The Sundanese Customary Council Is Worried That Arteria Dahlan's Words Will Kill The Local Language

Arteria Dahlan/Photo: Antara

BOGOR DISTRICT - The Langgeng Wisesa Sunda Customary Council (SLW) is concerned that Arteria Dahlan's words regarding the use of Sundanese by an official are "killing" the regional language. SLW custom, Ahmad Fahir in Bogor, Friday, January 28. According to him, regional languages are the mark of a nation. The founder of the Nahdlatul Ulama Student Family of Bogor Agricultural University (KMNU IPB) also considers regional languages as the main breath of the nation's life, as a legacy of the country's richness and cultural diversity. “Indonesia was built on the basis of language and cultural diversity. Unity in Diversity. Having a cultural background, ethnicity and language differences is extraordinary, but has one goal and aspiration, which unites us as Indonesia," Fahir said as quoted by Antara. The reason is, in other countries, which generally have a uniform language and culture, but are constantly hit by prolonged conflicts.

"In Indonesia, the diversity of language and culture is a blessing, because it is the glue of national unity and integrity," he said. Fahir assessed that Arteria Dahlan's statement asking the Attorney General to fire the West Java Chief of Staff was very dangerous for the future of regional languages, not only Sundanese, but the language of all regions. The reason is that the pressure to fire Kajari who speaks Sundanese will discourage officials in other parts of Indonesia from using their mother tongue at official events. According to him, Arteria Dahlan's statement does not only hurt the Sundanese, who are the majority speakers in West Java, but also injures all regional officials in the country who usually use their mother tongue when participating in public activities. Fahir, former activist of the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (PMII) B This ogor said that members of the DPR RI should be at the forefront of protecting and strengthening regional languages. Referring to a release issued by UNESCO on February 21, 2019, as many as 2,500 languages in the world are threatened with extinction, including 100 regional languages in Indonesia. A total of 200 languages in the world are experiencing extinction. extinction in the last 30 years and 607 languages in unsafe status. In addition, it is estimated that around 3,000 local languages will become extinct by the end of this century.*