6.3.1 Attitudes toward the oral modality
For the Emem speakers, there are no restrictions for marrying people from another ethnic group. There are some people living in each village who have spouses from another village or ethnic group, which
suggests they are generally open to contact with other languages. An exception is Yambraf Dua, where no one has married outsiders; all the village people are married to others from the same village.
Indonesian is almost always used in church. However, for announcements following the service, usually both languages are used. When the people were asked why both languages are used, or why
Indonesian announcements are sometimes translated into the vernacular, they said it was so that the announcements would be communicated more clearly, and because there are some who do not
understand Indonesian well. This seems to indicate the people feel that the vernacular must be used for clear communication for all the people. When asked about young people mixing Indonesian and the
vernacular in conversations with their friends, the people in the village of Yuruf have a negative attitude about that because they thought that only one language at a time should be used in conversations. On
the other hand, the people in the village of Umuaf, Yambraf Dua and Semografi, said it was good because they could use two languages more effectively in their conversations. The villagers in Umuaf and
Yuruf felt it was good that the transmigrants were learning the vernacular because it would help with communication and because the local people feel they know the vernacular better. This indicates the
Emem people view their language in a positive way as the best language for clear communication.
The people from all the Emem villages surveyed believe their own language will still be in use twenty years from now and beyond. They stated they do not expect their language to disappear because
the language has been spoken from the time of their ancestors up to now.
6.3.2 Attitudes toward the written modality
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