Discussion

When Merrifield and Salea surveyed the Gorontalo-Mongondow language area in 1990, they noted a general pattern of usually strong language use, but with Indonesian playing a larger role in the lives of young people (Merrifield and Salea 1996:128–131). In more recent years the prominent Gorontaloese linguist Mansoer Pateda has raised concerns about the declining use of Gorontalo (tidak lagi akrab digunakan) among the younger generation (Nusantara News 2010). A personal contact in the Gorontalo area confirms this, noting especially serious decline among urban youth. On account of these reports we rate Gorontalo as 4/Vulnerable, although clearly trending toward 3/Definitely Endangered.

What Others Have Written

Merrifield and Salea (1996:130)

For Gorontalo, adults use the Gorontalo language in all informal occasions in all twelve villages surveyed. In four of them, the people also reported that adults use Indonesian as well, which is certainly true for all twelve villages. Children were reported to use both languages most of the time in most of the villages, but in three of the villages they use Indonesian for the most part, and in two villages they use the Gorontalo language more than they use Indonesian.

In seven of the twelve villages surveyed parents use both Gorontalo and Indonesian when speaking to their children. In these seven villages, the children reply in the same language with which they are addressed. But it was reported that in two villages children use Indonesian most of the time, even when addressed in the Gorontalo language. In two villages parents use Indonesian with their children for the most part, and their children reply in Indonesian. In the remaining three villages parents and their children communicate primarily in the Gorontalo language.

Nusantara News (2010)

Pakar Linguistik dari Universitas Negeri Gorontalo (UNG), Prof. Dr. Mansoer Pateda, mengungkapkan penggunaan bahasa daerah Gorontalo terancam langka, sebab semakin jarang penduduk lokal yang menggunakannya. "Di kalangan generasi muda, bahasa daerah tidak lagi akrab digunakan," kata Mansoer, Kamis. Bahasa daerah ini, juga sudah jarang digunakan sebagian besar masyarakat dalam berinteraksi. Kalaupun ada, penggunaannya acap kali tidak tepat. Akibatnya, Bahasa Gorontalo banyak mengalami perubahan kosa kata baru. Selain itu, bahasa tersebut dianggap tidak menjanjikan. Artinya, ketika masyarakat ingin mencari lowongan kerja, maka yang diwajibkan adalah harus bisa berbahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar, ditambah lagi harus bisa berbahasa asing.

References

Merrifield, Scott; and Martinus Salea. 1996. North Sulawesi language survey. (Summer Institute of Linguistics Publications in Sociolinguistics, 1.) Dallas: SIL.

Nusantara News. 1 April 2010. Pakar: Penggunaan bahasa Gorontalo terancam langka. IANN News.com. Online. URL: http://www.iannnews.com/news.php?hal=5&kat=3&bid=1411 (accessed October 20, 2011).