Revitalizing Language and Leadership: Pandalungan Javanese-Madurese Dialect as an Instructional Medium at the University
Keywords:
Pandalungan dialect, linguistic leadership, language revitalization, higher education, local wisdomAbstract
The use of the Pandalungan dialect as an instructional medium at Universitas Islam KH. Achmad Muzakki Syah Jember challenges the dominance of national and global languages in higher education. Previous studies examined Pandalungan only as linguistic object—phonology, morphology, and lexical variations—ignoring how language choices reflect leadership. This qualitative case study collected data through interviews, observations, and documentation from leaders, faculty, students, and community members, and was analyzed using an interactive model. The novelty lies in the "linguistic leadership" concept, which shows that institutional leaders' dialect use constitutes leadership practice itself, not merely language policy. Findings reveal that this practice emerges from institutional vision, locally raised faculty, pedagogical effectiveness, and administrative restraint, transforming academic discourse, student identity, and university-community relationships. The study recommends creating space for organic linguistic practices and further comparative research.
Penggunaan dialek Pandalungan sebagai bahasa pengantar di Universitas Islam KH. Achmad Muzakki Syah Jember menantang dominasi bahasa nasional dan global di pendidikan tinggi. Studi sebelumnya hanya mengkaji Pandalungan sebagai objek linguistik—fonologi, morfologi, dan variasi leksikal—mengabaikan bagaimana pilihan bahasa mencerminkan kepemimpinan. Studi kasus kualitatif ini mengumpulkan data melalui wawancara, observasi, dan dokumentasi dari pimpinan, dosen, mahasiswa, dan tokoh masyarakat, dianalisis dengan model interaktif. Kebaruan terletak pada konsep "kepemimpinan linguistik" yang menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan dialek oleh pimpinan institusi merupakan praktik kepemimpinan itu sendiri, bukan sekadar kebijakan bahasa. Temuan mengungkap praktik ini muncul dari visi kelembagaan, dosen lokal, efektivitas pedagogis, dan kelonggaran administratif, mentransformasi wacana akademik, identitas mahasiswa, dan hubungan universitas-komunitas. Penelitian merekomendasikan penciptaan ruang bagi praktik kebahasaan organik dan riset komparatif lanjutan.
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