PELESTARIAN BUDAYA DAN BAHASA ETNIK TERANCAM PUNAH (Studi Kasus Bahasa Kafoa di Probur Utara, Alor, Nusa Tenggara Timur)

Abstract

Some ethnic languages such as Kafoa language and their culture speakers are in endangered status. This essay is part of research reports on ethnographic studies of Kafoa languages, an ethnolinguistic research conducted  in 2011­2012  in North Probur, Southwest Alor. The researcher questioned whether the government or community themselves should preserve the ethnic language and culture. Data is gathered by making in­depth interviews, in addition to observations and audio­visual document studies. It is found that handing over the preservation of the ethnic language and cultural affairs completely to the government will quicken the extintion of both traditional language and culture. On the contrary, when they rest on the internal mechanism of the community, the traditional language and culture can be necessarily preserved, moreover with the constructive partipation of universities and government.