ENGLISH AS A
KILLER OF ANOTHER LANGUAGE
By: Zainal Arifin
S.Pd.I
Abstract: Nowadays, a
language has significant development. Of course, in its using language depend on the
speaker. When the speaker’s paradigm changed, language must be change
automatically. For instance, we are as language students care to this
problem, because a language is not just used by us but this is would be used by
next generation after us.
This is our responsibility to make
maintenance about language loss so that language is not
just as the tool of communication that can change in every time but this is
part of the art and culture too.
In this problem, sociolinguistic
study has significant role to overcome all of accident that befalling a
language. By this article I try to analyze the
problem and its solution about language loss and death.
Key word: Language development, and mother tongue replacement.
As we know that english has important
role in language development, because of english considered as international
language that used by almost all of people around the world. English was using
in every country as foreign language and/or as the second language else. That
why english almost replace another language.
When
we are talking about language replacement like this case, actually we are
facing something unpreditable before, because language replacement occur
without we has known. This case that called by language shift. Why language
shift or language replacement can be? This is big question for us.
As an example of language
replacement is death of mother tongue because of international
language, for instance English. English has most important role in every
language, in the fact; English was learned in every country around the world.
English is called as international language because of English promoted by its
speaker with political, cultural, economical and educational action. And other
hand, English speared around the world by migrant, typically migrant are
virtually monolingual in their mother tongue, their children are bilingual, and
their grandchildren are often monolingual in the language of the host country[1].
Another
hand, Technology, Economical activity uses english as the tool of
communication. So everyone who has occupotion in international public must know
and can use english otomatically. That hardly mother tongue be exist, it’s
almost shaldom to used, and the result that can occur is mother tongue will be
dead even loss from thier own counry
(non-english country).
A language is often
declared to be dead even before the last native speaker of the language has
died. If there are only a few elderly speakers of a language remaining, and
they no longer use that language for communication, then the language is
effectively dead. A language that has reached such a reduced stage of use is
generally considered moribund. Once a language is no longer a native language - that is, if no
children are being socialized into it as their primary language - the process
of transmission is ended and the language itself will not survive past the
current generation. This is rarely a sudden event, but a slow process of each
generation learning less and less of the language, until its use is relegated
to the domain of traditional use, such as in poetry and song. Typically the
transmission of the language from adults to children becomes more and more
restricted, to the final setting that adults speaking the language will raise
children who never acquire fluency[2].
Linguists
distinguish between language death and the process where a language
becomes a dead language through normal language change, a linguistic
phenomenon analogous to pseudo extinction. This happens
when a language in the course of its normal development gradually morphs into
something that is then recognized as a separate, different language, leaving
the old form with no native speakers[3]. And
based on this statement we may smile because formal or old english its self has
been replaced by modern english. For example, Old English may be regarded as a dead language,
with no native speakers, although it has never "died" but instead
simply changed and developed into Middle English, Early Modern English and Modern. Thi indicates that english is not consistant and english has
not survive as pure language.
But
we have to admit that however english stiil promoted by its native, english can
be exist as international language. The other language specially mother tongue just as justivication that some country has
national laguage, and the important to use is english. Almost all of everything
uses english, technology, politic, economy, and others uses english. Because of
english can replace another language (although indirectly) that why english has
been decribed as a killier another languagge.
But
we have an obligation to make some protection to our mother tongue, its way is
simple, we have to learn, use and proud of our mother tonguage for instance
Indonesian language, thta’s called as language maintenance. We admit that we
have to know english but we have to protect our mother tongue else.
REFERENCES
Janet holmes, An
Introduction to Sociolinguistics Second edition: New Zealand, 1990
[3] http://www.answers.com/topic/extinct-language. has browsed 0n april 25 in
2011.www.wikipedia.orghttp://arya-zainalarifin.blogspot.com/2012/11/english-as-killer-of-another-language.html
