[Unpad.ac.id, 27/03/2013] Local dialects, in particular Sundanese, are now coming to extinction. Efforts to preserve them should be made, one of which is through strategic educational method.
According to Cece Sobarna, professor at the Faculty of Arts Unpad, the government who is now reconsidering the new curriculum will contribute to the extinction of the local dialects or ethnic languages if they overlook teachings on local dialects to be included in the curriculum.
“The new curriculum which is said to exclude ethnic language teaching will most likely turn into destruction machine for the language,” said he when speaking at the seminar on local dialects, nation, and curriculum 2013 in Bale Rumawat on Wednesday (27/03). Language is means of shaping characters. Deleting it signifies the diminishing of the social awareness of all community members. Language is part of our national existence. It requires special attention every community member, especially the government.
Giving similar response, Unpad Rector, Ganjar Kurnia, suggested that language be taught by more attractive and interesting approaches. Any curriculum can always include language teaching for all students. In addition, language teaching should have clear target in order to make its existence last.
The seminar was organized by the Sundanese Department, Faculty of Arts Unpad in order to address concerns from a great number of community members on the diminishing existence of Sundanese culture. Also present in the seminar was C.W. Watson, from the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, England.
