Language shift between generations: Regional-speaking parents raise Indonesian-speaking children in North Sumatr

Abstract

Language shift normally occurs when languages come into contact with one or two languages seen as more superior for social, cultural, and economic reasons. This sociolinguistic phenomenon appears to be common in Indonesia due to the existing dominant languages, namely Indonesian and Javanese in the midst of hundreds of vernacular languages. This study examines the occurrence of a language shift in regions of the North Sumatra Province of Indonesia, namely among middle economic class communities, and it also explores the influence of parents on their children’s preferred use of regional languages or Indonesian. The data were obtained  from four regions in North Sumatra targeted for regional language revitalization by the Balai Bahasa Provinsi Sumatera Utara in 2023, i.e. Malay, Asahan, Langkat, Labuhanbatu, and Tapanuli Tengah.  To collect the data, this study involved 40 parents, focusing mainly on adults and collecting their views education of their children  in terms of language use at home. This research not only focuses on language shifts, but also examines the complexity of the problem, including efforts to preserve regional languages as heritage languages. This study found that there is a considerable impact of parents on their children’s use of Indonesian for various reasons. It turns out that parents are willing to ensure that their children are raised in Indonesian, even if they have to “sacrifice” their regional languag