'Inggris' means England, Great Britain, UK ...
'Inggris' means England, Great Britain, UK ...
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians will most likely continue to use the term Inggris and limit the usage of Britania Raya to political and official purposes, language experts say.
Hasan Alwi, head of the ministry of education and culture's Center for the Development of Bahasa Indonesia, said it would be difficult to change how Indonesians use Inggris.
"The term 'Inggris' is proper as far as the public is concerned," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The issue of whether or not Inggris was properly used by Indonesians, as it suggests "England" rather than "Britain", has been brought up by readers of this daily for the past week.
Looking the word up in the second edition of the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia published by the development center in 1991, Hasan defined Inggris as the name for people residing in the British Isles (kepulauan Inggris) and the name of a language.
"Geographically and politically it would be called Britania Raya, but this is seldom used," he said.
Similarly, Maurits Simatupang, a professor of English literature at the University of Indonesia, said the use of Inggris depended on the context, "but usually when (Indonesian) people say 'Inggris' they know that they are referring to the whole British Isles."
Simatupang said the Batak people in North Sumatra often face similar misuse of a term.
"Batak people from the sub-groups of Simalungun, Karo, Mandailing, Angkola and Toba all refuse to be referred to as simply Batak. But how many people outside this area know and care about this?" asked Simatupang, who is Batak himself.
He argues that when Indonesians use the word Inggris they are not referring to a specific part of the British Isles.
"Once out of (Great Britain), I think it would be best to let the (Indonesian) user choose what word is most appropriate, as long as they use it consistently," he told the Post.
Simatupang believes there is no need to standardize or change the usage of the word Inggris, except for special purposes such as on official maps or in diplomatic affairs.
Ambassador of the United Kingdom Graham S. Burton said the official translation of the embassy's nameplate would be more appropriate if it were "Kedutaan Besar Britania" instead of the current "Kedutaan Besar Inggris".
The usage of the word Inggris in this context, he said, was incongruous because it means England or English but is used to refer to Britain or British. (pwn)