"The goal is the use of regional languages to keep increasing in daily life," the agency's secretary, Hafidz Muksin, said here on Wednesday.
The program was launched by Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, on February 22, 2022, to preserve regional languages.
Regional languages can become extinct because young speakers are no longer speaking them, nor are parents passing them on to children, Muksin said.
"For this reason, we think that regional languages should be widely spoken, especially by young speakers. That is the principle of appropriate revitalization (of languages)," he added.
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According to him, the holding of the Mother Tongue Festival is not the main goal of revitalizing regional languages and is not just meant to create excitement.
However, these kinds of activities, such as competitions, can attract the younger generation, he said.
Therefore, regional language revitalization efforts are being carried out in the form of festivals or competitions, also known as pasanggiri.
Some of the regional languages and vernaculars that are being revitalized in North Sumatra are the Panai dialect of Malay language in Labuhan Batu, the Sorkam dialect in Central Tapanuli, the Batak language's Mandailing-Angkola dialect in Padangsidempuan city, South Tapanuli, and Padang Lawas Utara district, head of the North Sumatra Provincial Language Agency, Hidayat Widyanto, informed.
In 2023, the number of local languages that will be revitalized with the participation of districts under the program will be augmented by cooperating with local governments.
Widyanto also lauded regional leaders, religious figures, and traditional leaders for their commitment to protecting the languages and literature of North Sumatra.
"In 2022, North Sumatra has been included among 12 priority provinces for regional language revitalization," he said.
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Translator: Juraidi, Kenzu
Editor: Suharto
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