Our social interactions may be on a global scale, but our pride for local elements will not fade. That is the commitment of some youths in a number of regions. They are still proud of using the local language in public, including when they express themselves on social media.
Some youths read poems, play music and perform theater in the Lampung language. One of them is Tiara N.Putri, 16. With her friends, the SMA Negeri 1 Liwa student staged a theatre performance in the center of Liwa city, West Lampung regency, on the dangers of drugs.
The dialogue for the performance, which they wrote themselves, uses the Lampung local language. “It was not too hard because I also used the local language in my daily conversations, both at home and in school,” said Tiara, Thursday (19/10).
Social media is also a platform for young people to express themselves using their local language. Didi, 24, a private employee on his Instagram account @pesisirbarat, has made a habit of posting photos of tourist destinations and culinary spots in Pesisir Barat regency, Lampung. Some of the photos posted include a picture of beautiful beaches, splendid resin plantations and delicious pindang (salted fish). He would include explanations about the posted photos in the Lampung local language.
By doing that, the post attracts netizens to comment using the same language.
As part of the young generation of Lampung people, Tiara is proud that she is able to contribute in the efforts to preserve the local language. For her, it is important to preserve the local language as a cultural identity. “The charge of globalization should not pull us out of our social, cultural roots,” Tiara said.
The performances staged in the Liwa city center were created to preserve cultural arts and the local language. The founders are teachers and youngsters that are concerned with the lack of youths speaking in the local language.
One of the initiators is Ahmadi, 28, a Lampung language teacher at SMAN 1 Liwa. Funded by donations from community members, Ahmadi mobilized his students to perform in an arts performance called Ngananom, which means afternoon walks. The performance is staged regularly on Sunday afternoon, twice a month.
Hiphop music
Musician Rudi Supriyadi, 35, who lives in Bandung, West Java, has a unique way of using the Sundanese language. His interest in writing Sundanese hiphop songs has been well received overseas.
Last week, there was a surprising text message in his cell phone. Fabrizio Moreira, founder of VIP Music Records from the United States, stated that he was very interested in Rudi’s musical style.Hiphop music is a music genre from the United States that features rap.
The hiphop style presented by Rudi is rich in local culture. The Sundanese culture features in almost everything, from the language and musical instruments to clothes. That element of locality is what appealed to Fabrizio. He will put Rudi’s songs in a digital album. It will then be sold on the iTunes and Spotify applications. “It is currently in the song-selection stage. Six songs have been chosen and they will all feature kecapi suling,” Rudi said.
Rudi started to seriously adopt Sundanese elements in his music in 2006, though he has been in the hip hop music scene since the 1990s. “We want the Sundanese language to still stick in [people’s] daily lives,”he said.
Some of his famous songs, such as “Aing Artis”, “Boa Edan” and “Kamana Atuh Gaya”, are often played at various events, from government functions to Independence Day events in remote villages.
In Maluku, siblings Hunanatu Matoke, 35, and Putri Yane Matoke, 32, have also made efforts to save the local language of Nuaulu from extinction. Hunanatu has written a Nuaulu language dictionary, while his sister established the Hunahena early childhood education center (PAUD), which uses the Nuaulu language.
Hurip Danu Ismadi, head of the Language Development Agency’s Development and Protection Centerat the Education and Culture and Ministry, appreciates people’s concerns toward the preservation of culture.
He said that globalization has played a part in grinding away the pride of using the local language among young people. The solution is strengthening local language lessons all the way from elementary to senior high school levels, involving the regional government in the use of the local languages in public places and encouraging the habit of using local languages within families and communities.
(VIO/CHE/FRN/ELN/NAR)
