Colonialism In Indonesia

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Introduction

The struggle for nationalism was one the significant events during the colonial period in Indonesia. It was facilitated by the unity of the Indonesian tribes. The natives of Indonesia achieved unity through adoption of a common language that facilitated communication. Therefore, adoption of a common language was one of the significant factors that contributed to the development of nationalism in Indonesia. Today, Indonesian is the formal lingo in Indonesia. It is used as language of instruction in most learning institutions and national media (Simpson 2007, pp. 45-46). Moreover, it is one of the most popular languages globally. Indonesian evolved during the colonial period. It was called Malay before independence. A part from Indonesian, the natives commonly speak Javanese and Madurese. This paper discusses the emergence of Indonesian during the colonial period and its development since independence.

Emergence of Indonesian

Indonesian originated during the colonial period. In the early period of the twentieth century, many dialects existed in Indonesia because the indigenous communities had their own languages. The European invasion of Indonesia led to the rise of more languages. It was out these numerous dialects that the Indonesian developed gradually.

During the colonial period, the Dutch dominated the natives in all spheres of life (Woodward 2010, pp. 121-122). For instance, the Dutch colonialists disrupted the social, economic, and political organization of the natives. Therefore, colonialism led to immense suffering of the natives. This led to the struggle for independence. During the colonial period, “Dutch, Javanese, French, and Malay languages became popular in various parts of Asia” (Anwar 2001, pp. 57-5...

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...e adopted the use of Malay and made it the second official language in the colony. In the twentieth century, Malay gained prominence in many learning institutions. It was also adopted by many local media organizations. For instance, many local newspapers were written in Malay. Most of the Indonesians who attained formal education during the colonial period were taught in Malay. Only a few natives from rich families had a chance to learn in Dutch schools during the colonial period.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, well-liked associations with pro-independence ambitions began to form. In 1911, the Sarekat Muslim Organization made Malay its formal language. In 1926, “the First Congress of Indonesian Youth was held, and the future leaders of Indonesia discussed the national language issue” (Paauw 2009, p. 4). The second assembly was held after two years and

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