Language Agency urges society to preserve regional languages

Banda Aceh (ANTARA) - The Language Development and Cultivation Agency (Badan Bahasa) of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is urging the public to preserve regional languages to prevent their extinction.

The Head of the Language Agency of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Hafidz Muksin, in Banda Aceh on Tuesday, stated that the extinction of regional languages could occur as the number of speakers among the younger generation decreases.

“Regional languages are a cultural treasure that must be continuously preserved. If not preserved, the extinction of regional languages could indeed happen. Therefore, we are calling on the public to preserve regional languages,” he said.

Hafidz Muksin stated that regional languages play an important role for the Indonesian language. This is because regional languages also enrich the vocabulary of Indonesian.

Currently, he said, there are 728 regional languages. The province with the most regional languages is Papua, with 400 regional languages. To date, five regional languages have been recorded as extinct.

In addition, threats to regional languages are also caused by the younger generation being embarrassed to speak or use their mother tongue. The current generation prefers to use slang, urban jargon, and foreign languages because they feel it is cooler.

“This threat certainly poses a challenge, regarding the role of parents in passing on the mother tongue to their children. This includes enhancing the role of regional language communities,” said Hafidz Muksin.

Regarding regional languages in Aceh Province, the Head of the Language Agency stated that the preservation of regional languages in the westernmost province of Indonesia is still quite good. This is because there are policies for using regional languages on certain days in schools.