Sociolinguistics and Dialectological Studies in Indonesia

This book contains chapters which are classified into three major themes, namely Dialectology Studies in Indonesia, Sociolinguistics Issues in Java, and Meanings and Society. The first part of the edited volume discusses the close relationship between culture, traditions, and myths in the community, such as the tradition of Labuhan in East Java as a ritual offering to the Queen of the Southern Sea. There are multiple factors influencing languages in different regions in Indonesia, which include economic development from the tourism sector. The second part focuses on the concept of the relationship between language and its speakers. Family, as the smallest unit of society, is considered the most ideal place for language maintenance. Country is also assumed to play an important role in determining what language to maintain through lessons taught in school. The interesting thing, however, is that in the Indonesian context, administrative boundary is not always equivalent with the language boundary. Expansion or unification of regions, for instance, may change the language curriculum taught in schools. Meanwhile, Meanings and Society chapters show that the intention to maintain tradition and establish harmonious relations with other speakers from different backgrounds may also influence the way someone speaks. It is not surprising, therefore, that code switching in a conversation, which is done with the intention to show solidarity towards speakers from different backgrounds, has become a common phenomenon in Indonesia. The studies in this book constitute empirical studies of the Indonesian people's everyday lives particularly those concerning the abundance of languages spoken across the country.