Acehnese Attitudes Towards Their Heritage Language: A Qualitative, Inter-Generational Study

Abstract

Due to the dominant position of Indonesian as the national and official language, local languages have been less favoured amongst their native speakers. Even one of the most widely used languages in Aceh Province, Acehnese seems to be neglected by younger generations, especially in urban areas. This study investigates the practice, attitudes, and maintenance of the Acehnese language. Three generations of Acehnese women were interviewed in-depth on their language use. Most respondents, in this study, still use Acehnese in their daily communication. All respondents in the first generation and most in the second generation obtain a positive attitude towards Acehnese by using it. Only one informant in the third generation had a negative attitude towards it. She claimed that she spoke Acehnese a little but seemed reluctant to answer questions in Acehnese during the interviews. Third generation speakers are beginning to shift from their heritage language Indonesian. They are aware of wanting to maintain Acehnese for generations to come, even the third generation who speak less Acehnese because they fear of losing it in the future.

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