The Impact of Colonialism and Nationalism on Development of the Indonesian National Language - Literature review Example

The Impact of Colonialism and Nationalism on Development of the Indonesian National Language Introduction In this essay, the emergence of Malay or Bahasa Indonesian as the national language of Indonesia is discussed. Specifically, the manner in which two major factors, colonialism and nationalism, affected the process by which the language developed during the early times of the history of the country and has been consolidated in the recent past as a language of national identity are described. Colonialism played a key role in identifying and creating the right environment for the development of the Malay language. On the other hand, a strong sense of nationalism prior to and immediately after the country achieved its independence worked to consolidate the language as an embodiment of national unity. The details of how these processes occurred and the reasons behind their occurrence are discussed in the essay. Colonialism and the Development of Malay as Indonesia’s National Language Colonialism played an important role in the growth of Malay as Indonesia’s national language. In general, the history of the discovery and development of the language is closely tied to the events that happened in Indonesia as a country and the entire South East Asia as a region during the colonial times. This occurred in several ways. First of all, it was through the activities of the would-be colonialists that the Malay language was discovered and developed. The Malay language was discovered by Europeans in the region as early as the 16th century (Omar, 2005, p. 3). This was as a result of the exploration of Europeans, specifically the English, the Portuguese and the Dutch. Since the early explorers found that Malay was the language that was in use in the region during the time of their early explorations, they were forced to use it as a means of communicating with the locals during the early times of colonisation. This therefore laid the early foundations for the process of development and consolidation that the language would undergo later. Apart from aiding in the discovery of the language, colonialism played a key role in facilitating the growth of Malay as Indonesia’s national language of by deliberately using the language as a mode of communication at the period during which the country was under colonial administration. Laitin and Ramachandran (2014, p. 1) argue that in many countries that were colonised, the national language is usually that of the former colonial masters. However, in the case of Indonesia, it appears that the colonial masters, the Dutch, deliberately avoided establishing Dutch as the national language and worked towards the development of Malay as the national language (Gunn, 2003, p. 233). This was because of several reasons. The most important reason however is that the Dutch found Malay as the language that was easy to learn and be spoken by different groups in the country. On the other hand, it had been difficult to develop the Dutch and even the English language among the local population in Indonesia (Lauder, 2008, p. 9). Therefore, the Dutch, through different formal activities, encouraged the development of Malay as the functional language of the country during the colonial times. This approach promoted the development of the language as a national one later. Another way in which colonialism spurred the development of Malay as Indonesia’s national language occurred during the brief Japanese occupation of the country in 1942 and the events that followed thereafter. Japan occupied Indonesia briefly following the defeat of the Dutch during the Second World War. Paauw (2009, p. 5) notes that this event was significant to the subsequent development of Malay as Indonesia’s national language. This is because during that time, the Japanese banned the use of Dutch in the country. This act, which was meant to ensure that the Japanese achieved total social and cultural control over the population of the country, indirectly contributed to the development of the Malay language. Since the Dutch language had been competing with formal Malay in popularity in the country to some extent, the act of banning it was beneficial to the growth in popularity of the Malay language. Furthermore, the Japanese attempted to introduce the Japanese language as the formal and official language in the country. However, this approach failed and the Japanese were forced to adopt Malay as the official language of communication in the country. Therefore, by suppressing the use of Dutch and then adopting the use of Malay, the Japanese contributed to the development of the Malay language in Indonesia. It is because of this that during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Malay language grew in popularity among the population tremendously (Paauw, 2009, p. 5). The simplicity of Malay is ascribed to its roots as a Creole language. According to Gil (2012, p. 2), many languages that have a Creole background are generally simple to be learnt. The simplicity is seen in the grammar, morphology, semantics and other aspects of the languages. In the case of Malay, it is argued that the language is generally simple to learn because it has undergone two important processes during its development: language contact and second language acquisition (Travis, 2006, p. 1). It is as a result of this process that the language and all its dialects can be easily learnt and mastered. The simple nature of the language is the reason that many different groups in the South East Asia region use one or the many other different forms of the language (Ting, 2012, p. 389). Since the use of the language cuts across social and economic classes of the society, this has made it a highly popular language among the local population. The simplistic nature of the language was of practical significance to the colonial forces that operated in Indonesia in different ways. In general, the Dutch found that two main dialects of the language existed: high and low Malay. Whereas high Malay was highly formal and elaborate, low Malay was informal and composed of the pidgin form of the language that was spoken by different communities. Furthermore, the low form of Malay was what was in common use in popular media and was spoken by different regional groups in the country. Therefore, the Dutch decided to attempt to formalise and popularise high Malay as an alternative to the Dutch language, which they had attempted to ensure that it develops as the national language. Impact of Nationalism on the Growth of Malay as Indonesia’s National Language Nationalism affected the development of Malay as Indonesia’s national language in different ways. What is important to note though is that the effect of nationalism was felt across the social, economic and political aspects of the society. The quest for nationalism in Indonesia started during the colonial times. The need for developing a sense of identity for the nation was started prior to the period of the Japanese occupation and continued thereafter to culminate into the attainment of independence in the country later on. During this time of the nationalism movement, the Malay language was chosen as the official language of the common people in the country (Suryadinata, 2000, p. 46). Furthermore, the language had been recognised as the official medium of communication and a unifying symbol of the country during the early years of the movement for nationalism in the country. This was the case even though the language was initially spoken by a minority group in the country as compared to other significant languages such as Javanese that were spoken by populations that formed large ethnic groups in the country (Purwoko, 2011, p. 23). The reasons as to why Bahasa Indonesian was chosen as the primary language of the people during the period of nationalism movement in Indonesia are varied. Generally, it has been argued that the simplicity of the language as compared to the others was one of the main reasons why the language was chosen. Further, it has been argued that since the language was initially spoken by a minority ethnic group in the country, its choice as a national language would not be regarded as a controversial step as it would have been the case if a language of an ethnically dominant group was chosen (Mabry, 2012, p. 167). Therefore, the choice of the language during the quest for independence in the country was made as a political decision. The second way in which nationalism affected the growth of the national language in Indonesia was in the form of the political events that followed the declaration of independence in the country. Several years after the country had attained independence, the government was overthrown by General Suharto. This event ushered in an important period political history that had a significant impact on the social and cultural dimensions of the Indonesian society (Sen & Hill, 2006, p. 4). It is during the reign of Suharto that the New Oder ideology was introduced into the country. At the base of this political ideology was the realisation that military force would not be enough to guarantee conformity and ensure social and economic change in the country. Therefore, the leadership of the time embarked on a massive campaign of developing a nationalist ideology. This was based on the need for the citizens of the country to adopt and fully use Malay as the national language. According to Anderson (2006, p. 96), the creation of the community of a nation under the nationalist ideology that was advanced in the period of the New Order in the country significantly contributed to the entrenchment of Bahasa Indonesian as Indonesia’s national language. This was witnessed in the form of a massive mobilisation of people from all social groups into major political formations that were in operation at the time. Furthermore, the political leadership of the time tied economic development to the use of a single national language (Rawski, 1999, p. 158). This approach contributed to the development of Bahasa Indonesian as Indonesia’s national language. Therefore, by initiating a nationalist movement whose basis was uniting all the Indonesian people for a common national cause, the political leadership of the country after its independence contributed to the growth of Bahasa Indonesian as a national symbol. Lastly, the impact of nationalism on the adoption and growth Malay as Indonesia’s national language has been witnessed in the recent times. In general, the language is used as the country’s national language. This means that it is the official medium of communication by the state and the language that is used for the development of science and culture in the society in general. Further, its use as a national language underscores the fact that the efforts of the early nationalist movement and the post-independence nationalist ideologies have led to the development of the language as a national symbol in the country. Paauw (2009, p. 6) observes that Malay has grown into the language of the nation in Indonesia. As such, the language is taken as having a unifying effect on all the people of the country. Further, the language has grown to be linked to the process of social, economic and cultural development in the country. These aspects, which arose from the nationalist sentiments of the earlier times, have worked to cement the position of the language in Indonesia. In addition to this, the language is used in education, general literacy and as a tool of helping individuals gain social mobility in the Indonesian society. In general, the development of the language has been tied to development in the education sector that the country has witnessed. According to Smith-Hefner (2009, p. 62), by making primary education compulsory as part of the nationalist ideology, the political leadership of the country ensured that the levels of literacy in the country improved considerably. Further, by making Bahasa Indonesian the official language of instruction in institutions of learning in the country, the political leadership of the country contributed to the development of the language. Conclusion In conclusion, colonialism led to the early discovery and development of the Malay language in Indonesia. The Dutch, after attempting to develop the use of Dutch in the country without success, adopted the use of high Malay as a medium of communication in the country. The Japanese occupation furthered the development of the language in Asia following the repression of the use of Dutch and the unsuccessful attempt at introducing Japanese. On the other hand, the quest for independence, which was a demonstration of the nationalist movement in the country, led to the further development of the Bahasa Indonesian as the national language in Indonesia. The political leaders of the country embarked on the process of developing a nationalist ideology in the country. At the centre of this was the use of Bahasa Indonesian or Malay as the language that unified all the people of the country. References Anderson, B. R. (2006). Language and power: exploring political cultures in Indonesia. Jakarta: Equinox. Gil, D. (2012). Why Malay/Indonesian undressed: Contact, geography and the role of the dice. Retrieved from http://wwwstaff.eva.mpg.de/~gil/ismil/12/abstracts/Gil.pdf Gunn, G. C. (2003). First globalization: The Eurasian exchange, 1500 to 1800. London: Rowman and Littlefield. Lauder, A. (2008). The status and function of English in Indonesia: A review of key factors. Makara Social Humaniora, 12(1), 9-20. Retrieved from http://journal.ui.ac.id/index.php/humanities/article/viewFile/128/124 Laitin, D., & Ramachandran, R. (2014). Language policy and economic development. Retrieved from http://www.econ.brown.edu/econ/events/laitin.pdf. Mabry, T. J. (2015). Nationalism, language and Muslim exceptionalism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. Omar, A. H. (2005). The Malay language in Malaysia and Indonesia: From lingua franca to national language. Retrieved from http://www.blueboard.com/malay/pdf/omar_melayu_sejaruh.pdf Paauw, S. (2009). One land, one nation, one language: An analysis of Indonesia’s national language policy. University of Rochester Working Papers in the Language Sciences, 5(1), 2-16. Purwoko, H. (2011). If Javanese is endangered, how should we maintain it? Retrieved from http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/11735727.pdf. Rawski, F. (1999). Jargon in the jungle: Indonesian state rhetoric at a highland Sulawesi ‘access point.’ Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, 33(1), 156-190. Sen, K., & Hill, D., T. (2006). Media, culture and politics in Indonesia. Jakarta: Equinox. Smith-Hefner, N. J. (2009). Language shift, gender and ideologies of modernity in central Java, Indonesia. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 19(1): 57-77. Suryadinata, L. (2000). Nation-building and nation-destroying: The challenge of globalization in Indonesia. In L. Suryadinata (Ed.), Nationalism and globalization: East and west (pp. 38-70). Singapore: Institute of East Asian Studies. Ting, S. H. (2012). Variable impact of Malaysia’s national language planning on non-Malay speakers in Sarawak. RBLA, Belo Horizonte, 12(2), 381-403. Travis, L. D. (2006). Bahasa Indonesia: A window on typology. Retrieved from http://people.linguistics.mcgill.ca/~lisa.travis/papers/ISMIL06DRAFT.pdf   Read More

However, in the case of Indonesia, it appears that the colonial masters, the Dutch, deliberately avoided establishing Dutch as the national language and worked towards the development of Malay as the national language (Gunn, 2003, p. 233). This was because of several reasons. The most important reason however is that the Dutch found Malay as the language that was easy to learn and be spoken by different groups in the country. On the other hand, it had been difficult to develop the Dutch and even the English language among the local population in Indonesia (Lauder, 2008, p. 9). Therefore, the Dutch, through different formal activities, encouraged the development of Malay as the functional language of the country during the colonial times.

This approach promoted the development of the language as a national one later. Another way in which colonialism spurred the development of Malay as Indonesia’s national language occurred during the brief Japanese occupation of the country in 1942 and the events that followed thereafter. Japan occupied Indonesia briefly following the defeat of the Dutch during the Second World War. Paauw (2009, p. 5) notes that this event was significant to the subsequent development of Malay as Indonesia’s national language.

This is because during that time, the Japanese banned the use of Dutch in the country. This act, which was meant to ensure that the Japanese achieved total social and cultural control over the population of the country, indirectly contributed to the development of the Malay language. Since the Dutch language had been competing with formal Malay in popularity in the country to some extent, the act of banning it was beneficial to the growth in popularity of the Malay language. Furthermore, the Japanese attempted to introduce the Japanese language as the formal and official language in the country.

However, this approach failed and the Japanese were forced to adopt Malay as the official language of communication in the country. Therefore, by suppressing the use of Dutch and then adopting the use of Malay, the Japanese contributed to the development of the Malay language in Indonesia. It is because of this that during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Malay language grew in popularity among the population tremendously (Paauw, 2009, p. 5). The simplicity of Malay is ascribed to its roots as a Creole language.

According to Gil (2012, p. 2), many languages that have a Creole background are generally simple to be learnt. The simplicity is seen in the grammar, morphology, semantics and other aspects of the languages. In the case of Malay, it is argued that the language is generally simple to learn because it has undergone two important processes during its development: language contact and second language acquisition (Travis, 2006, p. 1). It is as a result of this process that the language and all its dialects can be easily learnt and mastered.

The simple nature of the language is the reason that many different groups in the South East Asia region use one or the many other different forms of the language (Ting, 2012, p. 389). Since the use of the language cuts across social and economic classes of the society, this has made it a highly popular language among the local population. The simplistic nature of the language was of practical significance to the colonial forces that operated in Indonesia in different ways. In general, the Dutch found that two main dialects of the language existed: high and low Malay.

Whereas high Malay was highly formal and elaborate, low Malay was informal and composed of the pidgin form of the language that was spoken by different communities. Furthermore, the low form of Malay was what was in common use in popular media and was spoken by different regional groups in the country. Therefore, the Dutch decided to attempt to formalise and popularise high Malay as an alternative to the Dutch language, which they had attempted to ensure that it develops as the national language.

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