A reflection on language and identity in Indonesia

Abstract

I grew up in a linguistically homogenic village on the small island of Lembata in the Lesser Sunda region of Indonesia. Everyone in the village speaks the same mother tongue, known as Baolangu dialect. This dialect is a local variation of Lamaholot, an Austronesian language spoken in the eastern part of Flores island and the neighbouring islands including my home island of Lembata, Adonara, Solor, Alor and Pantar. The Lamaholot language was also known previously during the colonial era as Solorese. The term Lamaholot partly corresponds with the island name Solor, or Holot, situated between the islands of Flores, Adonara, and Lembata.