TOBA BATAK LANGUAGE SHIFT IN RANTAU SELATAN

This study observed Toba Batak Language Shift in Rantau Selatan. The objectives
of the study were to answer the research problems under study that are (1) to
describe the level of maintenance of the Toba Batak language in Rantau Selatan
district. (2) to elaborate how the shift realized in their linguistic repertoire across
language domain in Rantau Selatan district. (3) to explain the reasons why the
language shift occur in the ways they do in Rantau Selatan district. The method
of this study was descriptive qualitative research. The subjects were twenty eight
Toba Batak people who live in Kampung Batak, Urung Kompas, Rantau Selatan
district. The subjects were divided into two groups; first group as the second
generation (parents) and the second group as third generation (children). The
data were taken from the interview, questionnaire and observation. The findings
show that (1) the level of mastery or maintenance of the Toba Batak language for
the second generation is Severely Endangered at grade two. And the level of
mastery or maintenance of the Toba Batak language for third generation or
children is Critically Endangered at grade one. (2) the dominant domains are
education domain and work place domain. (3) the reasons of Toba Batak
language shift into Bahasa Indonesia; bilingualism factor, migration factor,
economic factor, social factor, demographic factor, institutional factor, attitude
factor, environment factor, status, and social success. Attitude is crucial factor
influencing language shift. If the speaker has positive attitude about Toba Batak
language, it can be maintain the Toba Batak language but if the speaker has
negative attitude about Toba Batak language, the Toba Batak language can be
extinct