Attitudes to western loanwords in Indonesian
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Tim Hassall
Abstract
The study examines attitudes of young tertiary educated Indonesians toward words borrowed from English (and formerly Dutch), referred to here as western loanwords (WLWs). Respondents' attitudes were investigated using both a matched guise instrument and overt questionnaire items. The matched guise instrument suggested a dislike of western loanwords, whereas the questionnaire items indicated strongly favorable attitudes to them. The latter measure of attitudes appears to be the more valid, and it is concluded that young highly educated speakers have a strong liking and acceptance of WLWs. As for factors affecting attitudes to WLWs, a good knowledge of these words was conducive to more favorable attitudes toward them. Two other factors, a liking for the donor language (English) and an absence of a strong liking for the receptor language (Indonesian), also appeared to incline people to regard loanwords more favorably. Lastly, it is concluded that the matched guise technique may be unsuitable as a tool for probing attitudes to purely lexical variation within a single speech variety.
© Walter de Gruyter
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Articles in the same Issue
- Authenticities and lineages: revisiting concepts of continuity and change in language
- Which self? Pronominal choice, modernity, and self-categorizations
- Attitudes to western loanwords in Indonesian
- Minority language use in Cameroon and educated indigenes' attitude to their languages
- Language maintenance among “fortunate immigrants”: The French in the United States and Americans in France
- Language use in interlingual families: Do different languages make a difference?
- Effects of cultural background of college students on apology strategies
- Language contact in South America
