167 Factors Causing Language Loss Experienced by an American Native Speaker in Multilingual Situation in Indonesia 1 Saptina Retnawati Universitas Pamulang, Banten, Indonesia Email: [email protected] Abstract: Bilingualism and multilingualism are common phenomena in language use. Those who are bilinguals or multilingual normally get the language competence because they are living in multilingual area, or in a country which has variety of languages and cultures. Indonesia is one of countries which have this wide diversity in cultures, languages, and religions. Furthermore, Indonesian Ministry of Education created a program called Darmasiswa program which enabled students from abroad to study Bahasa Indonesia and Indonesian cultures. By following this program, those students are learning new language and culture in multilingual situation. One of evidences occurred with a student from America, named Angela who also has multilingual family background. She was exposed to a lot of languages since she was born, and she also studied new languages in Indonesia, as a result she has capability to speak more than two languages. In this kind of situation, the researcher was interested to find out the language loss she might experience during her study. This study aimed to find factors influenced on language loss by her. The approach of this study was qualitative. The researcher applied mixed techniques to obtain data; recording the conversations in natural setting and interview. The analysis was interpretive. The findings of this study found that there were two factors that influenced language loss; internal factors and external factors, which dominated by cultural factor. Also, it happened because of the fact that Bahasa Indonesia is more dominant than her mother tongues. Keywords: Language Loss, Multilingualism, American Native Speaker. ELT- Lectura: Jurnal Pendidikan, Vol 5, No 2, August 2018 168 1. INTRODUCTION from two different countries. Since she Bilingualism and multilingualism are was born, she was exposed to many common phenomena in language use. languages as her parents speak different Those who are bilinguals or multilingual language. Moreover, she also studied normally get the language competence Bahasa Indonesia in Darmasiswa because they are living in multilingual program which leads her to study more area, or in a country which has variety of languages during the program. languages and cultures. Indonesia is one According to the Ministry of of countries which have this wide Education, The Darmasiswa program diversity in cultures, languages, and started in 1974 as a part of ASEAN religions. According to the latest survey (Association of South East Asian conducted by the ethnologue community, Nations) initiative, offering students from there are in total 719 languages that are abroad to study Bahasa Indonesia, used in Indonesia. From that huge Indonesian arts, music and crafts. The number of languages, Indonesian participants in this program can choose language (bahasa Indonesia) is used as one of 45 different universities located in the official language, and each province different cities in Indonesia. At the State has its own traditional language which is University of Semarang, there were used in daily life especially in informal twenty students from some foreign situation. It is concluded that most countries who joined this scholarship in Indonesians are able to speak at least two the academic year of 2013/2014. They languages; Bahasa Indonesia and their were from Hungary, Scotland, Lithuania, native language in each province. Afghanistan, China,England, Italy, This situation, somehow, are not Russia, Peru, Japan, Germany, Denmark, experienced only by Indonesian people in the United States, Vietnam, Portugal, general, but also some visitors, tourists, Poland, and Thailand. diplomats, or even international students Because the purpose of the program is who live in Indonesia for long period of to spread the Indonesian language, all time. When people come to a new place participants are required to take Bahasa which has different language with his/her Indonesia course. In this course, students mother tongue, they tend to learn that are taught bahasa Indonesia starting from language. Likewise the subject of this the basic level. The course also aimed to study, a student of Darmasiswa program improve students„ skills in who studied Bahasa Indonesia in communicating with Indonesians. Semarang State University. She has lived Therefore, the course material included for almost two years in Indonesia and Indonesian grammar and conversation. It experienced a lot of multilingual is hoped that the students would be able situation. She was born and raised in Los to communicate using Bahasa Indonesia Angeles, California in the United States inside or outside of the classroom both of America and her parents are immigrant with Darmasiswa students and Indonesian ELT- Lectura: Jurnal Pendidikan, Vol 5, No 2, August 2018 169 native speakers. Since State University of younger generation, who then adopt the Semarang is located in Central Java, majority language as their home language therefore in this situation, most of and the language of child-rearing, students of this program were exposed to resulting in the ultimate demise of the speak Indonesian and Javanese. In this minority language. context, it can be said that they were in Moreover, in case study of the multilingual situation. Mayan community Mazapa, Garzon Related to multilingualism cases, (1992) also found that “parents were there have been notions or presumptions concerned with their children‟s ability to that people who can speak more than one be successful in the outside world and language tend to experience language believed that teaching the minority loss. Hayne (2010) mentioned that there language would hinder their children‟s are two different levels of language loss; ability to learn Spanish and do well in personal or familial level or the entire school”. Furthermore, she said these language may be completely loss internal factors were more influential than especially when the entire language external factors such as the socio- ceases to be spoken at all. Meanwhile, economic dominance of the majority immigrant communities in the United language speakers, government policies States are one of examples of language that encouraged the assimilation of loss in personal and familial level. This indigenous communities, and the case is in line with the subject of this prohibition of the minority language in research whose parents are immigrant schools. Meanwhile, different from from two different countries. Garzon, Masruddin (2013), conducted a Related to the factors causing study entitled”influenced factors towards language loss, some experts mentioned the language shift phenomenon of that language loss is a result of internal Wotunese”. This study resulted the and external factors. Sasse (1992), for factors influence significantly on example, mentioned that cultural, language shift of Wotunese are age, historical, economic, and political forces mobilization, bilingualism and language are some external factors causing attitude. language loss. Furthermore, he concludes Based on the background of the study and that political forces have an effect on how literature review mentioned above, the a speech community behaves, especially resercher was interested to find out on how political forces foster negative related factors causing her language loss attitudes towards the minority language. during her study in Indonesia, therefore However, he argues that “a key factor in the researcher conduct the research language use is the failure of parents to entitled “Factors Causing Language Loss transmit the language to their children. It Experienced by an American Native is because interrupted transmission leads Speaker in Multilingual Situation in to a lack of proficiency on the part of the Indonesia”. ELT- Lectura: Jurnal Pendidikan, Vol 5, No 2, August 2018 170 2.METHOD that cause the occurence of language loss by the research subject in this study. The study employed a descriptive Multilingualism and oppression of using qualitative design which concerned on Indonesian language are external factors utterances produced during the that results in code-switching, which is conversations by the American student of then give impact to the loss of language Darmasiswa program with her colleagues that she has learned before (English, or with Indonesian native speakers. I Khmer, Teo Chew, and Spanish). From recorded the conversation in some the interview conducted by the informal occasions. The spoken researcher, it can be concluded that she conversations were then transcribed into experienced the loss of English written form so that I could analyze capability. As English is the minority language loss element from conversation language here, she tends to use in natural setting, and interview. The data Indonesian language more than English to were obtained in several steps; communicate in daily life. She confessed observation, audio recording, and that her English is now gone down and interviews. The triangulation process was that there are some English words that conducted to ensure the reliability of data she can not speak anymore, particularly analysis.The next step was transferring the sophisticated words. She prefer to use the spoken data into the written form. I basic English vocabularies to transcribed the data without changing or communicate with Indonesian native improving them.The