1. 1. Determinants of Language Shift (general)
According to Hotman (1991: 16), when a community does not maintain its
language, but gradually adopts another language, it regards to language
shift.
A language shift occures when community sharing similar mother tongue
abandon it, and collectively shift to speak onother language, it‟s caused by
presence of multilingualism.
“Hotman also observed that under certain cultural, social, political
conditions in which a community might opt to change one set of linguistic
tools for another, where this phenomenon is accute in this case of
migrant communities.”
Language Maintenance
Something refers to a situation when members of community attempt to
keep the language they have always used.
2. According to Fishman (1991: 1), language shift refers to fenomenon of
speech communities‟ native language proceeding negatively, with fewer
and fewer users or uses every generation.
Language shift is part to language change in which to understand the
caueses of change that it is necessary to know where in the social
structure the cahnge originated, how it spreaded to other social
groups and which group should most resistence to it (Labov, 1966).
3. According to paper witten by Remco Knooihuizen in “Lel Postgraduate
Conference in 2006” that there are three issues which frequently come up
in discussion of language shift (Weinreich, et al, 1967). nemely:
a. Changing patterns of the language use where this is based on the idea
that there is pattern of which language variety that people use in what
situation (Fishman, 1972: 247-248).
As Joshua Fishman (1972: 79–88), it is seen as a very neat domain-by-
domain shift, so that the abandoned language is gradually replaced by
the target language.
b. Language shift happens in a speech community.
c. Language shift happens in a situation of language contact.
4. Factors affecting language shift
(Holmes, 1992: 65-70)
a. Demographic factor
b. Attitude/Value factors
c. Economic factor
d. Social and political factor
5. Demographic factor
A factor playing role in the process of language shift in which there is a
community of language moving to a region whose a language is different
from another language, thus presence of tendency to shift toward a new
language.
Let‟s see the example at the following:
1. “ I was born in Lombok so, my mother toungue is Sasaknese which is used
by the whole neighborhood of mine as well as a media of instructional
chores in my school. Then, I move to Jakarta, since then I always talk in
Bahasa Indonesia to my new neighbor, in which using Sasaknese only with
my family at home. Finally, due to presence of high frequency of contact with
people coming from different ethnic group using Bahsa Indonesia, gradually
I shift my Sasaknese. “
6. 2. “The communities in New Zaeland in which Maori has survived
longest term are relatively inaccessible rural area, populated almost
by Maori peole. They always talk by Maori either informal conversation
or formal Maory in speech events. Before, maori always used in avery
aspect of life but, In which the shcool is the only domain that English is
regularly used in this community so, children start keeping
communication with English in every domain (shcool, pub, bus services,
television, and media).”
7. Richard Benton, a Sociolinguist having surveyed the use of Maori in
New Zealand sums up the situation that Maorians being the isolated
communities in which Maori is now a language which can only be used
between consenting adults.
8. Attitudes/values
A. Negative attitudes (determinent affecting to shift)
A negative attitude toward the language can also accelerate language
shift, it can be occuring when an ethnic language is not highly valued
and it is not seen as a symbol of identity.
Holmes stated that “young people are the fastest to shift languages
(1992; 60).
9. b. Possitive attitudes (factors to language maintenance)
Possitive might support effects to use the minority language in variety of
domains and also help people resist to pressure from the majority group to
switch to their language (Holmes, 1992: 68).
The language would not be shift in which the minority language is highly
valued thus, when the language is seen as an important symbol of ethnic
identity, it is generally maintained longer.
There two examples of language maintenance through possitive attitude
highly valued as :
a. Frence maintenace in Canada as well as in U.S due to Frence
internationally contribute to the possitive attitude as an national status
so, it has been an international prestige.
b. Most of the Greek immigrants to another country. Due to the
contribution of Greek to Western Philosophy and Culture, thus this
awareness helps them to resist their language from another language.
10. Motivations of negative attitude to language shift
a. A teenager moving to big city, gradually he tries to abondan his
indigenous language in cese having various levels of formality.
b. It is considered that the usage of ethnic language would be quitely
difficult as well as inproper as a medium of instructional activities
in school.
c. They must be required to shoose an another language to talk with
other people in formality.
d. The speaker felt more prestigious when using other languages
than using his ethnic language.
e. The speaker does not have the need to show his identity with ethnic
language rathen than by a new language he would like to part of the
global economic, politic, social, and culture.
11. Economic Factor
Main factor leading toward language shift from using one language to
another language (abondaned), in which the most obvious factor is that
the community sees an important reason for learning the second
language is economic (Holmes, 1992: 65)
Economic factor encouraging to language decline always results in
billigualism where it is as a precursor of language shift.
As Holmes says that “ Job seekers see the importance of learning a
new language which is widely used in business.
12. Political and social factors
Political factor imposes on language shift in multilingual country, the
authority usually chooses one language as the lingua franca to unify the
various kinds of ethnic groups, consequently most of the speakers
having particular indigenous langauge decrease.
“ The official languages of many African countries were determined by
their former colonialists. Then, they replaced the tribal African
languages so, they led to the langauge deplacement leading to language
shift (Bayer: 2005).”
Social Factor where the language shift occuring as most communities
considering another language in predominantly monolingual society
that dominated by one mojority group language in all major institutional
domains (shcool, TV, news, goverment, court, and work).
13. Language shift usually happens over different cases as several shcolars
doing studies on local vernecular languages (Javanese, Balinese,
Sundanese etc) being worried with the reducing numbers of the users of
the local tongues thus, those shift to use another language.
The different cases of language shift as:
a. The case occuring at East timor shifting from Indonesian to
Portuguese, since its independence in 1999.
b. As study reported that in south Sumatra that most of the young
Sumatraneses leave the local toungue even their parents and grands
do. It is due to trigger by some social changes.
14. Language shift is a gradual process (Fasold, 1984).
It is said that language shift will be proceeded in three generations
(Holmes, 1992).
It is proved by Jendra namely: as the sifting of local language toward a
new language as :
a. At first time, the immigrant families only use their local language
in a foreign land. Gradually, they have attempts to stick their
toungue to borrow some words from the local langauge, that they
may begin to be billingualist.
b. The immigrants become fully billingual speakers, thus the
forward generations may begin to consider using the
predominantly local language fluently as early age as possible.
c. The decide to quit their old language as the result in this stage,
they only have competence in such a new language meant that
shifting to a new language.
15. 2. The revival of language
An attempt by interested parties including individuals, cultural or
community groups, government, or political authorities to reverse the
decline of a language.
The goal of language revival is to recover the spoken use of particular
language left, extinct, and endangered to death in order to return to daily
use of ccommunication.
According to Fishman (1991) cites that reversing language shift involves
establishing the degree to which particular language has been dislocated in
order to determine the best way to assist or revive the language.
As Zuckermann (2011: 31), that language revival inter alia explores the
universal constraints and mechanism involves in language
reclamation, renewal, and revitalization of the sleeping tongues.
And also Zuckermann said that the term „Revival Linguistics (language
revival) is modelled upon contact linguistics (language contact).
16. Steps in reversing language (language revival) as quoted in Fishman‟s “reversing
the threatned language for making it sustainable. There are 8 steps as the
folowing :
a. Process of langauge acquisition proceeded by adults as the language
apprentices.
b. creating socially integrated population of active speakers of the language.
c. Locally, peole habitually using common language, in which they encourage
the informal use of the language amongs of all ages.Bolstering the daily use
through establishing local institution in which language is encouraged,
protected and used exclusively.
d. In particular area, the oral language competence must be achieved in all
ages as well as they encourage the literacy of language withoud depending
upon the assistence from the state education system.
e. Where the state permites it, thus the community of language may encourage
the use of language as compulsory state education.
17. f. When the above stages have been achieved thus, the user of such
language must consolidate to workplace from (lower to higher one).
g. Where, if the obove have been achived then the user of language must
consolidate it into massmedia, local goverman service etc.
h. When, the all stages above have been achieved so, the such language
might be consolidated as well as encouraged as use of language in higher
education and government.
