PAMONA LANGUAGE VITALITY: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY BASED ON UNESCO INDICATORS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION

Abstract

The threat to regional languages is an urgent global issue that warrants study. In Indonesia, this phenomenon is reflected in the Pamona language, which shows signs of declining intensity of use among the younger generation. Previous studies have not assessed the vitality of the Pamona language using the nine UNESCO indicators in its core-speaking area, namely Pamona Puselemba District. This study aims to describe the vitality status of the Pamona language, identify the dominant factors associated with it, and formulate its implications for language revitalization. The study employed a mixed-methods design involving 30 respondents selected through purposive sampling and grouped into three generations. Data were collected through a 34-item questionnaire, interviews, observation, and document review based on the nine UNESCO language vitality indicators. The results show that the Pamona language falls in the Vulnerable category, with a Total Vitality Index of 3.24. The new domains and digital media indicator obtained the lowest index (2.54), followed by domains of language use (2.81), whereas language attitudes and loyalty were relatively high (3.62). Descriptively, the vitality index of the younger generation (3.02) was lower than that of the middle generation (3.26) and the older generation (3.45), and all three fall in the Vulnerable category. The factor identified as dominant in the data was the dominance of Indonesian in everyday settings of use, particularly in education, peer interaction, and digital spaces, which appears to be associated with the increasingly limited space for the Pamona language. These descriptive findings indicate the need to strengthen intergenerational language transmission in the family, expand the use of Pamona in schools and the community, and develop Pamona-language digital content as part of a revitalization strategy whose effectiveness requires further testing.