, it is better to consider the language of Riau to be the same as use criteria (1) standardization, (2) vitality, the Minang language because of the lack of sound (3) historicity, (4) autonomy, (5) reduction, (6) in some of the people of Riau in Minang. The mixture, and norms (7) de facto. This criterion also languages are almost the same, including, Kampar makes it possible to assign multiple languages as a and Kuansing. The existence of regional languages more ‘ evolving ‘ language than any other language for a region or province is very important. so that it resolves the main issue of language- dialect differences. This is done because speakers Regional languages have a position as (1) usually feel that language is generally ‘better’ as a symbol of regional pride, (2) a symbol of than dialect in some ways. In fact, many speakers regional identity, and (3) an interface in the assume that their language is higher than other family and regional community. In addition, languages. regional languages have a strategic function. This is illustrated in the 1945 Constitution, article 32, Standardization refers to the codification paragraph (2) that “the State respects and selects process in several ways. The process usually regional languages as national cultural assets.” involves developing things such as grammar, Thus, developing and elevating regional languages spelling manuals, dictionaries, and literature into official languages of a region or region is books. Standardization also requires a measure mandated by law. of agreement on the necessary and unnecessary rules in the language. After a language is standardized, it can be DISCUSSION taught to people who need it. Conditions like these Based on years of observation of speakers in daily relate to ideological dimensions - social, cultural, life in public places in Pekanbaru, the regional and sometimes political - beyond pure linguistics. language used by speakers of Pekanbaru is Malay. Fairclough (2001) states that the ideological- In terms of its speakers, Kampar and Kuansing social and political dimensions become ‘part of a languages are​ the most widely spoken, besides much broader process of economic, political and the Minang language. In government offices, cultural integration... great..., and important in Kuansing and Kampar languages also​ dominate the formation of nationalities and nation-states. conversations between staff. Other languages, According to this criterion, English and French are such as Bengkalis, Bagansiapiapi, Siak, Pelalawan, categorized as fairly standard, Italian is somewhat Rengat, and other regional languages are​ also lacking, and the variety known as Vernacular used in conversations in government offices. The English African American is not categorized at all. frequency of using local languages in​ government According to Masthrie (2007), standardization offices is very dependent on the number of occurs when a language is placed in a wider range of speakers representing their respective regions. If functions than before. Usually, this outreach relates an office has many employees from Kampar, the to the spread of literacy, education, governance Kampar language is more widely used. and administration, and in the expansion of the If only guided by the dominance of the use of media. Successful standardization involves the language in conversation, Kampar language can creation or acceptance of a variety as the most be the official language of Riau Province. Kampar prestigious because the variety is used by speakers language can be well understood by speakers of who have status and power in society. Kuansing, Rokan Hulu, and Bagansiapiapi, but it is When referring to the standardization process not well understood by speakers of Siak, Bengkalis, of English which has long been a world language, Rengat, Meranti, and language speakers in Inhil. its standardization criteria need to be replicated. Because they do not understand each other well, Cristal (1995) describes the essence standards of it is rather difficult to establish Kampar as the modern English characters as follows. official language of Riau. In addition, to establish 1) Historically based on one dialect among a language as the official language of a region or various dialects, but currently has a special region it is necessary to follow or be guided by or special status without being based on several criteria. local status. This dialect is largely neutral

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with regard to regional identity. Russia. They succeeded and now Finnish has become a force in the nation’s political life and a 2) Standard English is not a matter of sign of the strength of Finnish identity between pronunciation, but rather grammar, German on the one hand and Slavic on the vocabulary and orthography. other. In addition, in the 20th century the Turks 3) Bringing most of the prestige in “English- under Atatürk also succeeded in their efforts to speaking” countries. standardize and ‘modernize’ Turkey. 4) Having the desired education target. In each case of language, a variety of 5) Although widely understood, it is not languages must be chosen, developed in its widely used. resources and functions, and finally accepted by the larger community. It must be realized However, according to Mesthrie (2007), that standardization is an ideological problem. theoretically, one can speak standard English with Williams (1992) mentions that the sociopolitical any accent, for example regional accents that are process which involves the legitimacy and somewhat modified. However, there is an accent institutionalization of language varieties as that lacks prestige and standardization, but the features of sanctioning them as social choices. This English language is taught to foreigners. This creates a variety of preferred languages, which accent is most commonly used on British radio and later become winners. The rejected varieties are television, known as Received Pronunciation (RP), losers. or sometimes as Queen English, Oxford English or Vitality is the second criterion of seven Bell BBC English. criteria. This criterion refers to the existence of a Wardaugh (2006) says that governments lively community of speakers.These criteria can be sometimes deliberately involve themselves in the used to distinguish languages that ‘ live ‘ and ‘ dead standardization process by forming official bodies ‘ languages. to regulate language problems or to encourage By referring to this vitality criterion, none of desired changes. One of the most famous examples Riau’s regional languages has​ died yet. Until now of an official body established to promote the these regional languages are​ still used, especially language of a country is the establishment of verbally. According to UNESCO (1996) the vitality Richelieu of the Académie Française in 1635. This of a language can also be determined based on institution was founded when speakers of various the following nine factors. 1) Intergenerational languages in​ France only knew very little, and when language transmission, 2) large number of there was little national awareness . In connection speakers, 3) comparison of speakers with with Wardaugh’s statement, Kampar language is population, 4) trends in the realm of language use, in an advantageous position because it is widely 5) responsiveness to new domains and media, 6) used in the Pekanbaru Mayor’s office and the material for language education and literacy, 7) Ministry of Religion. However, unfortunately the language policies by governments and institutions, Kampar language is not standardized. Wardaugh’s including official status and usage, 8) the attitudes statement also actually benefits Siak, Pelalawan, of the speaking community towards their language, and Rengat or Indragiri languages because​ these and 9) the amount and quality of language languages are​ official languages in​ their respective documentation. Wardaugh (2006) says that once former kingdoms. Because they are official a language dies, the language is lost forever and languages, it can be said that these languages​ even what is called the rise of the Hebrew does not have undergone a process of standardization even contradict that statement. The Hebrew language though they are incomplete or only limited to the has been spoken as the language of liturgy, as use of spoken language. well as the Latin language for centuries. Modern According to Wardaugh (2006), Hebrew is the growth of the varieties of the liturgy standardization is sometimes done very quickly of this. Change the language of the liturgy into for political reasons. In the 19th century, Finland the language of modern Hebrew is required so in developed spoken language to serve a complete accordance with the purpose of modern life is not set of functions. They need standardized language an easy thing. Many languages, though not dead, to assert their independence from Sweden and are still dying because of the number of speakers

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reduced drastically every year so it can be said that specific variation representing the use of speakers such language is in the doldrums. For example, ‘best’, for example, French Parisian or Florentine the dialect of French used in the Channel Islands, varieties from Italy. Not only must the standard Guernsey, and Sark quickly towards extinction. be set (with the first criteria above), the standard must also be considered. In relation to de facto Historicity refers to the fact that a certain criteria, it is rather difficult to determine whether group of people find a sense of identity through a language is considered rude or bad. Usually, a the use of a particular language, and states that it language far from the center of civilization or belongs to them. Social ties, politics, religion, or government is coarser than a language that is at ethnicity may also be important for the group, but the center or adjacent to the center of civilization the bond of a common language is stronger than or government. Actually, what is rude is the the bond of the other. speaker who pays little attention to or does not In terms of historicity, Kampar and Kuansing understand social etiquette so that the language have strong ties and social, religious and ethnic he uses is classified as rude. similarities with the Minang ethnic group. When all the speakers of a language feel that Based on a comparative study of language in the the language is spoken and written with the bad Comparative Language course taken by the author in various aspects and conditions of life, that in 2011-2013, Kampar and Kuansing languages ​ language might have great difficulty to survive. have a high degree of similarity with the Minang Language can be said to be in a state of dying. language. The degree is 94% so that it is classified According to Thomas (1991), concern the norms as language (81-100%). of behavior of a linguistic, ‘purism linguistic’ can Autonomy is an interesting concept because be very important among certain segments of this concept follow the wishes of the speakers society. For example, the English apply the rule so themselves. Speakers consider their language that speakers behave linguistic as well. Speakers different from other languages. However, this were told to say which is right and avoid wrong. criterion is very subjective. Based on this concept (Baron, 1982, Cameron, 1995 , and Wardhaugh, of autonomy, the Riau regional languages are​ 1999). not truly autonomous and are truly free from other regional languages. Speakers between Riau languages still​ understand each other even CONCLUSIONS though it requires a relatively short time to Based on the criteria set by Bell (1976), it can be understand other regional languages. If there is concluded that the Kampar language has more a statement that speakers of Bengkalis area say speakers in Pekanbaru and in government offices. that our language is not understood by Kampar However, Kampar language has a high similarity and Kuansing people and other people in Riau, with the Minang language so that the Riau regional that is an opinion without a theory. According identity is doubtful. Siak language compared to to Wardaugh (2007), the Ukrainians say that Kampar language is not too many speakers in their language is very different from Russian and Pekanbaru, but has a better standard because it deplored Russiafikasi when they become part of became the language of the Kingdom of Siak in the Soviet Union. In addition, some speakers of its heyday. Siak language has high similarity with the language of the African Americans stated that Bengkalis, Pelalawan, Meranti, Rengat, and some their language is not a variation of English, but Inhil regional languages. Thus, Siak language rather a separate language in her own right and is more likely to become the official language refer to it as Ebonics. On the contrary, speakers of of Riau Province. However, this conclusion still Cantonese and Mandarin deny that they speak a leaves a problem that must be solved together different language. They argue that Cantonese and by all speakers of the regional languages of​ Riau Mandarin is not the language of the autonomous Province. The problem is complicated because but only two dialects of Chinese. speakers of the Siak language cannot dominate De facto refers to the feeling that there are the use of language in all aspects of life, especially speakers which are ‘good’ and speakers of ‘bad’. in Pekanbaru as the capital of Riau Province. Speakers that better represent the norms of Another problem that is no less important is the proper usage. This criterion focuses on one sub- sincerity of speakers of other regional languages ​

ISBN - 978-623-92900-0-9 44 PROCEEDINGs SEMIRATA 2019: International Seminar & Annual Meeting, Field of Language, Literature, Arts, and Culture BKS PTN Wilayah Barat that are deemed not to fulfill the criteria of being an official language.

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