Abstract

This study aims to reveal (1) the use of Tolaki community language in Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi Province-Indonesia, (2) the attitude of language speakers of the Tolaki community towards Tolaki language and foreign languages, (3) the language choice for the Tolaki community in Kendari City, and (4) the influence of the language contact of the Tolaki community with immigrant communities on the shift in the Tolaki language in Kendari City. The population in this study were all native speakers of Tolaki Language. Data were obtained from 6 districts in Kendari City that were considered representative: Abeli District, Kendari District, Poasia District, Puwatu District, Kambu District, and Wua-wua District. This study involved 322 respondents from the six districts. Methods of data collection are carried out using questionnaires, interviews, and direct observation. The data obtained were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The quantitative data were processed using SPSS computer software. The results showed that (1) The language usage of Tolaki community in Kendari City on the sector of family, neighbor, school, telecommunication, government office, public transportation, and market is dominated by Indonesian Language. Therefore, Tolaki language is no longer used as a local language to communicate in everyday life (2) The language attitude of the Tolaki community in the Kendari City especially pride, loyalty and awareness is very low. The lack of concern for their local languages so that the Tolaki language is decreasing on its usage, (3) There is a significant influence between the language contact of the Tolaki community and the immigrant community on the shift-language in Tolaki language, the value of Sig (0.00) <α (0.05) is obtained with an influence level value of 56.81%. Keywords:- Language Shift, Tolaki Language, Language Attitudes, Language Choice.