Is the language liberated?<\/p>\n
By Andreas Anastasius<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian language hides the truth.
\nSlogans about development, vague terminology and acronyms are
\nrampant.<\/p>\n
Indonesians also like to falsify reports. For example,
\nvillagers will tell a visiting official that their region is
\nprosperous and orderly, but the truth is that the village is
\ncrime infested and extremely poor.<\/p>\n
Euphemisms are now a major part of our language, with an
\nincreasing number of jokes, puns and foreign terms to express
\ncriticism.<\/p>\n
Speeches contain many euphemisms, gobbledygook and acronyms.
\nPeople know that when the government says \"Fuel prices have been
\nadjusted and toll road rates reviewed\" it means that prices have
\nincreased.<\/p>\n
The term \"formless organization\" has added to the confusion.
\nAcronyms add up to the hundreds: litsus stands for penelitian
\nkhusus (special investigation), satgas for satuan tugas (task
\nforce), tilang for bukti pelanggaran (processing a traffic ticket
\nin court).<\/p>\n
Some euphemisms: prostitute is replaced by sex worker or
\nenjoyment promoter, hoodlums are called civilians, corruption is
\ncamouflaged as bad loans, arrested is softened to be taken into
\nsafe custody (although the incumbent may not be safe), dismissing
\nmembers of the House of Representatives is called time interval
\nreplacement.<\/p>\n
Sex worker and civilian sound more dignified that prostitute
\nand hoodlum. But they are the same. Consequently prostitution and
\ncrime are on the increase.<\/p>\n
This reflects our corrupt communication. Indonesians fear
\ncalling a spade a spade. Officials shun transparent language,
\ncreating a communication gap in the process.<\/p>\n
As writer Mudji Sutrisno has said, there is always a filter of
\nlanguage in communicating with people which often creates
\nbias.<\/p>\n
What the public sees, their objectivity and the language
\nfilter of those in charge, control the public's minds, its
\nthoughts and its creativity.<\/p>\n
Digging for the truth by questioning those who monopolize the
\nlanguage is rare.<\/p>\n
The uniform language of authority gets more wind from
\neconomists and politicians, the information power houses.<\/p>\n
Fifty years after our independence it is time to reflect on
\nthe way we communicate. Does it reflect a free people?<\/p>\n
Euphemisms abound in many languages. Although initially used
\nto protect the feelings of a second person, they now protect the
\nfeelings of the first person. Corruption is therefore called
\n\"commercialization of one's function\" or \"abusing one's
\nposition\".<\/p>\n
The term oknum, literally meaning \"person in a certain
\ncapacity\", like \"oknum ABRI\", is used for a person who committed
\na mistake instead of the word \"member\".<\/p>\n
This sort of euphemism is clearly unjustified. It questions
\nthe mentality of the speaker and shows what kind of social values
\nthe Indonesian community lives by.<\/p>\n
Officials resort to this form of speech to cover up their
\nfailures.<\/p>\n
Misplaced euphemism can only hurt society. The first to suffer
\nis the bureaucracy. They will eventually lose the people's
\nconfidence.<\/p>\n
Euphemisms also blunt sensitivity to the sufferings of others.
\nIf a paper reports that a village is short of food instead of in
\nthe middle of a famine, readers might not run to the villagers'
\naid.<\/p>\n
Misplaced euphemisms stem from a slave mentality. It is time
\nto return to the origins of the Indonesian language, origins
\nsteeped in egalitarianism and democracy.<\/p>\n
The writer is a graduate of the School of Indonesian Language
\nand Literature Education at the Sanata Dharma University in
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/is-the-language-liberated-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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