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manners in civil society (a society that upholds
values, norms, laws, which are supported by the
mastery of civilized faith, science, and technology).
This is in line with the opinion of Yudibrata (1989)
in the book Bagbagan Makena Basa Sunda, who
states that pragmatically Sundanese is used for
specific purposes in one situation. Rules of
Sundanese use (undak-usuk) constitute the basic
principles of how to implement the use of language.
By learning undak-usuk of Sundanese, children
understand and use language skillfully in
communication. Pragmatic or the rules of language
use propose training to be able to speak, to write, to
read, and to listen; not teaching
theories/knowledge/language systems that are
formal and abstract.
Parents consider Sundanese language is
important to be taught in schools. The data shows
86.95% parents state the need and the importance of
Sundanese language taught in schools. This indicates
that parents have a high sense of viewing the
Sundanese language as a local language and mother
tongue. In addition, they have an intelligent insight.
They state that as the everyday language Sundanese
need to be studied formally in school so that children
have the ability to speak Sundanese well, including
knowing manners, capable of speaking subtle
language, and do not feel embarrassed to speak
Sundanese. This is in line with the objective of
Sundanese language learning in school, as expressed
in Sundanese Curriculum (2013), that students
obtain experience and compose Sundanese language;
appreciate and be proud of Sundanese language as
the local language in West Java, which is also the
mother tongue for most people; understand
Sundanese in terms of form, meaning and function,
and able to use it appropriately and creatively in
various contexts (goals, purposes, and conditions);
able to use Sundanese to improve intellectual ability,
emotional maturity, and social maturity; have the
ability and discipline in Sundanese language
(speaking, writing, and thinking); able to enjoy and
take advantage of literary works to improve the
knowledge and ability of Sundanese language,
personal development, and to expand the horizons of
life; appreciate and be proud of Sundanese literature
as a treasure of culture and the people of Sunda.
Parents state that children should learn local
culture. The data shows 100% parents agree that
their children should learn important local culture.
The reasons are, among others, children must have
an identity (kasundaan), understand the environment
in which they live -the Land of Sunda; the next
generation of Sundanese culture in the future.
As for matters related to the types of culture that
children should learn, parents suggest different
types. They are, among others, 1) practicing dance,
batik, 2) playing local music, 3) playing drama, 4)
practicing speech in the local language , 5) reading
poetry/sing local songs, 6) learning
etiquette/manners, and 7) traditional Sundanese
games (kaulinan urang Sunda).
Parents do some efforts so that their children
want to learn the Sundanese culture, such as
persuading children to read Sundanese textbooks;
facilitating children to listen to/to watch
news/information about Sundanese culture;
introducing regional culture since early ages;
registering their children to participate in art events,
in contests, in games; fostering their children to
listen to the stories in Sundanese language; and
registering their children to courses of arts.
Parents agree that the local language should be
used as the language of education at the elementary
level. The data shows 76.81% parents support the
Sundanese language as the language of instruction in
schools. The reasons of parents’ agreement cover
many things. Some believe that students understand
teaching materials/learning more easily. However,
some parents claim that the Sundanese language
should only be used as a medium to clarify/to help
children to understand subjects, in addition as a
medium of cultural preservation. That is, the
Sundanese language is not used as a language of
education, but the Sundanese language is used when
the child does not understand materials. Local
languages can be used in early grades of elementary
school. As noted in conclusion of National
Language Politics of 1975 in Alwasilah (1985) that
local languages can be used as media of instruction
in elementary schools, especially the early grades. In
addition, local language has several functions. The
functions are to be a symbol of regional pride, a
symbol of regional identity, means of
communication in family environment and the local
community, benefactor of the national language, the
language of instruction in elementary schools in a
certain area, development tool, and benefactor of
local culture.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The parents in the study area use Sundanese
language in everyday life at home, in the
neighborhood around the house, or when
communicating with teachers in schools. The parents
seek to provide examples of usage of speaking
The Role of Parents in Sundanese Language Preservation
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