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

The post Being Multilingual Person without Losing National Identity: View From UNS Linguistic Expert appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.

Dr. Raheni confirmed that BIPA has the opportunity to make Bahasa Indonesia an international language. “Currently, many countries are attracted to include Bahasa Indonesia as course and course material. Meaning that more foreign students are interested in studying Bahasa Indonesia,” Dr. Raheni stated on Tuesday (22/2/2022).

Dr. Raheni added that BIPA introduces Indonesia’s language and culture to foreign speakers from various countries on five continents. She added that the increase in people studying the culture and language would make more people know, learn, and understand by speakers from various countries. “The wider the spread of Bahasa Indonesia, then the quicker it is becoming an international language,” she continued.

There is also high reported enthusiasm from international students to study Bahasa Indonesia. “Since 2015, I taught Bahasa Indonesia for foreign students who will study in Indonesia. They were highly enthusiastic about learning Bahasa Indonesia. They asked questions, were serious about working on their homework, and participated in the discussion. They were happy to get suggestions and try to improve their drawback,” Dr. Raheni explained.

Lastly, Dr. Raheni hoped that BIPA administration could be improved in terms of materials, media, model, and other components. Therefore, BIPA will attract more people, and the vision to make Bahasa Indonesia an international language could be achieved. Humas UNS

Reporter: Lina Khoirun Nisa
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

The post UNS Language Expert View on Bahasa Indonesia Internationalization through BIPA appeared first on Universitas Sebelas Maret.