The Student Activity Unit of Indonesian Language and Literature (UKM Bahterasia) in Universitas Muhammadiyah Bangka Belitung (Unmuh Babel) visited the morning news bureau of Babel Pos and a historian of Bangka Belitung, Datuk Akhmad Elvian, Wednesday (23/02). The agenda was held to commemorate 2022 International Mother Language Day. Elvian explained that Unmuh Babel students as prospective teachers need to internalize in persevering local heritage as an identity. “One of the local cultures we need to maintain is our Mother Tongue (local language) of Bangka Belitung that has become an endangered language. The rapid development in globalization results in the loss of the language existence of the Bangka Belitung language,” he said.
The Board Secretary of Regional House of Representatives (Setwan DPRD) Kota Pangkalpinang also mentioned that language extinction can be caused by first, the intervention of other languages and foreign languages, resulting in the deformation of dialect. Second, the extinction due to the obligation of official language used in public facilities shifts the local language in public schools to the Indonesian language. However, it was not regulated in policy and the local language should become an official language in the particular area. Moreover, the Unmuh Babel students will teach in schools to practice their teaching skills.
In the different meeting, the General Manager (GM) of Morning News Babel Pos, Faizal accompanied by the Marketing division, Iwan Subrata also shared their knowledge in journalism about the opportunities and challenges in the globalization era. He mentioned that in the digital era, hoaxes might spread massively. It can be a problem faced by the media society and government so the media have a great role in tackling the hoaxes. The mainstream media should serve as a company that provides professional mainstream sources and maintain their independence from various parties. It can be an attempt for the official media company to overcome communities’ critics due to the alternative media that affiliate to a particular party. [] Unmuh Babel / CHERD
