The Community Attitudes toward Gorontalo Languages

Abstract

This study describes the people attitude towards Gorontalo language as the Gorontalo ethnic identity. It is the fact that there was a change of community attitude towards the language from generation to generation. Observations on language attitudes are carried out using ethnographic method in three age groups: children, adolescents, and adults living in Gorontalo City. The results indicate that the attitudes of the three groups lead to negative attitudes influencing the maintaining condition of Gorontalo language. The negative attitude is seen in the increasing pressure Gorontalo language receives as a result of social interactions in every aspect of its people’s lives. In their social interaction, the people of Gorontalo City prefer to use Malay-Manado and Indonesian, while Gorontalo language is set aside. The use of Gorontalo language can be found only in a very small scope, that is in the interaction among parents in the family setting and in custom-cultural ceremonies. In various interactions involving the young group, the study found a tendency to use other languages. This negative attitude is influenced by such factors originating from the community as a poor effort the parents made in inheriting the language to their children as well as weak support from the government and stakeholders. On the other hand, the high population mobility, as the external factor, results in the changes in economic, social and cultural conditions of the people of Gorontalo City. The changes require the Gorontalo City people to interact with other ethnic groups living in the community.