<![CDATA[Preserving the Sundanese language in early childhood is essential for maintaining the mother tongue while strengthening cultural identity amid the increasing dominance of the Indonesian language and the rapid advancement of digital technology. However, there is still no conceptual model that integrates families, early childhood education (ECE) settings, and digital applications into a unified ecosystem for regional language preservation from an early age. This study aimed to develop a conceptual model for preserving the Sundanese language through a digital application for young children in family and early childhood education environments. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed through a needs analysis involving questionnaires administered to 36 early childhood education teachers and 39 parents, complemented by open-ended responses. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis to identify the requirements for developing the conceptual model. The findings revealed that both teachers and parents demonstrated highly positive perceptions of the importance of preserving the Sundanese language. Nevertheless, its implementation continues to face several challenges, including the dominance of the Indonesian language in daily communication, limited learning media, inconsistent habituation of Sundanese language use at home and in early childhood education settings, and the absence of digital applications designed to meet the developmental characteristics of young children. Based on the findings, a conceptual model consisting of five main components was formulated: language, Sundanese culture, interactive digital media, language habituation, and teacher–parent collaboration. The study concludes that sustainable Sundanese language preservation requires a collaborative ecosystem integrating families, early childhood education settings, and digital technology as the foundation for developing systematic and sustainable regional language preservation applications.]]>
