The languages on the border of Indonesia and Timor Leste: A linguistic landscape study

Abstract

This article is a linguistic landscape study carried out on the Indonesian border with Timor Leste. The aim is to reveal the language display, forms, and phenomena of changes in the linguistic landscape in the Indonesian border area. This is a descriptive-qualitative study that is intended to describe and analyze data in great detail and depth. The methods used in collecting data are observation and documentation. The results show that there are eight languages in public spaces namely Indonesian, English, Tetun, Dawan, Kupang Malay, Kemak, Arabic, and Portuguese. Language displayed in public spaces takes the form of monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual. The sociolinguistic change will depend greatly on the influence of social, political, and economic aspects but the chances are very small. Similar linguistic backgrounds, culture, and kinship relations with those in the border area of Timor Leste are the main reasons why the Indonesian language dominates compared to the official language of Timor Leste. Meanwhile, the existence of local languages needs serious attention. All of this requires government intervention in terms of language policy to maintain the existence of regional languages as the identity of local communities.

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