“Unknown, Unloved”: The Developing Ideas regarding Language Policy in the Dutch East Indies, 1890s–1928

Elsbeth Locher-Scholten in Ethiek in Fragmenten argued that the political struggle for the political future of the Dutch East Indies (hereafter ‘the DEI’) was fought during the course of the Ethical Policy. During this period, Leiden professors advocated the principle of association which was defined by Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje as “the emergence of a Dutch state, consisting of two parts, separated geographically but spiritually and intimately connected, one in North-West Europe and the other in South-East Asia.” Snouck Hurgronje suggested that, in order to run the principle of association, the Netherlands should introduce Western education and culture to indigenous people of the DEI. Language is a significant component of education and culture, and in this case it was a means of introducing Western education and culture to indigenous people of the DEI. This background supports this paper in its investigation of the development of ideas regarding language policy—the use of a...Show moreElsbeth Locher-Scholten in Ethiek in Fragmenten argued that the political struggle for the political future of the Dutch East Indies (hereafter ‘the DEI’) was fought during the course of the Ethical Policy. During this period, Leiden professors advocated the principle of association which was defined by Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje as “the emergence of a Dutch state, consisting of two parts, separated geographically but spiritually and intimately connected, one in North-West Europe and the other in South-East Asia.” Snouck Hurgronje suggested that, in order to run the principle of association, the Netherlands should introduce Western education and culture to indigenous people of the DEI. Language is a significant component of education and culture, and in this case it was a means of introducing Western education and culture to indigenous people of the DEI. This background supports this paper in its investigation of the development of ideas regarding language policy—the use of a particular language or set of languages—in the DEI, that were conveyed and discussed during the course of the Ethical Policy. This paper intends to contribute to the study of language policy in the DEI by concentrating on the development of ideas during the course of the Ethical Policy by addressing a main research question: “How did ideas regarding language policy in the DEI develop during the course of the Ethical Policy?” In order to answer the research questions, this paper examines ideas regarding language policy in the DEI, which were mainly conveyed throughout several congresses namely: (1) het Nederlandsche Taal- en Letterkundig Congres (the Dutch Language and Literary Congress), (2) het koloniaal onderwijscongress (the Colonial Education Congress), and (3) het Indonesisch jeugdcongres or (the Indonesian Youth Congress). Each congress was designed to represent the main ideas conveyed by groups of scholars, educators, and Indonesian nationalists. This paper also makes use of relevant official documents to examine language policy in the DEI within the DEI government itself. The conclusions of this paper are (1) the continuity of the developing ideas regarding language policy in the Indies during the Ethical Policy demonstrates no fundamental change in the ethical mentality, which to a great degree would ultimately benefit the Netherlands; (2) The ethical mentality was arguably not the rationale behind the promotion of the Indonesian language as the national language of the Indies by Indonesian nationalists; and (3) The Dutch language was not the primary motive that encouraged the nationalists to promote the Indonesian identity.Show less

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“Unknown, Unloved”: The Developing Ideas regarding Language Policy in the Dutch East Indies, 1890s–1928