'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)