'Coarse' language concerns Surabayans

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Totok Mulyanto was shocked when he listened to a television program his 16-year-old son Hatmoko was watching on East Java private television station JTV.

The racy tabloid news show, which has presenters who speak in a gritty local Javanese dialect, annoyed the 45-year-old father, more so when the news presenter described a rape incident as "arek wedok iku diencuk koncone dewe (the girl was 'f---cked' by her male friend)."

The station managers have said they chose to use the local dialect and eschew a more formal language to attract viewers.

Totok said while this program used local speech, he felt its use was inappropriate to Surabayan culture.

Zainal, another Surabaya resident, is also uneasy with the local television programs, which he says often use coarse language. "The language reflects people's attitudes. If the television continuously runs these programs, I am worried that in general people will perceive that East Javan people are coarse and not civilized," said Zainal, adding that he was concerned the language and attitudes would affect children.

Zaenal and Totok are not alone in their views. There has been a public outcry before about two other programs Kampong Corner and Case Corner, broadcast by JTV during the past two years.

These tabloid shows are similar to news shows on other private and state television stations, except in terms of their language.

Unlike the others the two use the local East Javan dialect known as Suroboyoan.

Suroboyoan is a form of Javanese but it is more direct and considered by many, especially those outside East Java, to sound a little coarse.

"We accept the use of Suroboyoan. However, the kind that is being used in TV programs is much more coarse," Totok said.

And it is not only the public who are displeased -- the Surabaya Broadcasting Commission has also questioned the use of the language in JTV's programs.

Ida Nurwana, the head of commission's advocacy section, called the language "unwise".

"We want JTV to improve (the quality of) its language," Ida said.

However, Nanang Purwono, the producer of Kampong Corner, rejected allegations the programs were using impolite language. The language had been in use for years among poorer people, he said.

"We merely use a language that is commonly used by the public in East Java. We are afraid that if we do not continue to broadcast it, then the language will vanish. We want to preserve our local culture," Nanang said.

JTV executive news producer Abdul Muis Masduki said the network was equally concerned about the use of language -- the increasing lack of linguistic diversity in Indonesia as people switched from their traditional dialects to ones considered more polite.

"We are concerned that more and more people are using Bahasa Indonesia and Mataram Javanese (commonly used by Yogyakartans), instead of Suroboyoan, and they seem to be forgetting their mother tongue," Masduki said.