"A number of conflicts in several parts of Indonesia, such as West Nusa Tenggara and Papua happened merely because of different languages," Prof Dr Mahsun MS said.Kendari, SE Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - The diverse languages spoken in Indonesia have given the greatest contributions to a number of conflicts in this sprawling archipelago, a linguist said.
"A number of conflicts in several parts of Indonesia, such as West Nusa Tenggara and Papua happened merely because of different languages," Prof Dr Mahsun MS said at a national linguistic coordination meeting here recently.
The people living in the areas feel they are different from other residents in the country only because they speak different dialects, he said.
As a matter of fact, the founders of this republic have unified the diverse ethnic groups, cultures and religions into the Unitary Republic of Indonesia with the Indonesian language as a unifying language, he said.
Therefore, he added language bodies across the country should be careful in managing the language diversity so that the diverse languages will serve as an adhesive to unify the diverse ethnic groups within the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.
"The language diversity in this country will serve as an adhesive to strengthen the Unitary Republic of Indonesia only if the diverse languages are managed properly," he said.
He praised the people of Southeast Sulawesi which has 19 local languages and 172 dialects for being able to co-exist peacefully.
More than 700 living languages are spoken in Indonesia. The official language is Bahasa Indonesia used in commerce, administration, education and the media. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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