Resilience of small, endangered languages in alor regency

A case study of the kafoa language

Abstract

This article examines the language resilience of Kafoa in Southwest Alor District, Alor Regency, Indonesia. Kafoa was selected as the focus of this study because its sociolinguistic ecology is shaped by sustained contact with Abui and Klon, two neighboring languages that may influence the functional shift of Kafoa. The study investigates three interrelated dimensions: the ecological characteristics of the language environment, patterns of bilingualism, and domains of Kafoa language use. Taken together, these dimensions provide a holistic understanding of the resilience and ongoing shift of the Kafoa language. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected through participant observation and in-depth interviews. The findings reveal that: (1) from an ecological perspective, Kafoa speakers are multilingual, with Kafoa, Indonesian, Abui, and Klon forming their linguistic repertoire, although the use of Abui and Klon occurs primarily in the form of code-mixing; (2) the bilingual behavior of Kafoa speakers is characterized by a primary preference for either Kafoa or Indonesian, and speakers do not use Abui or Klon in complete sentences or extended discourse; and (3) Kafoa is used across customary, religious, neighborhood, governmental, and family domains, but only the customary and family domains remain strongly associated with Kafoa. In the other domains, language use increasingly involves code-mixing between Kafoa and Indonesian, or between Kafoa and Abui or Klon. These findings indicate that Kafoa has undergone a shift in language function. Nevertheless, given the bilingual patterns of its speakers and the linguistic ecology in which they maintain frequent interaction with Abui and Klon speakers, Kafoa can still be considered a resilient language, despite the absence of language policy support at the local level.