Parents’ role in language maintenance in an inter-ethnic family

Abstract

Qualitative research is applied in studying parents’ role in language maintenance, especially in interethnic families in Medan. Observation, interview, and audio-recorded family conversations were done in data collection. Parents’ role at home is the main discussion in this study. Language maintenance succeeded by language use at home and activities at home and surroundings while Javanese-Batak Toba families are patriarchal. Speaking vernacular language continually at home influences language maintenance (Pauwels,2016). The analysis displays the relationship among culture, attitude, and prestige in maintaining vernacular language through the parents’ role. We conclude parents have an important role in maintaining the vernacular language. The language choice which is done by parents contributes to language maintenance.  Parents who have positive attitudes to their culture in order to show their prestige enforce children to maintain the vernacular language.  This study recommends that further researchers explore vernacular language maintenance across three generations of Javanese-Batak Toba families.