[lg policy] Indonesian language at 82: Hindsight and foresight

[Harold Schiffman]

Indonesian language at 82: Hindsight and foresight

Setiono Sugiharto, Jakarta | Sat, 10/30/2010 10:55 AM | Opinion


The inexorable influx of foreign terminology ubiquitous in many fields
such as entertainment, politics, journalism, economics and education
implies two fundamental things.

First, the anachronistic national language-coining policy, which has
long been established since the first language congress in Solo,
Central Java, is no longer germane to current conditions.

Both print and electronic media exert considerable influence on
exemplifying “models” of language use to the community at large. The
policy stipulates that in coining words for the national language, the
country’s local and indigenous languages must be the first resource to
be used. Provided that no lexical items are available in these
languages, borrowing words from foreign languages should become the
last resort.

Second, language users are showing recalcitrant attitudes towards a
proposed language law proscribing the use of foreign terminology the
public sphere. This further implies that the Language Center — the
purportedly non-governmental agency that proposed the law — has failed
in an attempt to control people’s language use.

Now under the dominion of advanced sciences and technologies, the
influence of language use by the media and public figures such as
politicians, entertainers, advertisers and businessman in
disseminating a so-called de facto language policy cannot be
overlooked.

There is fear, however, voiced by conservative language custodians
that these figures often employ a massive amount of loan words,
particularly from English, in daily communication acts, giving the
impression that English terminology is often given precedence over the
use of Indonesian and local languages.

There is no need to worry about this natural phenomenon. If two
languages come in contact, the dominant one tends to be preferred and
used by the language community. On a positive note, if English
terminology is used properly in the sense that the loan words serve as
synonyms for existing Indonesian and local words, they can certainly
enrich the lexicon of the Indonesian language.

In the process of language development, we have witnessed a rapid
growth of the language, especially in its lexicon. We cannot therefore
simply dismiss the fact that throughout its history Indonesia has owed
much of its lexical enrichment to foreign borrowings.

The process of these borrowings have been taken the form of loanwords
such as eksis (exist), kandidat (candidate), and presisi (precision);
loan blends such as anti-rayap (termites) and polusi udara (air
pollution); and loan shifts or loan translations such as
pencakar-langit (skyscraper), tendangan pojok (corner kick) and peluru
kendali (guided missile).

The late Indonesian linguistic professor Soenjono Dardjowidjojo
estimated that the language’s lexicon reached approximately 70,000
lemmas, not to mention the tremendous development in its phonology and
syntax.

Though Soenjono never explicitly mentioned where the sources of the
lexicon came from, it is plausible to surmise that both the country’s
indigenous languages and foreign terminology have historically
significantly contributed to the Indonesian language. The tremendous
development of the Indonesian lexicon is evidenced in the latest
publication of the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (KBBI)
by Balai Pustaka.

For reasons briefly alluded to above, what has become an issue of
concern is not whether massive foreign borrowings can discourage the
use of local languages, but rather how we can promote the logical use
of our national language as well as a sense of cultivating pride of
using local languages via education.

It is intriguing to observe that concomitant with the rapid
development of the language, the use of illogical language is now
prevalent not only among the uneducated, but also the educated. Such a
fallacious use is also common in colloquial and even formal registers.

We can find numerous instances of anomalous language used, for
instance, in giving warnings, such as in yang membawa HP harap di
matikan, which literally means those who bring cell phones will be
killed. The intended meaning, however, is please turn off your cell
phone. Another infamous illogical phrase — kawasan dilarang merokok —
is ubiquitously found in many areas in Greater Jakarta where people
are advised not to smoke.

Observe also the following nonsense uttered by a TV reporter: Genangan
air menggenangi hampir seluruh kawasan Jakarta, or water stagnated
almost Greater Jakarta.

Local language cultivation also needs reinvigorating in the face of
tough competition from the English predominantly used by people of all
ages. While issuing a policy banning the use of English terminology is
counterproductive, the viable options are to encourage the use of
local language as a language of instruction and for publications
(e.g., books, magazines, and newspaper) to be written in local
languages.

The daily use of spoken language between students and students; and
students and teachers stimulates a sense of pride in consistently
using their home languages. In addition, written documentation helps
to preserve local languages from the threat of language extinction and
language death. These documentations are, in fact, “treasures” which
can be passed into young generations so that they can appreciate the
precious value of their ancestor’s language.

The writer is an associate professor at Atma Jaya University  in
Jakarta and chief editor of the Indonesian Journal of English Language
Teaching.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/10/30/indonesian-language-82-hindsight-and-foresight.html




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