English lords

In response to Mr. Richard's letter (The Jakarta Post, June 12, 1996), I rebut his mee laktidjei (don't try to reverse the irreversible), with another ancient Greek saying: panta rei (every thing has its end). I believe this saying more appropriate since the present illustrates that most anachronistic inheritances, like the "the policy of small rectangles", are passing away or are in the throes of death. Whether additional outlets are needed, it's useless to resort to subterfuge in order to justify the negative aspect represented by the English language for Indonesian culture.

I also believe that it's unfair to state that Indonesian is a strictly limited language. I don't think so, but should Richard be right, the English language wouldn't be useful to Indonesian language growth.

I can demonstrate that the exasperated and awkward use of English is spoiling Indonesian. I report what I heard a few days ago in a travel agency: "Kalau the plane akan take off on time, tidak ada problem, sebab akan landing jam...Tetapi, kalau Bapak takut delay."

If I am not mistaken, the same thing could have been said with just Indonesian words: pesawat (plane); tinggal landas (take- off); pada waktunya tepat (on time); masalah (problem); mendarat (landing) and terlambat (delay).

With my compliments to all palatines of the English language.

PIERO RONCI

Jakarta