The Indonesian language situation and linguistics; Prospects and possibilities

Abstract

The Indonesian language situation and linguistics Prospects and possibilitiesNobody knows how many languages are spoken in the world today, but it is estimated that one-tenth of them are spoken in Indonesia.Wurm and Hattori (1981, 1983) distinguish just under 500 languages within the borders of Indonesia, but the information on which their findings are based is heterogeneous, and for some areas nearly nonexistent.The criteria they use to distinguish dialects from languages are not always explicit and in some respects problematic.Particularly for varieties of Malay that are spoken in pockets throughout eastern Indonesia and in discontinuous chains of dialects throughout Sumatra, mainland Malaysia and Kalimantan, it is difficult to ascertain whether they represent different languages, and if so, to establish their boundaries.If different criteria than those of Wurm and Hattori are used for defining a language, the number of languages may increase dramatically. 1 Whereas Wurm and Hattori (1983:map 40) classify Lamaholot as one language, spoken in eastern Flores and on the islands east of Flores, Keraf (1978:299) concludes on lexicostatistical grounds that the 33 varieties of Lamaholot he investigated (he did not include the Lamaholot pockets on the islands of Pantar and Alor; see also Stokhof 1975:8-10, 43-4) should be classified as 17 different languages.According to the atlas (Wurm and Hattori 1983:maps 43 and 44) there are 21 languages spoken in the province of South Sulawesi, belonging to four different Austronesian 'supergroups' or groups of the same status.Grimes and Grimes (1987:15-8), however, also on the basis of lexicostatistical calculations, distinguish 35 separate languages, divided into three 'stocks' with complicated subdivisions and one isolate.Given this unsatisfactory state of the art, Indonesia has started a largescale language survey project, which ten years from now should result in an up-to-date geographical picture of the Indonesian language situation, based on clearly defined and consistently applied criteria.However, such a picture is by definition out-of-date as soon as it is completed -certainly for a developing, multilingual, polyglossic society such as Indonesia.The linguistic situation in Indonesia is highly dynamic and subject to pressures,

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