Inggeris and Britain

Inggeris and Britain

Jeremy Gibbons gave a public service in the April l7, 1995 issue of The Jakarta Post when he raised the subject of the irksome habit of Indonesians naming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Inggeris. Although I am English, I can well understand the Scots, Welsh and Irish displeasure at being lumped together with the English in this casual way. No Sumatran or Balinese would wish to be called Orang Jawa. The parallel is exact. In calling a Scot or Welshperson -- let alone a citizen of the Republic of Ireland -- Orang Inggeris, you invite trouble.

It is worse than that. Recently, in deference no doubt to her Indonesian audience, the ineffable Rosemary Church on Australia Television News has been heard to entitle Queen Elizabeth II The Queen of England; which seems a bit odd, and a trifle disingenuous. Unless I missed something, Queen Elizabeth is still Queen of Australia. If there are any royalists left to act upon such treachery, heads should roll before Australia Television becomes a nest of republican vipers.

When did all this start? With that quintessential Englishman Sir Stamford Raffles, perhaps? Might I suggest the Indonesian Government begins to change this long-ingrained habit? Persatuan Kerajaan seems an appropriate translation of the United Kingdom, and, with the Indonesian penchant for abbreviating everything in sight, PerKeraj has a ring about it. But then, Britain and British are not exactly difficult words to get one's tongue around. TVRI reporters have shown their mettle and persevered admirably with "Uzbekistan."

ROBERT WALKER

Karangasem, Bali