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<h1>Revitalizing language policy</h1>
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Setiono Sugiharto, Contributor, Jakarta | Expose | Sun, March 10 2013, 3:56 PM </div>
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<p class="boxn colored">Paper Edition | Page: 6</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><span class="inline inline-left"><img class="image image-img_assist_custom-469x719 " src="http://www.thejakartapost.com/files/images2/sp-s6-arevitalizing.jpg" border="0" height="600" width="392"></span></span><br>
</p><p><br></p><p>Since
the demise of the noted Indonesian language experts Sutan Takdir
Alisjahbana and Anton M. Moeliono, not many Indonesian language scholars
have been passionate in devoting their profession to issues on the
politics of language and language planning. The absence of
studies and published research related to these central topics speaks
volumes and many local language pundits seem to be ignorant of the
importance of bringing these topics to the fore.<br><br>In most
multilingual communities, language planning is deemed vital for language
maintenance, language reform, language standardization, language
revitalization, and language modernization. Although,
admittedly, language planning is hardly a novel topic of discussion
within the field of linguistics, its relevance to other separate, yet
related disciplines such as education, language teaching, sociology, and
literacy cannot be downplayed.<br><br>Alwasilah’s contribution through
the publication of Pokoknya Rekayasa Literasi (Nothing but Literacy
Engineering) is very opportune indeed. This is especially true, given
that the policy of language education in Indonesia has recently been in
limbo.<br>The book reflects its author’s great concerns over the
fate of national education, which he observes has gone astray and been
swept away by the global current. Alwasilah fears that Indonesia’s
wealth of local geniuses as well as local wisdom will come to an end,
unless they are made use of as a solid foundation for the system of
national education.<br><br>This fear is based on his observation that
“national education […] fails to nurture students with the knowledge and
life skills necessary for a meaningful and harmonious life in the
context of multicultural Indonesia”. Without nullifying the
values of Western culture and educational products, which have gradually
seeped into local language, culture and education, Alwasilah begs the
reader to be tough-minded in dealing with new ideas, not in just simply
blindly adopting these products.<br><br>The thesis he proposes in this
book is the important notion of ethnopedagogy, which he defines as “a
kind of education which is based on local wisdom”. To keep abreast of
the demands of the modern global world, Alwasilah is cognizant of the
fact that this may sound obsolete, saying instead that this type of
education needs continuous reinterpretation in light of the challenges
it may face in this modern changing world. What is enlightening
to the reader is the re-conceptualization of the term literacy. Viewing
the conventional term of literacy as simplistic, Alwasilah redefines the
term by delineating six fundamental principles of literacy — principles
which clearly extend the traditional scope of literacy.<br><br>This
reorientation of literacy is deliberately highlighted so that the reader
will be aware that being literate in their own language and culture is a
must because it can serve as a powerful tool for countering and
resisting the language hegemony and imperialism imposed by other
languages and cultures. Thus, the maintenance and then the
empowerment of local wisdom (i.e. the revitalization of local language
and the promotion of local culture among others) is seen as the best
cultural strategy to strike a balance against the dominance of other
languages and cultures. <br><br>No less important is the insight of the
author’s proposal of liberal education. Seemingly discontent with the
present system of national education, Alwasilah tries to open the eyes
of the reader to the urgency of liberal education to be applied in the
country. This book, it goes without saying, offers a wealth of
factual details regarding the problems of the national education system
in general and language education in particular. Samples essays on the
relevant topics discussed are provided in each chapter, further
enriching the readers’ insights into the topic.<br><br>What’s more,
written by an author hailing from Sundanese ethnicity, this book
contains a genuine and critical voice of a scholar from the periphery,
and therefore deserves to be heard by either other periphery scholars or
scholars from the center. It is also an important reference for policy
makers and language pundits. Yet, readers, especially those from
other languages and cultures, may cast a suspicion that the book is too
Sundanese-centric, exclusively exposing cases of the Sundanese language
and culture and bringing varied perspectives from this language and
culture. As such, it behoves them to critically weigh pieces of
evidence and examples offered by the author and to question the
assumptions proposed by virtue of their culture, language, and literacy
tradition. <br><br><em><strong>Pokoknya Rekayasa Literasi</strong><br>(Nothing but Literacy Engineering)<br>A. Chaedar Alwasilah<br>Kiblat, 2012<br>280 pages</em></p> </div>
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