Proceedings of the 2nd English Education International Conference (EEIC) in conjunction with the 9 th Annual International Conference

(AIC), Universitas Syiah Kuala, September 18-19, 2019, Banda Aceh, Indonesia ISSN: 2527-8037

LANGUAGE PREFERENCES WITHIN ACEHNESE DOMESTIC EXTENTS

Maryanti*, Kismullah, Meta Keumala, Nurul Habsah & Malahayati

Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala,
Banda Aceh, Indonesia

*
Corresponding author: maryanti.ismail@gmail.com

Abstract
Language use may reveal how one chooses a language or a language variety for communication purpose
and show his/her communicative competence as well as communicative performance. According Ervin-
Tripp (1964), verbal behavior, and thus the choice of language of a person, can be associated with a number
of factors which include (1) setting (time and place) and situation; (2) participants in the interaction; (3) the
topic of the conversation, and; (4) interaction functions. This research studied 10 families in Banda Aceh to
understand the contexts of their language choice and preferences. The authors purposively chose mothers
as the interviewees because they are considered as the main role model of their children especially in
acquiring their first language (mother tongue). This is a qualitative descriptive study using structured
interviews as the method for data collection. The interview guide contained a set of standard,
predetermined, and sequenced questions to inquire about the participants’ contexts of language use and
preferences. The results show that most of the interviewees choose to use Indonesian or Acehnese language
based on the situation and the participants with whom they interact. The findings also reveal common
code-mixing practices among the participants back and forth the two languages.

Keywords: Language choice, code mixing, vernacular language, Acehnese, Indonesian, domestic extents.

INTRODUCTION
In every region in Indonesia, there is a local language used by the community as a means of
communication and interaction within the group. Each of these local vernaculars usually represents an
ethnic group. Generally, these local vernaculars are the first language of their respective speakers as the
medium to express their feelings and thoughts. There are a lot of vernacular languages, and therefore
ethnic groups, in every region in Indonesia and Acehnese is one of them. The Acehnese people originally
live in the Aceh Province and speak the Acehnese language (henceforth, Acehnese). The assessment of
Acehnese speakers in Aceh revealed that speakers of Acehnese live in areas that include (1) Banda Aceh;
(2) Great Aceh; (3) Sabang; (4) Pidie; (5) Bireuen; (6) North Aceh; (7) Lhokseumawe; (8) East Aceh District;
(9) Langsa; (10) Aceh Jaya Regency; (11) West Aceh; (12) Nagan Raya; (13) part of Southwest Aceh; and
(14) part of South Aceh District (Alamsyah, 2007). In Southwest Aceh and South Aceh Districts Acehnese
speakers live side by side with speakers of another local language, namely the Jamee language, a variety of
Minangkabau. However, over the years, the use of Acehnese language in Banda Aceh has shown a declining
trend, from the only language used for all purposes to the language used only within a family at home or
with certain circles (e.g. friends in informal occasions). This has raised concern among the public and some
even made effort to write their opinion in the mass media. Nurliza (2015), for example, wrote in Serambi
Indonesia, a local newspaper in Aceh, that most of the Acehnese parents in Banda Aceh, especially mothers,
tend to use Indonesian language when they speak to their children rather than Acehnese, her own mother
tongue, because they think that their schools use Indonesian language as the language of instruction. In
line with this idea, Aziz, Windasari, et.al. (2016) in her thesis showed that Acehnese intermarriage couples
chose Indonesian language as the tool of communication at home because it is considered that the
Indonesian language could accommodate spouse, ease the sharing of ideas, to broaden the social network,
and Indonesian language is considered as the community language.
Such a phenomenon is quite common in a bilingual or a multilingual society where several codes such
as languages, dialects, variations, and styles are available to use in social interaction. With those codes, a
person can or will choose a code according to some factors. This process called language choice. According
to Sumarsono and Paina (2002), language choice depends on some factors such as participants, setting,

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Malahayati

topic, and so on. Much earlier, Ervin-Tripp (1964) has identified four main factors that can be associated
with language choice. They are setting (time and place) and situation, participants in the interaction, the
topic of the conversation, and interaction functions. The first factor, setting, and situation can be
exemplified by situation during the dining time with family, meeting with the client, and a market. The
second factor includes something like gender, job, age, social status, etc. The third factor depends on the
topic like family matters, some actual news, etc. The fourth factor is interaction function like request, habit
such as for saying thank you, apologies, telling information, etc. Language choice is “a language as a whole”
in communication. The emergence of language selection is caused by the occurrence of language, social,
and cultural contact so that a growing group of speech communities who have the ability to choose
language or a language code in a particular event, is either maintaining the first language or shifting
language to a new language or mixing the first language and a new language.
In line with this, Tanner (1976) in his research exposed that there was a small community of twenty-
six members made up of Indonesian graduate students, their wives, and their children in an American
University town, used vernacular language, Indonesian language, and foreign language with different
purposes. They use local language with the same ethnic group, the Indonesian language for different ethnic
groups, while foreign language was only used to communicate with a foreigner. Ridwan (1996, in Usman,
2006) reported that in an informal meeting, Acehnese people dominantly used Indonesia language than
Acehnese language. On the contrary to the meeting, in a non-formal meeting, Acehnese people mixed their
language either Aceh language or Indonesian language. The Acehnese people usually use Acehnese
language to communicate with each other especially with older people.
Usman (2006) also made an analysis of language choice in his thesis
entitled ‘The Use of Vernacular Language Among The Gayo Students at North Sumatera University’. It was
found that most Gayonese students mixed both languages (Gayonese language and Indonesian language).
In conclusion, they used different language for different circumstances. An interesting thing to be observed
and studied in connection with this phenomenon is to find out and describe the language choice of the
Acehnese families who have had children and live in Banda Aceh for at least five years. Therefore, this
research is intended to answer this question: “What language is mostly used or chosen for communication
by Acehnese domestic extents who live in Banda Aceh?”

METHODS
This research was conducted in 10 families in Banda Aceh. The authors purposively chose mothers as
the interviewees because they are considered as the main role model of their children especially in
acquiring children’s first language (mother tongue). In relation to this, Putrawan (1990) stated that
purposive sampling is a sampling technique used by researchers if they have certain considerations in
taking the sample or determining the sample for a particular purpose. Moreover, the authors collected the
data through a structured interview where the interviewer asks a set of standard, predetermined questions
about particular topics, in a specific order. The interviewer may provide clarification on some questions.
Structured Interviews are typically used in surveys (Easwaramoorthy & Zarinpoush, 2006). The interview
guide sheet of this research is based on Evan Tripp (1972) in Fathurrokhman (2009). The authors created
the list of questions about (1) setting (time and place) and situation; (2) participants in the interaction; (3)
the topic of the conversation, and; (4) interaction functions. The research method is qualitative descriptive
where researchers analyze the events that occur at the time of the research and to describe an overview
of the circumstances that occur in the present or ongoing.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of this study are described based on the main variables as follows: First, setting (time and
place) and situation including dining with family, meeting with friends and in the traditional market.
Second, participants in the interaction including job, age, and social status. Third, the topic of the
conversation including family matters, actual news, and social media interaction. Last, interaction functions
including request, expressing madness and praying. The detailed description of the research results will be
shown in the following tables.

Table 1. Setting (time and place) and situation.

Ini- Dining with Family Meeting with Friends In the Traditional Market
tial Indonesian Acehnese Others Indonesian Acehnese Others Indonesian Acehnese Others
FD √ √ - √ - - √ √ -
LA √ √ - √ - - √ √ -

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Proceedings of the 2nd English Education International Conference (EEIC) in conjunction with the 9 th Annual International Conference
(AIC), Universitas Syiah Kuala, September 18-19, 2019, Banda Aceh, Indonesia ISSN: 2527-8037

KU - √ - - √ - - √ -
MR √ √ - √ √ - √ √ -
MY √ - - √ - - √ √ -
NI √ - - √ √ - √ - -
NE √ - - √ - - √ - -
TZ √ - - √ - - √ √ -
YM - √ - √ √ - - √ -
ZP √ √ English √ √ English √ √ -

Table 1 shows three variables of setting (time and place) and situation. First of all, there are 4
interviewees who use the Indonesian language rather than Acehnese language during dining activity with
their families and only 2 who use Acehnese language. Meanwhile, 4 interviewees answered that they mix
the languages, even sometimes they use English. As stated by NI, one of the interviewees, that she uses
the Indonesian language because her husband origin is Gayonese who can not speak Acehnese. As stated
by Alamsyah (2007), an old phenomenon is seen in the Acehnese community, Acehnese speakers in Aceh
were predispositions choose Indonesian as the first language for children in the family. This phenomenon
is particularly apparent in urban areas and in recent times this has also begun to be seen in rural areas.
Secondly, there are 5 interviewees answered that they mostly use the Indonesian language when they
meet their friends/colleagues. As stated by NE, “Indonesian language is the official language of this country
and it is the lingua franca among people who live in Banda Aceh.” Meanwhile, 4 of them choose to mix the
languages based on the situation they face. However, there is also 1 respondent who only use Acehnese
when she meets her friends. It is because she lives in an Acehnese neighborhood in one of the Banda Aceh
areas Thirdly, in the traditional market, most people mix their languages. This is because they adjust to the
merchants during shopping. Some merchants are Acehnese, while others speak Indonesian because they
are not from Aceh. There are 2 persons use only Indonesian language and 2 others only use Acehnese. NI
said, “I feel more comfortable in talking through the Indonesian language because I always use the
Indonesian language with my family, especially my husband.” There is also one interviewee with initial ZP
who stated that she sometimes uses English with her daughter because she is an English lecturer and her
daughter is able to understand what her mother says.
It can not be denied that the setting of time and place and situation may influence the choice of
language that will be used by someone. The moment when dining together with the main family influences
the speaker to use language that can create a comfortable situation in communication. Hymes (1964) said,
“the setting and scene are the places, occasions, or natural situations that can influence the people in
choosing the code and setting also refers to the physical condition of speech.” The ability to use the
language well is a sign of good interaction because the message in question will be forwarded and
understood well. The choice of language in communicating is an important thing that must be considered
by the speaker. The idea or desire of the speaker is sometimes accepted based on the choice of language.

Table 2. Participants in the Interaction.

Initial Job Age Social Status
FD English Lecturer 30 yo High Class Economy
LA Civil Servant 42 yo Middle Class Economy
KU Housewife 35 yo Middle Class Economy
MR English Teacher 30 yo Middle Class Economy
MY English Lecturer 30 yo High Class Economy
NI English Teacher 30 yo Middle Class Economy
NE Civil Servant 44 yo High Class Economy
TZ Housewife 30 yo Middle Class Economy
YM Housewife 32 yo Middle Class Economy
ZP English Lecturer 30 yo High Class Economy

The description of participants in the interaction is only focused on their background. Table 2 shows
that there are 3 English lecturers as the samples of this research, 3 of them are housewives, 2 English
teachers and 2 of them are housewives. The oldest participant is 42-44 years old while the younger ones,
who were dominant in this research, were 30 years old. Most of the participants are of the middle-class
economy while there 4 of them are not the middle-class economy.
Participants are the people involved in the communication found in the setting. According to Hymes
(1964), participants can be used to refer to at least two parties to speak. The first part is the first of the
speakers, and the second is the partner speech. In time and certain situations can also happen that the

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Malahayati

number of participants is more than two, namely the presence of a third party. He also stated that code
selection in speaking involves speakers and listeners, including the relation between speakers and
interlocutors who have previously been adjusted based on age, rank and participants’ social status speech.
In line with this, job status can more or less determine the choice of language by someone when
facing the other person. A person who works professionally tends to choose words, tones, and intonations
that are different from someone who might not work professionally. Munzir (2017) stated that class,
ethnicity, and gender are three social factors that play a role in language variation. Class is a structure that
displays relationships between groups. The class also classifies people based on their education,
employment and income. According to Bentahila (1983), one’s language choices are influenced by factors
related to individual speakers, specific languages and associations, or even aspects of social situations.

Table 3. Topic of the conversation.

Ini- Family Matters Actual News Social Media Interaction
tial Indonesian Acehnese Others Indonesian Acehnese Others Indonesian Acehnese Others
FD √ √ - √ √ - √ √ English
LA √ √ - √ - - √ - -
KU - √ - √ √ - - √ -
MR √ √ - √ - - √ √ English
MY √ √ - √ √ - √ √ English
NI √ - - √ - - √ - -
NE √ - - √ - - √ - -
TZ √ √ - √ √ - √ √ English
YM - √ - - √ - - √ -
ZP √ √ - √ √ - √ √ English

In this part, the topic of the conversation is divided into three parts including (1) family matters; (2)
actual news; and (3) social media interaction. To begin with, conversation topics in the family scope such
as when talking to family members, 6 interviewees chose to do code-mixing between Acehnese Language
and Indonesian Language. Only 2 interviewees choose to use the Acehnese language only when conducting
conversations. As KU said, “For me, Acehnese language makes me feel more comfortable to express my
ideas, opinions, and thoughts.” Next, in talking about actual news, 6 interviewees tend to mix the languages
both Acehnese and Indonesian. As mothers, most of them talk with their friends whether around the
neighborhood or on other occasions. There are 4 interviewees choose to use the Indonesian language
because they spend their spare time to talk about actual news with their colleagues in the offices. As stated
by ZP, “Indonesian language is the lingua franca in my offices, especially in the classroom. That is why I
choose the Indonesian language to talk about anything including actual news.” However, there is also 1
person still using the Acehnese language in discussing actual news considering the environment in Aceh
and she spends time in her home environment.
In the current era of Android, where most mothers in the city have used social media to interact with
friends in the virtual world both those they know and those who don’t. Half of the interviewees chose to
mix Indonesian and Acehnese languages while using social media. There are even two people who also
sometimes use English because of their ability to use English. There are 3 interviewees using Indonesian
language while using social media. However, there are 2 people who still use Acehnese. In relation to this,
Crystal (2000) suggested that a minority language can be promoted and maintained “if its speakers can
make use of electronic technology.” In addition, Galla (2016) stated that technology and social media might
be powerful tools to foster indigenous language learning and teaching. Technology can be used to connect
and communicate members of the same community in distinct parts of the world.

Table 4. Interaction functions (habitual expressions).

Ini- Request Expressing Anger Praying
tial Indonesian Acehnese Others Indonesian Acehnese Others Indonesian Acehnese Others
FD √ √ English √ √ English √ √ Arabic
LA √ √ - √ √ - √ √ Arabic
KU - √ - - √ - - √ Arabic
MR √ √ - √ √ - √ √ Arabic
MY √ √ English √ √ English √ √ Arabic
NI √ - - √ - - √ - Arabic
NE √ - - √ - - √ - Arabic
TZ √ √ - √ √ - √ √ Arabic

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Proceedings of the 2nd English Education International Conference (EEIC) in conjunction with the 9 th Annual International Conference
(AIC), Universitas Syiah Kuala, September 18-19, 2019, Banda Aceh, Indonesia ISSN: 2527-8037

YM - √ - - √ - - √ Arabic
ZP √ √ English √ √ English √ √ Arabic

Table 4 exposes about habitual expressions used by the speakers. It can be seen that in requesting
something, 6 interviewees would like to mix the languages (Acehnese and Indonesian). There are only 2
persons who use Indonesian in requesting and as the same as Acehnese. YM stated, “It happens
spontaneously that I use Acehnese in requesting something.” Habitual expressions include expressions of
anger where 6 interviewees mix their language. As NI said, “If I am angry with my children, I will use
Acehnese because that language comes out automatically from my head. But if I’m expressing anger at my
husband who can’t be Acehnese, then I use Indonesian.” Moreover, 2 speakers use Indonesian language
and 2 speakers use Acehnese language to vent their emotions. Lastly, the interviewees who are all Moslems
do the prayers as an obligation activity where they must use the Arabic language. But in terms of praying
in general, most of them mix the languages (Indonesian and Acehnese). There are 2 interviewees use the
Indonesian language when they pray. In the same case, 2 interviewees choose Acehnese during praying.
As stated by TZ, “If I do prayer in the mosque, most of the Acehnese priests say prayers in Arabic or
Acehnese.” Researchers have found that the preferred language for the expression of strong emotions,
including anger, is often the speaker’s first language (Pavlenko, 2002). In line with this idea, Harris, Ayçiçegi
and Gleason (2003) analyzed the emotional impact of words in the L1 and L2 through their effect on
autonomic reactivity. It is clear that the first language is a language that is emotionally embedded than a
second language because the first language is learned in the most consistently emotional context.

CONCLUSION
The findings of this reveal that the use of Acehnese is quite limited among the ten mothers being
interviewed. In almost every domain of language use, Acehnese is used with a certain degree of mixing
with Indonesian, especially in public spaces and workplaces where Indonesian is certainly used with only
occasional mixing with Acehnese. This is indicated by the result of our analysis of language use of the ten
mothers using Ervin-Tripp’s framework (1964) which is summed up as follows. (1) Based on the first
variable regarding Settings (time and place) and situation, data is obtained that code-mixing occurs
predominantly when shopping in traditional markets. At the time of dining with family, some interviewees
admit to using Indonesian and some of them mix Acehnese with Indonesian. When gathering with friends,
some interviewees choose Indonesian; (2) In the next variable, participants in the interaction, most
interviewees were career women who work and take care of households with an age range of more than
30 years old. The social status of interviewees is mostly middle-class economy; (3) In the variable on the
topic of conversation, some interviewees choose to mix the use of Indonesian with Acehnese based on the
situation they are facing; and (4) in the last variable, habitual expressions, most interviewees code-mixing
when overflowing their emotions because this happens spontaneously.
As aforementioned earlier in this article, when there are alternatives or choices of the forms of
language that can be used within a society, code-mixing phenomenon emerges. This is a common
phenomenon in bilingual or multilingual societies and it can lead to either maintaining the local, non-official
language or shifting from it into a more dominant language form. The competition between the two
languages to occupy the domain of language use indicates that one of the two will eventually, however
slowly, lose ground. Our data, which have been summarized above, show the decreasing domain Acehnese
language use, which is not promising for its future maintenance.

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