Bahasa Indonesia becoming feudalist
Bahasa Indonesia becoming feudalist
JAKARTA (JP): Bahasa Indonesia, originally an egalitarian
language, is turning into a language that is being used more and
more in a feudalistic manner, according to language expert Taufiq
Ismail.
Taufiq, a prominent man of letters, a productive writer and
former student activist during President Sukarno's rule, said
yesterday that he sensed a feudalistic atmosphere prevailing in
the country after observing the recent developments in the
language.
"There are too many euphemisms used these days," he said.
Several examples he cited were the placing of the word "bapak"
(mister) in front of "datuk" (a more respectful term for mister,
taken from the Melayu dialect).
Datuk, he said, already contains the meaning "sir" and the
additional term bapak is therefore unnecessary.
The common term of "bung" or "saudara," both mean older
brother, are no longer used and have been replaced by the more
respectful term "bapak."
"It's not only a matter of meaning but rather the deep sense
of friendliness which comes with the word bung," he said.
President Sukarno, Indonesia's first president from 1945 to
1967, insisted on being referred to as Bung Karno, creating a
greater sense of camaraderie among fellow independence fighters.
Golkar chairman Harmoko has tried to revive the usage of bung
since his appointment to the helm of the ruling political
organization though the idea has not yet fully caught after
almost one year of trying.
Taufiq pointed out that the euphemistic use of these terms
indicates the user's tendency to be "over-polite" and even
deceitful.
Such changes in language are in fact a reflection of the way
the country's culture is changing, he said.
He also considered the use of slogans and phrases taken from
the ancient Sanskrit language like Parasamya Purnakarya Nugraha,
the award for distinguished cities, as a sign of "anti-
modernization."
Sanskrit language
Bahasa Indonesia has roots in the Sanskrit language which
comes from the region of India.
"We shouldn't take words from an already defunct language when
we already have numerous ethnic dialects that could enrich
Indonesian vocabulary," he pointed out.
Taufiq felt that younger Indonesians also lacked an
understanding of Indonesian literature.
The younger generation, he said, only knows men of letters by
their names and the titles of their literary works and lacks
knowledge of the actual content of their works.
Literature, he said, should comprise a bigger part of school
curriculums. Currently only one twelfth of total time spent in
the subject of Bahasa Indonesia is dedicated to literature while
the subject of Bahasa is only given a twentieth of the time spent
on all subjects taught in Indonesian schools.
"I think literature should actually be separated altogether
from Bahasa Indonesia to increase the students' understanding and
appreciation of Indonesian literature works," he stressed.(pwn)