RI solved national language puzzle 20 years before indpendence
RI solved national language puzzle 20 years before indpendence
By V. Anjaiah
JAKARTA (JP): The respected language expert Dr. Harimurti
Kridalaksana says in one of his books that the official language
Bahasa Indonesia is the pride of the nation. Without it this
country wouldn't have achieved either its independence nor
national unity.
It is true that Bahasa, as it is popularly called, gave
momentum to the embryonic concept of Indonesian nationalism and
sounded a death-knell for 300 years of Dutch colonialism shortly
after the turn of this century. The infant language united an
enormous country that is extremely diverse, not only
geographically and ethnically, but also religiously and
culturally.
Moreover, Indonesia is perhaps the only developing country in
modern times which chose its national language from a lengthy
list of languages -- almost without controversy.
Linguistically, Indonesia and its more than 400 languages and
dialects is ranked second in the world after India, which tops
the list with 1,652 languages and dialects (1971 census).
Unlike many countries, Indonesia solved the puzzle of national
language 20 years before its independence in 1945 and used it as
a weapon to liberate itself from the colonial yoke.
At a time when countries, such as Canada, Belgium, India and
the Philippines, are scratching their heads trying to find a
solution to their language problems, one may wonder how things
went so differently in a country like Indonesia. What was the
secret behind this unique achievement?
The credit must go to Indonesia's young people of the time,
who made the impossible task quite possible.
On Oct. 28, 1928, 750 of the archipelago's young men and women
put aside their regional, cultural and ethnic differences. Youth
organizations from all corners of Indonesia, such as Jong Java,
Jong Sumatranen Bond, Pemuda Indonesia, Sekar Rukun, Jong
Islamieten Bond, Jong Batak Bond, Jong Celebes, Pemuda Kaum
Betawi, and Perhimpunan Pelajar-Pelajar Indonesia, not only
united themselves, but also took the important Sumpah Pemuda
(Youth Pledge). This oath, made at the end of Second Youth
Congress held in Gedung Kramat Raya 126, Jakarta, changed the
course of history for this nation.
The Sumpah Pemuda freed Indonesia from the many ills plaguing
attempts at unity because it straightforwardly stated that
henceforth there would be one only homeland and one nation --
Indonesia -- and one language --Bahasa Indonesia.
Though the language was mentioned last in the pledge, one
should not think that it was not given priority.
"All three items listed in the Sumpah Pemuda are equally
important and cannot be separated from one another. They are
meant for building Indonesia Raya (Great Indonesia)," Syahrial, a
lecturer who teaches Bahasa Indonesia to foreigners at the
University of Indonesia, the country's premier educational
institute, said recently.
Bahasa Indonesia is the soul of this nation and a symbol of
Persatuan (national unity). During the colonial regime the word
Persatuan came to "independence" because the Dutch colonial
government prohibited the usage of words like "freedom" and
"independence" in public meetings.
Many foreigners Indonesia may not know that the term
"Indonesia" did not come into existence until 1850. It was first
used by James Richardson, a Singapore-based British
anthropologist, to refer the archipelago situated between the two
continents of Asia and Australia. Indonesia's present national
language was adopted from Bahasa Melayu, or the Malay language, a
language spoken in a small area called Riau, Sumatra. It was
renamed Bahasa Indonesia in 1928.
Unfortunately, there is no information as to who suggested the
name Bahasa Indonesia at the Second Youth Congress. Several books
on the history of the Indonesian language have suggested, though
not conclusively, that it was Mohammad Yamin, an ambitious
student leader from Sumatra and one of the architects of Sumpah
Pemuda, who proposed in the congress that Bahasa Melayu be made
the national language. The participants of the congress
overwhelmingly supported Yamin's idea and adopted it as the
Bahasa Persatuan to be called by a new name: Bahasa Indonesia.
Indonesia's adoption of Bahasa Melayu as a national language
serves as an ideal example for many countries on how to solve the
language problem.
The choice made is very interesting in light of the fact that
Bahasa Melayu was, at the time, only spoken on a daily basis by
around 10 percent of the population. Yet it received overwhelming
support from all over Indonesia, including from the Javanese, who
constituted over 40 percent of the population, and spoke a
different language called Bahasa Jawa.
One might ask why the Malay language was selected as the
national language instead of Javanese, when Bahasa Jawa had more
native speakers than any of the languages in the whole of
Southeast Asia.
The fact was that the Malay language was the lingua franca of
the Indonesian archipelago and had been used as a language of
trade since ancient times. It had come to be known primarily as
Melayu Pasar (Malay Bazaar) language.
Apart from in the Indonesian archipelago, it is widely spoken
by the people of southern Thailand, Mindanao island, the
Philippines, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia.
Explaining the selection of the Malay language, the late Sutan
Takdir Alisjahbana, a great Indonesian literary and cultural
figure and well-known educator, said, "It was the simplicity and
structure of Malay that made it easy to learn. Moreover, there is
no hierarchy in the Malay language unlike in Javanese, which has
different levels such as Krama Inggil, Krama and Ngoko, making it
difficult to learn."
The whole process, however, was not without obstacles. The
Dutch colonialists tried to impose Dutch as the national
language, but patriotic Indonesians outrightly rejected the
language of their oppressors. And the Javanese also opposed a
Dutch minority group, who loved the Javanese language and culture
and who were pushing to have the Bahasa Jawa made the national
language. But above all, what made the dream of Yamin and his
friends into reality was the Javanese people's tolerance.
Bahasa Indonesia is unique in that it is a more democratic and
flexible language than any other language in Southeast Asia. The
Malay language had interacted with many languages, such as
Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Tamil, Telugu, Portuguese, Dutch and
English, and as a result Yamin was right in propagating this
language as symbol of national unity.
Since its birth, Bahasa Indonesia has never looked back.
Some people credit its rise to Japan's brief occupation of
Indonesia during World War II, because the occupation forces
mandated it as the official language. Though this might be
partially true, it was the Indonesians' love for this language
that has made it a perfect national language for almost seven
decades.
After independence, the status of Bahasa was clearly stated in
Article 36 of the 1945 Constitution: "the Indonesian state
language will be Bahasa Indonesia".
Yet according to Pusat Bahasa (the Indonesian Language
Institute), very few people (not more than eight percent) can
speak a pure and standard form of the language. Many people mix
Bahasa with either regional languages or local Malay dialects.
Others have the misconception that the language is too young and
cannot compete with other modern languages, therefore, or because
they think it is very easy to learn, they don't take the time to
learn it properly.
"Before Sumpah Pemuda, Bahasa Melayu was already a full-
fledged language," says Harimurti, adding that Bahasa Indonesia
is without a doubt as legitimate as any other modern language.
On the surface Bahasa might extremely look easy to learn, but
one has to face several constraints in order to master it.
"Many foreigners and Indonesians themselves acknowledge that
Bahasa Indonesia is easy. I wouldn't agree with this. For example
I have been studying this language for more than three years and
still find it difficult," said Min Choi, a Korean student who is
studying Bahasa at the University of Indonesia.
Since Sumpah Pemuda has become a strong pillar of the
Indonesian nation, Indonesia has proved to the world that
humankind, despite a variety of differences, can live
harmoniously by respecting each other and each other's languages.
It has taught us important values like musyawarah (consensus),
gotong-royong (cooperation), tolerance, peaceful-coexistence and
unity in diversity.
In a modern world where geographical boundaries are narrowing
fast, the message of Sumpah Pemuda_-- "one country, one nation,
one language" -- reminds us of what Erik Paul Rolf, an American
author, journalist, and authority on Indonesian matters, rightly
said: "One Language, One Humanity, One Planet."
The writer is an Indian student studying the Indonesian
language at the Faculty of Letters of the University of
Indonesia, Jakarta.
Window A: Indonesia solved the puzzle of national language 20 years before
its independence in 1945 and used it as a weapon to liberate itself
from the colonial yoke.
Window B: Indonesia's adoption of Bahasa Melayu as a national language
serves as an ideal example for many countries on how to solve the
language problem.
Window C: Bahasa Indonesia is unique in that it is a more democratic and
flexible language than any other language in Southeast Asia.