Correct and good Indonesian language

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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