Mutilation of Bahasa Indonesia

Mutilation of Bahasa Indonesia

Tony Rianto deserves to be complimented on his article in The
Jakarta Post of June 11, in which he singled out Anton M.
Moeliono as Indonesia's Noah Webster, an apt and telling way to
liken our own scholar to the great American lexicographer in many
respects.

After reading about the story of this man who has played "a
prominent role" in the development of Bahasa Indonesia, I tried
to sound out the knowledge of our youngsters of this rare keeper
of our national language. Sadly enough, it is a tale of woe that
Madrasah alia graduates, the freshmen of reputable universities,
have no qualms about their complete ignorance of Anton Moeliono.

This phenomenon speaks for itself: People are not concerned
about correct Indonesian, as reflected in the poor Indonesian in
the media. New Indonesian words derived from English crop up
daily, in proliferation.

The most recent example of an ingeniously invented
Indonesianized foreign word is the odd-sounding "volatilitas" for
"volatility", recently used by a high official in his press
release, as reported in respectable Kompas.

Eventually, people not well-versed in English or other
languages will be marginalized within society for being
unsophisticated or "uneducated".

Worst of all, a spokesman for the military authorities made
cliched statements every time, after the outbreak of disorder in
the regions leading to the May 14, 1998, racial violence in
Jakarta by saying, "the situation has become conducive," meaning
that the situation was under control or order had been restored.

The word kondusif has now become a standard Indonesian word
for a sound, good or healthy state of affairs, which is far from
the correct usage of the original word.

Words like isu for "issue" are another mistake. The word
sosialisasi seems to come from nowhere, because there is no such
word in English as "socialization" when taken to mean
"familiarization" or "popularization".

It is relevant to keep in mind the words of the Earl of
Chesterfield (1694-1773): "Words are the dress of thoughts, which
should no more be presented in rags, tatters and dirt than our
person should". Evidently, the defiling of our Bahasa Indonesia
is attributable to the pomposity of the elite, without regard to
the upbringing of the younger generation.

For the sake of Anton Moeliono, Tony Rianto should start
crusading against the mutilation of our national language before
the death knell tolls.

WIDIJARTO ADIWONO, Jakarta