Shifting LanguagesIndonesian is the national language of a vast, plural nation state, the world's fourth-largest country with a population of over 200 million. Although its use is growing rapidly, and is now spoken by nearly everyone over the age of six, it has almost relatively few native speakers. This remarkable growth, unprecedented in the development world, is largely due to the forceful presence of state institutions that use, promote, and disseminate a language first introduced by the Dutch colonial administration. Joseph Errington's third book on language in Indonesia is a detailed analysis of 'shifting languages' in two small Javanese communities. A key figure in this area of research, he examines changing conversation practices in relation to questions of ethnicity, nationalism, and political culture. Errington concludes that the Javanese story has theoretical implications beyond the two villages to other parts of Indonesia, South East Asia, and to the developing world in general. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ápá bahasa bahasa Indonesia bahasa Melayu bapak bilingual usage broader broadly Central Java code switching communities context conversational practice culture discourse particles distinct elite Endhang Errington ethnic everyday example exemplary center Gellner grounded Gudhangan Gumperz halal high básá ideology Iman Indone Indonesian language Indonesian usage instance institutional interactional dynamics interactionally Javanese and Indonesian Javanese Indonesian Javanese interaction Javanese language Javanese speech Javanese usage kin term kowé kulá kuwi language shift lexical linguistic low básá Malay markedness Mbok mboten mediate meniká modern Mulih national language nčk nčng nggih ngoko ngono niku ning Pak Waya patterns pembangunan personal pronoun phrase piyé political Praya presupposed priyayi pronominal referential salience Sandhi saya sense sketched in chapter social sociolinguistic Solo speakers speech modeling speech styles status strategy style shifting Surakarta syncretic tacitly talk talk's terus traditional transcribed transcriptions un-native urban utterance village wong Yeah