DARI BAHASA JEPANG KELAS KE BAHASA JEPANG LAPANGAN: ADAPTASI SOSIOLINGUISTIK PEKERJA MIGRAN INDONESIA DI HIROSHIMA

Abstract

This study examines the Japanese language practices experienced by Indonesian migrant workers in Hiroshima, particularly in the face of significant differences between the standard Japanese they learned in pre-departure training and the language used in daily interactions in the workplace and local community. Migrant workers encounter a variety of terms, expressions, and language usage patterns not taught in formal classroom instruction. However, they gradually adapt through direct communication experiences and are ultimately able to participate effectively in social interactions. This study employs a sociolinguistic approach, with language contact theory as the primary analytical framework. This approach explains the process of intensive encounters between Indonesian and local Japanese speakers, leading to lexical adjustments, shifts in meaning, and the formation of hybrid linguistic practices. To strengthen the analysis, this study also applies language variation theory to explain the differences between standard Japanese and local varieties (including the Hiroshima dialect and occupational registers), as well as sociopragmatic theory to understand the social functions and contextual meanings of the new terms used by migrant workers in real-life communication situations. The results of this study indicate that migrant workers' linguistic adaptation is not only a process of second language acquisition, but also a form of social and identity negotiation in the context of labor migration. These findings confirm that migrant workers' communication success is determined more by their ability to read the socio-cultural context than simply by mastering standard language rules. Thus, this study provides theoretical contributions to the sociolinguistics of migration and offers practical implication