Maintaining Multilingualism in a Multi Culture Country: The Case of Indonesia

This article aims to describe how Indonesia, as a country of multilingualism or multi-languages maintains the languages in the country. Since Indonesia is a multilingual country, it must also be a multicultural country. As a rule, cultures are usually developed through languages, and the development of languages is influenced by cultures. The relationship of cultures and languages are reciprocal. However, in some cases, the differences in language may result in disharmony in the community. Praise to God the Almighty, until recently, Indonesia can maintain this multilingual status in addition to its multi-cultural situation. Bahasa Indonesia goes along with local languages harmoniously. This phenomenon may invite the following question: “How can Indonesia, as a multilingual country, maintain the languages among a multi-cultural community?” This article attempts to explore and discuss this issue.