Jurnal The Maintenance of Cakap Karo In The Permata Community Semarang

THE MAINTENANCE OF CAKAP KARO IN THE PERMATA
COMMUNITY SEMARANG
Yuni Cristiyani Br Surbakti and Mytha Candria, S.S., M.A., M.A
English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang
ABSTRAK
Essai ini disusun untuk mempelajari lebih mendalam
tentang pemertahanan Bahasa Karo di komunitas Permata
Semarang. Topik yang diambil penulis adalah alasan anggota
Permata masih menggunakan Bahasa Karo saat berkumpul
atau berkomunikasi dengan sesama etnis Batak Karo di
Semarang.
Penulis menggunakan pendekatan sosiolinguistik untuk
menyusun dan mengolah data yang berupa alasan anggota
Permata masih mempertahankan ataupun menggunakan
Bahasa Karo saat berkomunikasi dengan teman sebaya
ataupun dengan yang lebih tua dari mereka. Sementara
metode studi yang digunakan adalah metode deskriptif
kualitatif dengan metode observasi, kuisioner serta interview
45 anggota Permata dari 180 anggota Permata. Sedangkan
untuk metode analisis data, penulis menggunakan metode
padan, yaitu penulis mencoba memadankan teori yang

digunakan dengan data yang dianalisis.
Berdasarkan hasil analisis data, dapat ditarik kesimpulan
bahwa ada kepadanan antara teori Sosiolinguistik yang
digunakan untuk menganalisis data, sehingga rumusan
masalah dalam studi ini dapat terjawab dengan hasil analisis.
Selain itu, hasil studi juga menunjukkan bahwa empat puluh
lima anggota komunitas Permata Semarang masih dan tetap
menggunakan Bahasa Karo saat mereka berkomunikasi di
gereja atau pun dalam kegiatan Permata.
Kata kunci : sociolinguistics, language maintenance , bahasa
Karo, komunitas Permata.

2

Tobanese,

1. Introduction

maintenance


The people of Indonesia usually use

Mandailingnese and Simalungunese,

the word Batak for the people and

but there has not been a study of

languages

of

North

Sumatera.

Karonese,

However,


the

people

of

North

Angkolanese. Research on Tobanese,

Sumatera actually consist of six

for example, was carried out by

different groups who speak six

Yolanda (2001). The percentage of

different ethnic languages; the six


language use in daily communication

ethnic groups are Batak Toba, Batak

in

Karo,

Batak

language, 34,74% Bahasa Indonesia,

Mandailing, Batak Simalungun and

0,33% vernacular and 15,27% local

Batak Angkola.

The six ethnic


languages. The percentage is taken

groups of the North Sumatera speak

from twenty five families or fifty

six different languages; therefore,

respondents. Another study of the

they cannot understand one another.

maintenance of Tobanese language

The result is in the decreasing use of

was

local languages, especially among


Siahaan (2002). Members of Batak

the youths who prefer using Bahasa

Toba speech community in Medan

Indonesia in daily communication.

recognize their

language as a

Bahasa is used by all the six groups

symbol of their

ethnic identity,

because Bahasa is understood by


such

Batak

Pakpak,

everyone in North Sumatera. There
have been a number of studies of the

Depok

of

Pakpaknese

is

49,5%

performed


by

recognition
consistently

and

Tobanese

Rumondang

does

not

accompany

children speech behavior in their


3

linguistics

activities.

Ramlan

2. Theoretical Framework

Damanik (2009) conducted research

2.1 Karonese People and Language

on the Simalungun language. All

Karonese people originally come

groups


adult

and

from Karo lands in North Sumatera

percentage

of

and a small part of neighboring

Simalungun language preservation is

Aceh. The people of Karo consist of

75% or approximately forty-seven

five clans; they are Merga Silima:


respondents from sixty respondents.

Karo-Karo,

The research into Batak Mandailing

Perangin–Angin and Ginting. Each

in Medan - Tembung was carried out

clan is further divided into sub–

by Asni Juliana Batu Bara (2012).

margas, and there are eighty three

Bahasa

only

sub–margas in total. Batak Karo

maintained by the old generation.

people have clans because they are

(adolescent,

parents),

The

the

Mandailing

existence

of

is

Bahasa

Tarigan,

Sembiring,

patrilineal.

Mandailing is only in old generation

Karonese language is divided into

as parental

two basic styles:

generation

(the

second generation) and upwards
generation (the first

generation). In

1. Plain style, which is used for
intimate

or

informal

Semarang, there is a community of

relationship. It is used by

young Karonese named Persadan

teenagers

Man Anak Gerejanta (Permata) that

students to communicate each

attempts to maintain the use of

other.

Karonese language or Cakap Karo.

or

university

4

2. High style, which is used to

degrees in the short run owing to

address higher status people

internal

with the purpose of showing

(limited)

great respect and formality. It

languages. Bernard Spolsky (1998)

is used by teenagers or

argues that language maintenance is

members

of

Permata

to

respect older people.

developments
contact

and/

with

or
other

a situation where speakers continue
to use a language even when there is

2.2 Language Maintenance

a new language available.

Language maintenance is a situation

There

when a speech community can

maintenance:

maintain or continue using their

considered an important symbol of a

language

minority

from

generation

to

are

factors
were

group’s

language

language

identity,

is

for

are

example, the language is likely to be

conditions that can affect them to

maintained longer. If families from a

shift to another language (Peter

minority group live near each other

Trudgill, 1978: 144). According to

and see each other frequently, this

Donald

also helps them

generation

although

Winford

there

(2003:144),

maintain their

language maintenance refers to the

language. Another factor which may

preservation by a speech community

contribute to language maintenance

of

is the degree and frequency of

its

native

generation
Preservation

language
to

implies

from

generation.

contact

that

(Janet

the

language changes only by small

with the homeland.”
Holmes,

2001:63).

Large

number of speaker, Concentration of

5

living, Identity and Pride of culture,

Gerejanta

(Permata).

Better economic condition. (Donald

established on 12 September 1948 in

Winford).

Gereja

3. Research Method

(GBKP) Semarang. The purposes of

Batak

Karo

It

was

Protestan

descriptive

Permata community are to gather

qualitative because in the research I

Karonese people, especially young

describe

Karonese

living

Karonese language among the young

maintain

the

people of the Permata community.

Karonese people in Semarang and

The population of this research is the

North Sumatera, to maintain the

members of Permata Semarang, i.e.

identity of Karonese people.

one hundred eighty (180) people.

Permata

There are university students and

encouraging their members to learn

employers.

The sampling method

Cakap Karo. The community teaches

that I used in this research is

and services the members how to

purposive sampling. The sample of

speak Karonese appropriately, e.g.

this research is forty five people that

when the members of Permata are

I chose purposive.

studying Bible, senior members or

4.The Result and Discussion

alumni of Permata teach the juniors

4.1 The Permata Community in

or new member how to speak Cakap

Semarang

Karo. During new student admission,

The community of young Karonese

the senior members of Permata

Persadan Man Anak

always speak Cakap Karo to new

This

is

research

named

the

is

maintenance

of

has

Semarang,

relation

a

big

to

between

role

in

6

Karonese students. The members of

cannot respond the conversation.

Permata also celebrate traditional

There are forty two respondents who

Karonese events, such as Pesta

get

Tahunan, during the event, the

environment

members of Permata have to use

Karonese people use Cakap Karo in

Cakap Karo.

the church and three respondents do

4.2

Language

Karonese

Background

people

in

of

Cakap

Karo
in

from

church

their
because

not get Cakap Karo by environment.
The parents use Cakap Karo

Permata

community Semarang

when

Based on the data, there are twenty

Karonese people in home. Cakap

seven respondents learn Cakap Karo

Karo is used by the members to

when they are two until fifteen years

respect older people. The forty two

old and eighteen members learn it

respondents use Cakap Karo when

when they are sixteen years old until

they communicate with their family

now.

four

in home; three respondents do not

respondents said that the parents

use Cakap Karo because the parents

learn Cakap Karo for them and four

do not learn Cakap Karo for them.

respondents study Cakap Karo from

There are twenty eight respondents

their

church,

of Karonese people who are active

school. The impact of this situation

Cakap Karo because they are prefer

make new members cannot use

use Cakap Karo than other language.

Cakap Karo to communicate with

The new members of Permata still

Karonese

use Cakap Karo because the new

There

are

environment,

people

forty

e.g.

because

they

they

communicate

with

7

language available needs to learn

using Cakap Karo is part of their

more. Seventeen respondents are

culture.

passive Cakap Karo because they

Forty-four percent respondents said

cannot speak Cakap Karo.

that they continue to speak Cakap

4.3 Reasons of the Language

Karo because of identity. According

Maintenance of Cakap Karo

to Janet Holmes (2001:63), language

The

is considered as an important symbol

reasons

of

the

language

maintenance of Cakap Karo are

of a minority group’s

identity,

and

People who have the same ethnic

percent

have to keep on using the language

respondents said that they maintain

in daily conversation. They want

Cakap Karo because of identity.

Cakap Karo or Karonese language

Twenty-nine

respondents

continues to exist, so the identity of

keep on using Cakap Karo because

Karonese people can be maintained

of

for the next generation.

user,

culture.

environment

Forty-four

percent

identity,

culture,

environment

(mixed

Eighteen

percent

user

and

reasons).
respondents

The

second

reason

identity.

respondents

maintain Karonese language is that

maintain Cakap Karo because of

of

users. Seven percent respondents

environment (mixed reasons). User is

said that they maintain Cakap Karo

the people using one or more

because of environment, and two

languages to communicate. Karonese

percent respondents told me that

people use Cakap Karo only for

identity,

culture,

user

and

Karonese people, but they use

8

Bahasa

to

communicate

with

Respondent

40

said

that

different ethnics. The members of

environment and user are factors

Permata still use high style to

maintenance of Cakap Karo because

communicate older people and plain

she uses Cakap Karo only in the

style is used to communicate with

church or Permata community to

the members of Permata.

respect the older people. Respondent

Culture is the characteristics of a

40 said that she used Cakap Karo in

particular

Gereja

defined

group
by

of

people,

everything

from

Batak

Karo

Protestan

(GBKP) to show respect to the older

language, religion and social habits.

people.

Karonese people use Cakap Karo

In a community where several

when they were attending the events

groups of speakers speaking different

of

Permata,

e.g.

Celebrating

language live, the group with more

Christmas, Mbengket Rumah Baru

speakers

(memasuki rumah baru).

possibility to maintain their language

Environment relates to the fact that

(Donald Winford, 2003:144). The

people live near each other. They use

number of Karonese in Semarang is

Cakap Karo when they live nearby,

quite small. There are only about

Cakap

Karo

or

users

has

better

to

eight hundred people who live in

communicate with other Karonese

Semarang, only one hundred eighty

people because they are comfortable

people

using it.

community. However, the language

and

they

use

who

join

the

Permata

can be maintained because the users

9

use

Cakap

communicate

Karo
with

when
one

they

another.

his

activities

in

the

Permata

community are of his Karonese

Respondent 14, 17, 32 and 38 said

culture.

that Cakap Karo is the

main

Along

language

other

(2003:145), other factors of language

they

use

with

with

Donald

Winford

Karonese people. They use Cakap

maintenance

Karo to show respect to other

concentration of living. Families

Karonese people and to maintain

from a minority group live near each

Cakap Karo.

other and see each other frequently.

Based

on

Donald

Winford

This

helps

relates

to

to

the

maintain

their

(2003:144), a group of language

language. Seven percent respondents

speakers may succeed in maintaining

maintain Cakap Karo because of

their language if the language is

environment. Respondent 18 use

considered to be closely related to

Cakap Karo when she is in the

culture. When language and culture

Permata

are related, the users believe that the

strongly influenced by Karonese

language is an important cultural

language and tradition. This has

identity. Two percent respondents

encouraged

maintain Cakap Karo because of

Karonese language or Cakap Karo.

culture. Karonese people use Cakap

Respondent 15 and 39 share a

Karo when they have similar cultural

boarding house, which enables them

activities in the Permata community.

to

For example, respondent 26 said that

communication.

use

community,

them

Cakap

to

Karo

which

also

in

is

use

daily

10

5. Conclusions
The

essay

focuses

on

the

maintenance of Cakap Karo in the
Permata community, Semarang. Its
main purpose is to find out the
factors that support Cakap Karo
maintenance

in

the

community.

There are four factors that affect the
Karonese to maintain their language,
i.e.

identity,

culture,

user

and

environment. The more dominant
factors

are

identity

and

mixed

reasons (identity, user, culture and
environment).
6. REFERENCES
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Janet.
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