Misadventures in learning Indonesian<\/p>\n
On a January evening many years ago, I was suffering from a
\nsplitting headache and I had to see the doctor urgently. I was a
\nnewcomer to the country then.<\/p>\n
I was living in the Mayestik area of Jakarta and, on my way to
\nthe office every day, I had seen a sign board at road junctions,
\npointing to the clinic of a \"dokter hewan\" on Jl. Hang Lekir,
\nKebayoran Baru.<\/p>\n
I decided to walk to his place, but when I reached the clinic
\nI realized to my horror that he was a veterinary doctor, after
\nall.<\/p>\n
It was a great revelation to me that \"hewan\" was not the name
\nof a person but actually meant animal, thus denoting a
\nveterinarian.<\/p>\n
My first lesson in Bahasa Indonesia started then, and I was
\nlearning the language more by a hit-or-miss method than by any
\nspecific intention. Needless to say, I got into a few hilarious
\nmisadventures.<\/p>\n
For several months at the beginning, I used to introduce my
\nwife as \"Saya Nyonya\" (I'm the wife) instead of the correct
\n\"Nyonya saya\" (This is my wife). It was a blessing in disguise
\nthat I didn't have a pet dog at home!<\/p>\n
It then occurred to me that it was important to learn not only
\nthe vocabulary but also the word order in Bahasa Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Of course, prior to my departure for Indonesia, my would-be
\nboss in Jakarta had clearly warned me concerning the language
\nproblems I would face in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He mentioned in his letter that very few people spoke English
\nin Jakarta. It was, therefore, imperative for me to learn
\nIndonesian, which was supposedly easy because it followed the
\nwell-known Latin\/English script.<\/p>\n
He even sent me a book on mastering the language.<\/p>\n
\"It would be advisable for you to complete all the lessons in
\nthe book, preferably before you reach here\", he had stated.<\/p>\n
\"Don't worry about the pronunciation -- you can correct that
\nhere, or better still if you know anybody from
\nMalaysia\/Indonesia, they can repeat some of the words learned by
\nyou, to give you an idea.\"<\/p>\n
In all sincerity, I read a few lessons from the book before I
\nleft my Indian homeland, though I couldn't find anyone to help me
\nout on the pronunciation, except that I was told that Indonesians
\nhad a great sense of humor, such as calling the speed-breakers on
\nthe roads \"polisi tidur\" (Sleeping policemen)!<\/p>\n
In the initial stages of my life here, before becoming
\nfamiliar with Indonesian names, I used to remember the names of
\nmy staff in what was the easiest way for me. Thus, \"Pak Nasori\"
\nwas \"Pak No Sorry\", and \"Pak Kasino\" \"Pak Cash No\", etc.<\/p>\n
However, after I learned the language in a sort of rudimentary
\nway, I used to joke with names so I could remember them easily. A
\nperson named \"Suritmo\" was difficult to get along with, so I
\nsimply called him \"Sulitmo\" from the Indonesian word sulit for
\ndifficult. A good worker named \"Agus\" was christened \"Bagus\"
\n(good).<\/p>\n
My vocabulary improved with the passage of time. My
\nIndonesian staff often came to me for \"ACC\" (approval) of some
\ndocument or other. I used to respond to them with pleasure, as,
\naccording to me, the acronym \"ACC\" stood for \"Aku Cinta
\nChandramouli\" (I love Chandramouli)!<\/p>\n
And I came to like beautiful Indonesian expressions like
\n\"Salah masuk kamar\" for serving the ball into the wrong court in
\ntennis.<\/p>\n
An Indian colleague of mine was one \"Kanthimathinathan\", and
\nmy company's telephone operator used to refer to him as \"Kanti
\nmati\", with an emphasis on the word \"mati\" (dead). I reminded her
\nnot to make him a dead person, but she could never pronounce his
\nname properly. After many attempts, I gave up and decided that
\nthe problem was one for my colleague and the operator to sort
\nout.<\/p>\n
During the first year of my stay, I was working in an office
\nlocated on the first floor of a ruko (shop-cum-office) on Jl.
\nPasar Pagi in Kota.<\/p>\n
We worked only half a day on Saturdays then. On one of those
\nSaturdays, I was so engrossed in an important report that I
\nforgot the time and continued working well after the closing
\nhours.<\/p>\n
Somebody on the ground floor switched the electricity main off
\nto indicate that he was closing down for the day. After a few
\nminutes, he switched it on, perhaps to help us (me and my staff)
\nto come down the staircase.<\/p>\n
Disregarding this disturbance, we continued with our work and
\nafter a little while, the man down below turned off the main
\nswitch once again, apparently to show his impatience. I then
\nlost my cool and in the pitch blackness blurted out, \"Siapa orang
\nmati di bawah terus?\"<\/p>\n
I really meant to ask who was turning the light off on the
\nground floor. But Rema, my assistant, couldn't control his
\nlaughter and said to my astonishment: \"Sir, what you just now
\nsaid means 'Who is falling dead continuously on the ground
\nfloor'\"?<\/p>\n
An example of bad communication on my part, I must concede.
\nIf a language is not used properly, what is said is not what is
\nmeant.<\/p>\n
Then again, there are some things about Indonesian that
\ncontinue to frustrate me to this day.<\/p>\n
If we look at official letters in Indonesia, they often appear
\nto be less than focused. Isn't a simple \"Terima Kasih\" (Thank
\nyou) sufficient when closing a letter rather than the usual long-
\nwinded \"Demikianlah\" etc.?<\/p>\n
Similarly, to this day, I don't understand why shopkeepers
\nkeep on saying \"belum ada\" (not yet available) when in fact they
\nnever stored or sold a particular item and they have no intention
\nof doing so in the future, either.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, they even tell the customers that the item is
\n\"habis\" (finished) as if they had a lot of stock and had just
\nthen sold out of it. Wouldn't \"Tidak ada\" (not available) be a
\nsimpler, honest and straightforward answer? So, that's my little
\ncontribution for Indonesian speakers!<\/p>\n
-- D. Chandramouli<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/misadventures-in-learning-indonesian-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }