http://twoskeletons.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] twoskeletons.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] whynot 2010-03-19 07:28 pm (UTC)

the USA kind of doesn't have an equivalent to this kind of in-country multilingualism. I mean, maybe Spanish?
Hmm, I take this back. I wager this happens in immigrant households, first second third generation. Basically, a situation where a language is still vibrant and vital in one's life despite not being the national/state-assigned default. But in the USA, I think this kind of thing is usually associated with immigrant/multicultural households. But in Indonesia, people who also speak Sunda and Javanese and Batak etc are not immigrants. They have 'been there all along', and their language is minoritized anyway. It becomes a 'bonus', rather than baseline.

And I guess this is why Sam and Dean can't speak Sunda, lol. The sociolinguistic foundation is different, and the implications/associations of being multilingual just aren't the same.

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