Aspects of Successful Multilingualism

Abstract

Multilingualism is always an interesting case, particularly regarding how multilingual individuals maintain their languages. Sometimes they are successful, but sometimes due to some factors, they fail to maintain their languages which leads to language attrition. This paper compares three multilingual Indonesians from two different generations in terms of how their languages were acquired, what those languages meant to them, and what has happened to those languages. Questionnaire and semi-structured interview results reveal that while attitude towards the second language is a factor not to be underestimated, the opportunity to use a second language also plays a significant role in one’s language maintenance. In addition, government policy is a critical factor. One alarming finding is that positive progress does not always result in positivity in attitude, particularly attitudes toward the first language.