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Chapter 5 Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Introduction
Philosophers and poets have been commenting for ages that “[e]verything in this universe is perpetually in a state of change” Aitchison 2001:3. In chapter 2 we saw that language is not immune to change, and that
for various reasons languages can even die out, either by “committing suicide” or by being “murdered” by a dominant language, in Aitchison’s terms 2001:236, 242. Many minority languages in Indonesia are at
risk with respect to the powerfully dominant Standard Indonesian.
The main objective of this book was to examine one minority Indonesian language, Jambi Malay, with regard to its current language vitality. A review of cultural and linguistic literature about the Jambi
Malay language was undertaken to this end. However, more to the point, a formal study of language use and attitudes in Jambi was carried out with the hope that a clearer picture of the Jambi Malay
sociolinguistic situation would emerge.
In this chapter, preliminary conclusions about the vitality of the Jambi Malay language are given, based on the results from the formal language use and attitudes study. Recommendations for further
research are also mentioned.
5.2 Conclusions from the response percentages
First of all, based on percentages from individual questions discussed in section 4.2, we can conclude that usage of Jambi Malay is high, especially in the Low domains. Its strength with regard to other languages in
the area is relatively strong. And attitudes towards Jambi Malay are positive: Jambi Malays want their children to master JM, they feel proud to speak it and hear it spoken, and would like to hear it more often in
media such as songs and television. Thus, null hypothesis 1 that usage of JM is high and attitudes towards it are positive is accepted. Conversely, alternative hypothesis 1 that usage of JM is dwindling even in
Low domains, and attitudes towards it are negative in comparison with Indonesian is rejected.
The situation is more complex, however, than as stated in the hypotheses. For instance, attitudes toward JM, similar to usage of JM, appear to vary according to domain. They are somewhat less positive
when it comes to formal education, written literature and advancement in society. In these cases, a preference for Indonesian is seen. However, JM is highly regarded, more highly regarded than Indonesian,
in other domains: in family life, in traditional ceremonies, and in friendship and personal character issues. Thus, it would be more accurate to accept a null hypothesis that reads as follows: “usage of JM is high in
Low domains, and attitudes towards it are positive in Low domains.”
5.3 Conclusions from the observations
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