Euphemism in Bahasa Indonesia<\/p>\n
Bulan Bahasa (Indonesian Language Month) has just ended so I
\nwould like to point out the use of euphemisms in Bahasa Indonesia
\nwhich lead to hypocrisy.<\/p>\n
I think the degree of euphemism in Bahasa Indonesia is
\nunhealthy because the meaning of a word or definition is altered
\nso that its meaning becomes biased. Therefore, many terms are
\nconfused and we are often ensnared in the definition traps.<\/p>\n
Although defining words is intangible, this is still an
\nimportant issue. The more precise the definition the easier it is
\nto tackle a problem. Today, many problems are diagnosed wrong
\nbecause they are defined wrong.<\/p>\n
When I studied taxonomy, my lecturer continually stressed the
\nimportance of definition because they influence the way we manage
\nproblems. Once the definitions are wrong then everything
\nfollowing can also be wrong.<\/p>\n
So, I was surprised when a TVRI announcer called rakyat miskin
\n(poor people) rakyat pra-sejahtera (pre-well-off people) during
\nthe evening news. As a matter of fact, both terms have
\nconsiderably different definitions. Pra-sejahtera is a better
\ncondition than miskin (poor) and it is therefore a biased form of
\nmiskin. A weird sentence was also aired when a minister said that
\npersediaan beras kita aman (our food stock is safe). Couldn't he
\njust say cukup (sufficient) instead of aman (safe).<\/p>\n
There are some phrases whose definitions are now really
\nbiased. Lapar (hungry) becomes kurang pangan (lack of food) and
\npelacur (prostitute) becomes wanita tuna susila (unethical
\nwoman). Men can be prostitutes. It is a relief that we no longer
\nuse disesuaikan (readjusted) when we want to say that the price
\nhas increased.<\/p>\n
I remember the phrase Bahasa menunjukkan bangsa which means
\nyou can tell a nation by its language. If we adopt euphemisms for
\nI am afraid we will teach hypocrisy to our beloved Indonesian
\npeople.<\/p>\n
WAHYUNI RIZKIANA KAMAH<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/euphemism-in-bahasa-indonesia-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }