Discussion

Studies to date that have touched on Bajau language use present a mixed picture (see quotes below), and make clear that vitality needs to be evaluated on a community-by-community basis. We tentatively suggest that the language as a whole be given a rating of 4/Vulnerable. 

What Others Have Written

Mead and Lee (2007:16)

Because the Bajau live in scattered communities without a core language area, language use and overall language vitality are difficult to judge. Liebner, who describes the Bajau communities around Salayar Island in some detail, preferred to speak about Bajau ‘descendants.’ He noted that when he visited in 1996, none of the (by then all land-based) communities were pure Bajau. If the “social climate” was “predominately Bajo,” then people would speak Bajau, but he further noted that resettlement on land often leads to “rapid loss of Bajo characteristics, including language … as soon as the social and cultural environment changes to a milieu dominated by other ethnic groups” (Liebner 1998:113). Even when a community has become so mixed (Bajau, Bugis, Munanese, Butonese, etc.) so that people inside the community no longer identify themselves as Bajau, outsiders may, nonetheless, still refer to the community as ‘Bajau’ (Bakker 1992). With increasing settlement on land and integration into the national culture, we can expect the pattern which Liebner noted to be repeated across Sulawesi. At present, however, we lack baseline studies upon which to measure language vitality or language shift.

Bulbeck (2000:5)

At Turun Bajo, the settlement nearest to Tampinna [head of the Gulf of Bone, Sulawesi], the inhabitants claim descent from the Bajau sea gypsies yet employ Bugis as their first language.

Friberg and Laskowske (1989:14)

It may also be noted now that the Bajau located in Pulau Sembilan (Sinjai district) [South Sulawesi] have become Bugis speakers in the younger generation.

Collins (1996:24–25)

Among the six men who participated in the data collection exercise, two were not born in Bajo Sangkuang and indeed were not Bajo. At least three more had fathers or grandfathers who were born in eastern Ceram, Mandar (Sulawesi) or Tidore. As they themselves noted, it would be very difficult to find anyone in the village who was Bajo on both sides of his or her lineage.

Nonetheless, in this pleasant, prosperous, village with a bustling shoreline of tuna boats, passenger boats and dug out canoes, the language used along the lane and in the houses is Bajo, despite the diverse origins of the community. Unlike other small communities in Maluku, such as the Bacanese community of Labuha where newcomers seldom learn the local language and even Bacanese children and teenagers only rarely speak Bacanese among themselves, the Bajo of Bajo Sangkuang display an amazing loyalty to their language. Both the 76-year-old grandfather who had moved to the village forty years ago from Ambon city and the 35-year-old Tidore man who had lived only a few years in Bajo Sangkuang spoke Bajo with great fluency and indeed could recall words which village-born speakers had forgotten but then vouched for.

Nuraini-Grangé (2008:42–43)

Presque tous les habitants du canton de Sapeken [in the Kangean Archipelago], même s’ils ne sont pas d’origine Bajo, comprennent et utilisent le bajo quotidiennement, dans les échanges sociaux et économiques. Si un interlocuteur ne comprend pas le bajo, on passe à l’indonésien ; et des mots indonésiens sont fréquemment inclus dans les conversations en bajo. Les autres langues utilisées dans le canton de Sapeken sont le Mandar, Buton, Madura, Bugis, Jawa (javanais), et bien sûr l’indonésien, langue nationale et véhiculaire, que presque tout le monde pratique, à des degrés divers de maîtrise. Ces “changements de codes” et “mélanges de code” à Sapeken ont été décrits par Nany Ismail (2006). Beaucoup d’habitants du canton de Sapeken parlent, ou au moins comprennent, plusieurs langues (par exemple le Mandar et le Buton).

Les nouveaux-venus dans l’île (par exemple, des instituteurs) apprennent rapidement le bajo. Les mariages sont fréquents entre ces diverses communautés, toutes musulmanes ; il est donc extrêmement difficile de recenser les locuteurs natifs de bajo, les personnes qui parlent bajo comme langue régionale seconde, et les personnes qui estiment appartenir à l’ethnie bajo (comment se classerait par exemple une personne dont le père se dit Bajo, la mère Mandar, avec éventuellement une grand-mère Bugis et un grand-père Buton ?) Aucun de nos interlocuteurs à Kangean, qu’il soit fonctionnaire ou simple citoyen, n’a pu nous donner une estimation.

Uniawati (2012:171)

Bahasa Bajo adalah salah satu dari sekian bahasa daerah yang terancam punah. Kepunahan itu disebabkan oleh anggapan sebagian besar penuturnya bahwa "kelas" Bajo lebih rendah dibandingkan dengan kelas kelompok masyarakat lain. Anggapan itu melahirkan sikap kekurangpedulian dan tanggung jawab penuturnya untuk tetap mempertahankan bahasa daerahnya sebagai simbol jati diri mereka sebagai orang Bajo. Mereka justru lebih berorientasi untuk menuturkan bahasa daerah lain daripada bahasa Bajo sendiri.

References

Bakker, J. I. 1992. Resettlement of Bajo ‘Sea Nomads’: Rapid Rural Appraisal of an IRD-IAD project in Sulawesi, Indonesia. IRDR: Integrated Rural Development Review, vol. 1, edited by J. I. (Hans) Bakker, 129–166. Guelph, Ontario: Guelph-Wageningen IRD Network.

Bulbeck, F. David. 2000. Economy, military and ideology in pre-Islamic Luwu, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Australasian Historical Archeology 18:3–16.

Collins, James T. 1996. Bajo Sangkuang: An initial report. Janang: Warta Akademi Pengajian Brunei 6:22–42.

Friberg, Timothy; and Thomas V. Laskowske. 1989. South Sulawesi languages, 1989. Studies in Sulawesi linguistics, part 1 (NUSA: Linguistic Studies of Indonesian and Other Languages in Indonesia, 31), edited by James N. Sneddon, 1–17. Jakarta: Badan Penyelenggara Seri Nusa, Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya. [Reproduced online. URL: http://sealang.net/archives/nusa/pdf/nusa-v31-p1-18.pdf (accessed January 13, 2014).]

Liebner, Horst. 1998. Four oral versions of a story about the origin of the Bajo people of southern Selayar. Living through histories: Culture, history and social life in South Sulawesi, edited by Kathryn Robinson and Mukhlis Paeni, 107–133. Canberra: Department of Anthropology, Australian national University.

Mead, David; and Myung-young Lee. 2007. Mapping Indonesian Bajau communities in Sulawesi. With six maps prepared by Chris Neveux. SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2007-019. Dallas: SIL International. Online. URL: http://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/9005 (accessed December 13, 2013).

Nuraini-Grangé, Chandra. 2008. Langue et production de récits d’une communauté Bajo des îles Kangean (Indonésie). PhD thesis, Université de La Rochelle.

Uniawati. 2012. Bahasa Bajo: Memotret perkembangan bahasa Bajo melalui mantra melaut. Aspek-aspek bahasa daerah di Sulawesi bagian selatan, edited by Masao Yamaguchi, 171-185. Kyoto: Hokuto Publishing.