JP/5/LANGUAGE

JP/5/LANGUAGE

'Coarse' language on TV concerns Surabayans
ID Nugroho
The Jakarta Post/Surabaya

Totok Mulyanto was shocked when he listened to a television
program his 16-year-old son Hatmoko was watching on East Java
private television station JTV.

The racy tabloid news show, which has presenters who speak in
a gritty local Javanese dialect, annoyed the 45-year-old father,
more so when the news presenter described a rape incident as
"arek wedok iku diencuk koncone dewe (the girl was 'f---cked' by
her male friend)."

The station managers have said they chose to use the local
dialect and eschew a more formal language to attract viewers.

Totok said while this program used local speech, he felt its
use was inappropriate to Surabayan culture.

Zainal, another Surabaya resident, is also uneasy with the
local television programs, which he says often use coarse
language. "The language reflects people's attitudes. If the
television continuously runs these programs, I am worried that in
general people will perceive that East Javan people are coarse
and not civilized," said Zainal, adding that he was concerned the
language and attitudes would affect children.

Zaenal and Totok are not alone in their views. There has been
a public outcry before about two other programs Kampong Corner
and Case Corner, broadcast by JTV during the past two years.

These tabloid shows are similar to news shows on other private
and state television stations, except in terms of their language.

Unlike the others the two use the local East Javan dialect
known as Suroboyoan.

Suroboyoan is a form of Javanese but it is more direct and
considered by many, especially those outside East Java, to sound
a little coarse.

"We accept the use of Suroboyoan. However, the kind that is
being used in TV programs is much more coarse," Totok said.

And it is not only the public who are displeased -- the
Surabaya Broadcasting Commission has also questioned the use of
the language in JTV's programs.

Ida Nurwana, the head of commission's advocacy section, called
the language "unwise".

"We want JTV to improve (the quality of) its language," Ida
said.

However, Nanang Purwono, the producer of Kampong Corner,
rejected allegations the programs were using impolite language.
The language had been in use for years among poorer people, he
said.

"We merely use a language that is commonly used by the public
in East Java. We are afraid that if we do not continue to
broadcast it, then the language will vanish. We want to preserve
our local culture," Nanang said.

JTV executive news producer Abdul Muis Masduki said the
network was equally concerned about the use of language -- the
increasing lack of linguistic diversity in Indonesia as people
switched from their traditional dialects to ones considered more
polite.

"We are concerned that more and more people are using Bahasa
Indonesia and Mataram Javanese (commonly used by Yogyakartans),
instead of Suroboyoan, and they seem to be forgetting their
mother tongue," Masduki said.