UNS — “Aku cinta bahasa Indonesia, aku bangga bahasa Indonesia, bahasa Indonesia luar biasa” (I love Indonesian Language, I am proud of Indonesian Language, Indonesian Language is Amazing) is probably not a foreign slogan. Language is not merely a communication tool but also serves as a vital element for a nation’s development. However, amid globalization and disruption, people are increasingly demanded to master a foreign language. A question arises: how do we become a person with multilingual skills who does not forget their own mother tongue?
Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Linguistic Expert, Dr. Muhammad Rohmadi, M.Hum., shared his views on this phenomenon. He mentioned that mastering both Indonesian and English is a need. “Meaning that both have equal importance,” Dr. Rohmadi stated on Wednesday (9/3/2022). For him, it is important to have maturity in practicing languages, which he thinks is an important topic to be discussed.
“Thus, what we can do now is to have a sense of belonging towards the Indonesian Language, using the language wherever and whenever, socialize the use of Indonesian Language in various media, selecting the use of Indonesian and foreign languages simultaneously, showing an example on the use of good, correct, and polite Indonesian Languages in various situation, both formal and non-formal,” Dr. Rohmadi explained.
Dr. Rohmadi added that linguistic maturity could be observed from politeness, accuracy, as well as the choice of diction used. Of course, this cannot be separated from the role of the language process as a manifestation of one’s thoughts. “It will come out as words. Disclosed words become habits. Habits become action. And actions become our characters,” he added.
Dr. Rohmadi also stated that there is an urgency to apply linguistic maturity as an example of language usage that builds and strengthens nationalism to continue loving the national language and strengthen national characters. People with multilingual skills need to be able to differentiate between formal and non-formal situations in using languages to select which language to be used.
“A speaker needs to be aware of the linguistic and non-linguistic feature, their communicant, the communication objectives, media used, and how they disclose (the information). These (factors) will affect the individual’s linguistic maturity. This is what must always be trained so that it becomes a habit and forms character as a potential future leader,” Dr. Rohmadi concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Lina Khoirun Nisa
Editor: Dwi Hastuti