Language Vitality of LEUKON

Abstract

Research on language vitality is very important for the sake of language planning by mapping indegenious languages. In the past two decades Unesco has paid more attention to the languages of the world and has also made various efforts to revitalize potentially extinct languages. Leukon language is one of the indegenous languages on the island of Simeulue. This language is one of the minority languages in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, which is spoken only in 2 villages, Lafakha and Langi, in Alafan sub-district with speakers of no more than 500 people. Social dynamics are certainly very influential on the continuity of a culture and language, as well as in Leukon language which shows a significant setback due to several social factors and also the influence of other languages in the island, namely Indonesian, Sigulai, Devayan, and Jamee. This study aims to investigate the profile of the use of the Leukon language and determine the level of vitality of the language as measured by the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS). Mixed approach was taken in this study. It is found that language vitality of Leukon is at level 6b on the EGIDS scale.