The Dead Words Of Traditional Medicine Found in Sungai Tarab Sub-District in Tanah Datar

This research explores dead words and their causative factors in Sungai Tarab Sub-district, Tanah Datar Regency. This research is qualitative research that relies on many informants to analyze the problems in the development of dead words in Sungai Tarab area. The community has forgotten or lived with many dead words. Dead words occur when terms are no longer used or seem outdated. Based on the study, researchers found 31 dead words out of 67 words studied, while 21 words were classified as shifting words. Although young informants still recognize these terms, they hesitate to use them, thus risking extinction. Next, 15 terms are considered known words because they are still recognized and used by young informants.The researcher concluded that many people in the Sungai Tarab area still know and use the words of traditional medicine in their treatment. The researcher also found several causative factorsin the occurrence of dead words in Sungai Tarab Sub-district, including the dominance of the majority language, the use of bilingual or multilingual speakers, globalization, intermarriages, and the use of Indonesian as a lingua franca and school system. This research agrees that endangered languages need to be saved, so we need to be aware of the many factors that contribute to their extinction.