Intercultural Marriage: Bugis and Konjo Tribes

The discussion about communication will begin with the assumption that communication is related to human needs and the fulfillment of needs to interact with other humans. This need for social relations is fulfilled through the exchange of messages which serves as a bridge to unite humans who without communicating would be isolated.  

Messages or various information related to life in families of different ethnic couples are conveyed in various ways, one of which is the use of language that is acceptable to both parties. According to Finocchiarno (1964: 8), language is an arbitrary vocal symbol system, allowing all people in a particular culture, or other people who have studied that cultural system to communicate or interact.  

Based on the results of the study, two out of five respondents of different ethnic couples between the Bugis and Konjo ethnicities in Bulukumba chose to communicate using Indonesian as their first language, which is used to convey information to their partner with the aim that it is easy to understand and there is no miscommunication. Indonesian is the national language so that it can be accepted and understood by various tribes in Indonesia.  

Three of the respondents, a couple of different ethnicities, between the Bugis and Konjo ethnicities, tried to understand the culture and language in their partner's area, appreciate and respect differences by opening themselves up to learn from one another.

2. Communication between Different Ethnic Couples in Resolving Conflicts

In a marriage bond, communication is the main factor to build harmony. In married couples, of course, they communicate to overcome conflict naturally when it comes to their relationship (Littlejohn, 2011: 298). Communication is an important thing in a marriage bond, because humans are social beings who will always communicate until the end of their lives, therefore communication itself is said to be crucial in life.  

This study found that in different ethnic marriage couples, the objects of conflict occurred between them stemming from things such as language differences which can lead to misunderstandings, differences in customs, and differences in values and norms in a culture.  

Based on the results of the research questionnaire, which was carried out by couples of different ethnicities between the Bugis and Konjo ethnicities in resolving conflicts, namely using Indonesian to avoid misunderstandings or miscommunication, respecting different perspectives, and trying to understand and learn their language and culture from one another.

3. Supporting Factors and Barriers to Intercultural Communication Couples of Different Ethnicity

From the results of the questionnaires distributed, it can be seen that in the communication process carried out by different ethnic marriage couples between the Bugis and Konjo ethnicities, there are supporting and inhibiting factors.  

The supporting factors in intercultural communication between different ethnic pairs are: