Yes, Indonesians are mostly bilinguals!
While we are speaking our national language, Bahasa Indonesia, we are also using our dialects (sometimes it is our mother tongue too) in our daily lives. There are over 800 live languages spoken in Indonesia, and 94 % of the population can speak Bahasa Indonesia. As Java is the most populous island in the country, the most widely used dialects in Indonesia are of the island inhabitants; Javanese (spoken by around 68 millions) and Sundanese (spoken by 32 millions).
Dialects are taught in schools
How do Indonesians keep the dialects alive?
By teaching them in schools!
According to 2010 census data, there are 9 mostly spoken dialects in Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia ranks at the third, after Javanese and Sundanese. Both are dialects that most of the speakers use at home to communicate with their families. Surprisingly, or may be not so, the exception to this is in the capital city of Jakarta where people mostly speak Bahasa Indonesia even at home. The diversity of Jakarta inhabitants may be one of the explanations for it. Also, the dialect of the Betawi people as the indigenous people of Jakarta is in fact almost similar to Bahasa Indonesia and widely known as the source of the slang version of Bahasa Indonesia.
Dialects and other local cultures are taught as Local Content in public schools. For example, local martial arts are taught in Physical Education (PE). The dialect is taught in school either as a stand alone subject, or incorporated into other subject.
Foreign Languages in Indonesia
Culturally, Arabic and Chinese are included as vernacular languages of Indonesian. Arab and Chinese descendants are speaking these languages at home, while speaking Bahasa Indonesia at school, work, and in their neighborhood. Dutch and English were taught and spoken during the Dutch occupation. English was officially included in public education in 1967.
Recently, with the growing popularity of Japanese and Korean pop culture, Indonesians started to learn Japanese and Korean as optional subjects in higher education. Arabic that used to be only being taught at the traditional religious schools (pesantren), is now also being taught at more modern private Islamic schools. This is because they are aiming to have their students well-versed both in Arabic and English.
Indonesian Multilinguals juggling languages daily
The slogan above is from Indonesian National Language Agency, encouraging us Indonesians to prioritize speaking in Bahasa Indonesia, while preserving our dialects and acquiring fluency in foreign languages.
Why this slogan?
Because today, more and more Indonesians speak at least one foreign language aside from Bahasa Indonesia and their respective dialects.
Bahasa Indonesia comes to priority when we are in schools or government institutions. We are also encouraged to speak in our dialects, especially in our neighborhood. Acquiring foreign language is reccommended for boosting communication skill which is strategic for business and higher education.
As the social media is growing rapidly, juggling these languages becomes the norm for Indonesians.
For example, here I am writing my journal in English, while talking to my friend back home in Bahasa Indonesia. In everyday life, I am also talking in Japanese with my family in Japan, while conversing in Sundanese with my extended family through whatsapp family group!
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