Rajapatni.com: Surabaya (21/2/24) – February 21 is celebrated as ꦲꦫꦶꦧꦲꦱꦆꦧꦸ International Mother Language Day, which in 2024, falls on Wednesday. The commemoration of Mother’s Day is very relevant for the Indonesian nation which is lined with islands (archipelagos). According to the Head of the East Java Language Center (BBJT) Umi Kulsum, in Indonesia there are 718 mother tongues, which have been recorded by the Language Agency. Not to mention calculated internationally. There could be tens of thousands of mother tongues.
Because the ꦒ꧀ꦭꦺꦴꦧꦭ꧀ scene is global, languages that are classified as international languages can sooner or later displace the mother tongue. As one example, in the city of Surabaya, which used to use their mother tongue (Javanese sub-dialect of Surabaya), now the people use the national language and some also use international languages in social contacts. So sooner or later, Surabaya’s mother tongue could disappear.
UNESCO believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies around the world. Multilingual and multicultural ꦩꦸꦭ꧀ꦠꦶꦧꦲꦱ societies, such as Indonesia, will continue to exist through their languages. Because in essence Indonesia is a multicultural and multilingual nation. The same thing with the world which consists of various nations with their mother tongues.
Therefore, in this commemoration the theme raised is ꦥꦼꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦣꦶꦏꦤ꧀ Multilingual education is a pillar of intergenerational learning.
According to the Head of the East Java Language Center (BBJT) Umi Kulsum, the mother tongue or regional language has many benefits and also holds extraordinary cultural riches.
“Unfortunately, not many people care about their mother tongue, including parents. “They want to teach regional languages to their children,” added Umi Kulsum via Whatsapp message.
From the facts on the ground, many parents are worried that their children will not be able to socialize, so Indonesian is taught first in the family.
“In fact, the more languages a child masters, the better he is at digesting science and knowledge,” added ꦈꦩꦶꦏꦸꦭ꧀ꦱꦸꦩ꧀ Umi Kulsum.
The Surabaya sub-dialect of Javanese (Suroboyoan) and Javanese, which should be used throughout Surabaya, has apparently been replaced by the penetration of other languages, both spoken and written.
Javanese has characters that are supposed to be used for writing. In the past, ꦄꦏ꧀ꦱꦫꦗꦮ Javanese script was used in everyday life starting in magazines, newspapers, billboards, correspondence, learning at school and other daily activities.
Now the Javanese script has been replaced by the Latin script, which entered and was used in the Indonesian archipelago between the 19th century and the mid-20th century. In those days, people were said to be illiterate because they could not read and write in Latin script. Even though they can read and write in Javanese script.
To accompany and interpret International Mother Language Day, the Surabaya cultural community, ꦥꦸꦫꦶꦄꦏ꧀ꦱꦫꦫꦴꦗꦥꦠ꧀ꦤꦷ Puri Aksara Rajapatni, on Wednesday, February 21 2024 launched the cultural literacy portal product rajapatni.com. This portal encourages the use of Javanese script as part of preserving the mother tongue in Java. (nanang PAR)