The Shift of Karo Language to Indonesian among Karonese Family in Medan

The Karo language is gradually no longer used in the family domain among Karonese in Medan. The Karonese begins to entirely use Indonesian for their communication needs. This phenomenon signaled language shift among the Karonese. This study aims to (1) describe the factors influencing language shift among Karonese family in Kwala Bekala Village, (2) the pattern of the language shift and (3) the reason for shifting to Indonesian. It employs qualitative research design with a single case study which is conducted descriptively. The subjects of the study are 10 parents and 10 children of Karonese family in Kwala Bekala Village of Medan Johor District. The data were collected by using questionnaire and interview. Miles & Hubersman’s and Spradley’s data analysis is used to analyze the data. The result of study showed that the factors of the language shift among the Karonese are bilingualism, migration, economic factors, social factors, political factors, demographic factors and value and attitude. The types of the language shift that occurs among the Karonese family are the first generation become bilinguals and about 50% of the Karonese have been shifted to Indonesian in family domain and the second generation almost become monolingual and about 90% have been shift to Indonesian. The Karonese shifted from Karo language to Indonesian because of habitual language use, easy interacting and the status of Indonesian.