Impact of English on Indonesian Language and Culture: High School Students’ Perception

Abstract

With the advances of globalisation and technology, English dominates international politics, the economy and culture. Spoken by over a quarter of the world's population and enhanced by the presence of the Internet, it enjoys an unparalleled dominance in global communication and has affected people's lives across the globe.This study explores the perception of Indonesian high school students towards the impact of English on the Indonesian language and culture amids concerns about the hegemony of the international language and the country's efforts to maintain its national language. As many as 333 students from five schools in Salatiga, Central Java, participated in this research by filling out a Likert-scaled questionnaire. Unlike previous studies investigating a similar issue in the context of Indonesia, the study demonstrates strongly divided responses from the participants towards English. The students' religions and majors were also shown to be significant factors affecting the responses. Conducted on a wider scope, this research overall reveals stronger perceived tensions between the national language/culture and English than what has been demonstrated in previous research.

English language education in Indonesia: A review of research (2011–2019)

“…Such a practice, according to Mambu, would help challenge the predominant reluctance to incorporate religion into English language education, an important point given the rising religious intolerance in Indonesia. Murtisari and Mali (2017) also found religion to be one of the determining factors that create the tensions between English and the national language and culture. While participants coming from Christian backgrounds tended to show more inclusive perceptions towards English, those with Islamic beliefs demonstrated negative attitudes towards western loan words coming from English.…”

“…Some studies are concerned with attitudes towards English. Murtisari and Mali's (2017) study is a case in point: they conducted research involving 333 students attending schools in Salatiga, Central Java. The findings of the study show polarizing views towards English.…”

“…Murtisari and Mali (2017) also found religion to be one of the determining factors that create the tensions between English and the national language and culture. While participants coming from Christian backgrounds tended to show more inclusive perceptions towards English, those with Islamic beliefs demonstrated negative attitudes towards western loan words coming from English.…”

Behind the trend of Englishing the business names in Aceh, Indonesia: A postcolonial analysis

“…Several scholars from Indonesia have put their concerns on the negative influences of English on local languages, particularly the Indonesian language, such as Gunarwan (1998), Hassall, Murtisari, Donnelly, and Wood (2008), Murtisari and Mali (2017), Sadtono (2013), and Sunarto, Sejati, and Utomo (2020). As Murtisari and Mali (2017) cited, Gunarwan (1998) argues that English constrains Indonesian language learning as the people in Indonesia tend to associate English with high status and prestige. Even Sadtono (2013) believes that English has made the Indonesian language as an Indonesian identity suffered, which he calls the "English tsunami."…”

English Loanwords in the Destinasi Indonesia Magazine (Kata Serapan Bahasa Inggris dalam Majalah Destinasi Indonesia)

“…English has a hegemony over the world language and dominates international politics. It also applies to Indonesian, which assimilates other languages, such as English (Murtisari & Mali, 2017). According to Moehkardi (2019), English has an influence on Indonesian lexical terms (Mulyaningsih, 2017).…”