The language situation in Timor-Leste

Abstract

Timor-Leste celebrated its formal political independence on 20th May 2002. The National Constitution of the new nation declared the endogenous lingua franca (Tetum) and the former colonial language (Portuguese) to be co-official. The remaining local languages were given the status of national languages. Indonesian and English were designated as working languages ‘for as long as is deemed necessary’. In this monograph, I consider the origins and implications of these constitutional provisions. The paper consists of five parts.

1. A social and economic profile of the polity. This section also discusses migration, communications and the media in relation to language policy and practice.

2. A language profile of the country, followed by a discussion of diglossia, multilingualism, literacy and official language choice.

3. An account of the sociolinguistic consequences of language contact and an historical analysis of social policies and practices that have shaped the habitus.

4. A discussion and analysis of current language policy development in terms of goals, motives and orientations.

5. An assessment of the prospects for language maintenance with special reference to policy outcomes and options.

I advocate a rights-oriented approach to language management, arguing that in the absence of such an approach, ad hoc power relationships between languages will continue to dominate social discourse and language politics.

Keywords:

• Timor Leste
• language policy
• language practices
• literacy
• multilingualism
• diglossia
• official languages
• national languages

Acknowledgements

My sincere thanks to Professors Robert Kaplan, Richard Baldauf Jr, John Hajek and an anonymous reviewer for their close reading and helpful comments on this monograph. All responsibility for the findings and any errors rest with the author.

Notes

PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) designates a rate of exchange that accounts for price differences across countries, allowing comparisons of real output and incomes. PPP US$ rate has the same purchasing power in the domestic economy as $1 has in the USA.

The survey was conducted over 2.5 years (August 2003 to December 2006). The representative sample of 1272 adults (aged 15 and over) was selected using random methods from all districts.

GOLKAR (Sekretariat Bersama Golongan Karya or Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups) was the ruling party during the Suharto regime (1966–98). It is the biggest party in the current ruling coalition in Indonesia.

The last surviving Lóvaia speakers live in Porlamano in the Mehara suco in the district of Lautem. They are surrounded by the Fataluku language, which is used for daily communication across all generations. Fataluku linguistic vitality is very high. Although intergenerational transmission of Lóvaia has long been in decline, particularly since the Second World War, it is thought that ‘cultural concealment’ has contributed to its demise (Hajek et al., 2003, p. 165). Cultural concealment is a process in which subordinate ethnic groups mask their linguistic identity outside certain physical boundaries. Severe population loss in the Indonesian period and the advancing age of speakers also account for the drop in the number of Lóvaia speakers. It has recently been suggested that Lóvaia is not so much moribund as ‘in a coma’ because its speakers are only introduced to the language by someone who wants to transfer their knowledge of Lóvaia. This usually implies that the recipient will be in their 60s (Engelenhoven & Cailoru, 2006).

The figures for literacy appear to have omitted the data for the age group 6–9 years. In other words, the percentages for language use shown in Table 18 of the Census Atlas are for the population over the age of 10 and are based on the ability to speak, read and write in any of the official languages.

The constriction of mass-education policy was the same throughout Portugal's colonies. To illustrate, vernacular education was outlawed in Angola in 1921 and by 1950, all schools in Angola were Portuguese-medium (Powell, 2002, p. 271).

The crocodile is an important symbol in East Timorese mythology and culture.

Note, however, that such provisions may create conflict or violate other legal conditions (Youmans, 2007).

The word topasse is derived from tupassi, a Dravidian word, meaning interpreter. They were also called os casados (lit. the married ones) because they were the product of mixed race marriages, a practice originating in Goa and Malacca where there are many people of Eurasian origin (Albarran Carvalho, 2003, p. 74).

For an interesting discussion of the historiography of the island of Timor, see Hägerdal, 2006.

The Manufahi rebellion was a serious challenge to Portuguese control. It has been invested with nationalist sentiments, and the liurai Dom Boaventura, who led the rebellion, has gone down in the discourses of East Timorese history as a nationalist hero.

The DDLC is supported by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation and the Portuguese National Parliament. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Portugal and the Portuguese government also provide funding (see Timor Links, Accessed February 4, 2008, from www.worldbank.og/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/TIMORLESTEEXTN/O).

Court actors include judges, prosecutors, lawyers and court clerks.

The figures given in the JSMP report are mathematically inconsistent. The figures quoted here must therefore be regarded as approximate.