LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE OF MADURESE PEOPLE IN PANDAN DISTRICT OF TAPANULI TENGAH

This study deals with language maintenance of Madurese People in Pandan District of Tapanuli Tengah. It employs qualitative research design. This study aims to describe the maintenance of Madurese Language in Pandan District. The subjects were fifteen Madurese family in Pandan District. The instruments used for this study were observation, questionnaire, and interview (in-depth interview). The observation was applied to get the data about the Madurese people in maintaining Madurese Language such what the language that they used in daily communication. Questionnaire was applied to collect the data about the factors which support Madurese Language maintenance in Pandan District and interview was applied to get data about the reason of Madurese people maintain Madurese Language and to get in depth result of the research. The data was analyzed by using Miles and Huberman’s data analysis. Madurese Language is maintained in Langkat. They keep using Madurese Language in Pandan because they realize the condition of Madurese Language nowdays, whereas there were some of them shift from Madurese Language to speak Indonesian Language. There are ten factors which support Madurese Language maintenance. They are the use of Madurese Language in family, visiting homeland, intra-marriage, the use of Madurese Language in neighborhood, the use of Madurese Language in workplace, the use of Madurese Language in education, ethno linguistics vitality, living in an area dominated by Madurese, the use of Madurese Language in Religion, practice of traditional ceremony. The maintenance of Madurese Language in Pandan District occurred by using Madurese Language in daily activity and it is done by parents, children and the environment. The reasons for maintaining Madurese Language in Pandan District was to show their identity as Madurese people and to keep their language. Madurese Language keep maintain and exist in Pandan District.