Some girls just want to have fun with language

By Bret Galloway

JAKARTA (JP): Maybe Cindy Lauper was right. It seems natural enough. But writing a language book is not many people would do for fun.

Retno Krisnawati did. The lively 1992 graduate in Japanese studies from the University of Indonesia has just published a practical conversation book for Japanese students learning Bahasa Indonesia called Conversation for Japanese Living in Jakarta (Percakapan Untuk Orang Jepang yang Tinggal di Jakarta).

Although primarily intended for Japanese staying in Jakarta, the book is also useful for those living elsewhere in the country and even for those learning Bahasa Indonesia in Japan who want an introduction to the daily language of Indonesia before moving here.

"This isn't a book for beginners," says Retno emphatically. "It's meant for students who have already learned the basics of grammar, and now they need some practice and drilling in the kinds of conversations they will have in daily life."

As a teacher of Indonesian to Japanese residing in Jakarta during the past three years, she found a big gap in instructional materials between the elementary and advanced level. She needed something the students could use to reinforce the vocabulary and basic grammar they had learned from books such as Almatster's widely-available How to Master the Indonesian Language.

"There are lots of books for Indonesians wanting to learn Japanese," says Retno, "but it's very difficult to get books the other way round." This is a sizable gap when one considers that the Japanese are the second most populous foreign group living in Jakarta.

"I know there are some books on Bahasa Indonesia for Japanese, but students can really only get them in Japan. That doesn't help them much here."

The book has a total of 90 dialogs divided up into two sections: one for men and one for women. Both sections are grouped into functional categories such as language for telephoning, golf, restaurants and speaking to drivers. The dialogs allow students to learn useful language which can then be practiced and later adapted to various circumstances.

"The Japanese like the functional format," Retno remarks. "It's how they think. They want to know what they should say in different situations."

Her book, which is currently priced at Rp 30,000 (US$12.76), is cheaper than any Japanese publications found in Jakarta, and reasonably given the time that went into tailoring the book to Japanese living here. The book is completely bilingual with the Japanese version being written in Japanese characters.

"That makes it much easier for them to read and understand," adds Retno. "They feel more comfortable with it."

So where does the "fun" come in? The initial idea for the book came from a need perceived while teaching and Retno admits that any extra income from the book would not be unwelcome, but the real reason she put everything in motion was much more mundane.

"Believe it or not, I was bored and the book seemed like something interesting to do. It gave me something to fill time when I wasn't teaching or meeting with friends."

It was this same impulse which has also led her to write several articles for Jakarta newspapers in the past on topics as varied as women in sports and the Aum Shinri Kyo sect in Japan.

She was never frustrated or doubtful during the entire process, although she admits that she encountered some problems. For example, she had a failed attempt at working with one of the Japanese organizations in Jakarta which had expressed an interest in helping to publish the book.

"They were very nice, but the Japanese can sometimes be very slow to make decisions," says Retno with a laugh and a shrug. "Sometimes they were hot and sometimes cold. After a while it just seemed easier to do it myself."

She scrapped together her savings and sough out loans from relatives until she had enough to cover the printing costs.

Another problem arose when the binding on the first edition proved to be too weak. Knowing the Japanese penchant for buying only high quality goods, and herself feeling embarrassed to sell such a book to students, many of whom had become friends, Retno sent the book back to the printers for correction. In the process, she also changed the cover color -- from red and gold to teal and silver -- as a symbol of her commitment to excellent.

"Everyone liked the original colors, but I thought it was important to let them know it was a new and better book."

The new edition also provided her with the opportunity of making further corrections to the text, especially the Japanese versions. At the time the galleys were to be proofed, she slipped and fell, seriously hurting her head. Her doctor ordered her to stay in bed and move as little as possible. Watching television or reading caused painful headaches and it was a full week before she could consider looking at the galleys.

"I finally got up and forced myself to do some corrections, but I couldn't do as good a job as I wanted. We had set up a printing schedule, so finally I had to return the galleys with less attention than I really wanted."

She mainly sold the books to her students. They are the ones who have a need for the book or at least recognize its usefulness. Some buy five or ten at a time to use as gifts later for business visitors coming form Japan. Her determined marketing pitches with students have definitely helped sales.

"I ask them to buy every chance I get," she laughs, "but really I don't keep bothering them if they are not interested." She just recently concluded an agreement to sell the book in the souvenir shop at the President Hotel, which will provide an outlet for curious Japanese visitors and to others living in Jakarta.

The results have been very encouraging. "My biggest worry was in getting enough money to pay back the money I owed. Fortunately, I have already made enough for that and I can relax now."

Looking back Retno feels that the most important thing is that she accomplished something which she feels will also help in some way to bridge the cultural differences between the two peoples.

Now that the busy phase of coddling the book through production, printing, and getting enough copies sold has all passed, what will she do?

"I'm getting bored again," she says with a twinkle in her eye. "Now that it's all finished, I'm thinking about what I'll do next. Maybe I'll write another book. This time for beginners."

Evidently, some girls just want to have fun.