Correct and good Indonesian language

I refer to The Jakarta Post editorial On Youth Pledge Day published on Oct. 28, 2000, which stressed the principle of one country, one nation and one language.

However, I am slightly disturbed by the linguistic development of Bahasa Indonesia which often violates the standardized grammar and phonology, especially as spoken by actors and actresses on TV. Nowadays our evening TV programs are dominated by TV serials where nonstandard language is used.

On the one hand, the plots of the fictitious stories can be pleasing. On the other hand, the fact that the Indonesian language used by the actors and actresses does not support the hard efforts to use standard Indonesian language is distressing.

There is concern over the long-term planning of making the Indonesian language a tool to unite the nation which consists of a great variety of ethnic groups. So the language used on TV shows should be one standardized model of the Indonesian language understandable to all ethnic groups. In this context, Langacker commented, "The speech of prominent and admired people (such as celebrities and national figures) is often adopted as a standard or model, although there is no reason to think that any dialect of a language has intrinsic merit over the others (1973)".

In compliance with the above ideal, therefore, the Jakarta dialect or accent should be reduced or eliminated and replaced with the truly accepted standard Bahasa Indonesia. Only then can the pledge "one nation and one language" become a reality.

ODO FADLOELI

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