Language Interference in Denpasar City Traditional Market Transactions: A Study of Its Forms and Factors

Abstrak

This study aimed to examine language interference in transactional communication within traditional markets in Denpasar City, where local languages, Bahasa Indonesia, and foreign languages intersected in daily economic exchanges. Language interference was understood as the integration of linguistic elements from one language into another, occurring at phonological, lexical, and syntactic levels. Drawing on Weinreich’s (1953) theory of language interference and supported by sociolinguistic frameworks from Chaer and Agustina (2010), the research employed a qualitative descriptive approach through field observations and semi-structured interviews with market participants. The findings revealed phonological interference in pronunciation influenced by regional accents, lexical interference through borrowing and mixing of vocabulary across languages, and syntactic interference in sentence constructions that diverged from standard Indonesian norms. These patterns were shaped by sociolinguistic factors such as habitual language use, level of education, and the frequency of multilingual interaction. Rather than viewing interference as a linguistic flaw, the study interpreted it as a reflection of communicative adaptation and cultural negotiation within the informal economy. The results offer theoretical insight into multilingual dynamics and practical relevance for enhancing communication in culturally diverse market environments.