The fruit of Indonesia influences the language

JAKARTA (JP): Fruit has always played an important part in Indonesian culture.

The significance is evident in the use of fruit in the Indonesian language. In its most simple form, the Indonesian word for fruit buah is used as a unit of measure for most objects, particularly whole objects. For example, satu buah buku (a book), satu buah botol (a bottle) and so forth.

Used in conjunction with other words, fruit is also used symbolically or euphorically. In conjunction with another object, the word is used to mean "produce of the object". Buah hati (fruit of the heart) is used to mean loved one, buah tangan (fruit of the hands) means gifts from a trip, buah bibir (fruit of the lips) object of conversation or gossip, buah pena (fruit of the pen) a piece of writing, and buah pikiran (fruit of thought) means opinion.

Meanwhile, fruit is also used in a slightly different connotation in buah dada (fruit of the chest), meaning breasts, and anak buah (children of fruit), meaning subordinates.

Fruit is also used to describe colors. The delima, jambu, langsat and sawo fruit, specify tones of brown, red and yellow. Kulit sawo matang, (the color of a ripe sawo fruit) is commonly used to define the skin color of Indonesians. Yellowish skin tones are referred to as kuning langsat (yellow of the langsat fruit). Bibir merah delima (lips the color of a pomegranate) enhances the beauty of Indonesian women.

There are a number of Indonesian expressions related to fruit, such as the proverb associated with pinang (betel nut). Seperti pinang dibelah dua literally means a betel nut cut in two, or more colloquially, like two peas in a pod. The Javanese describe the chubby cheeks of an attractive woman as being "the shape of mango". The expression "seperti memakan buah simalakama" ("like eating the fictional simalakama fruit") suggests a dilemma in which death will occur whether or not the fruit is eaten.

The place of fruit in the Indonesian language ranges from the simplest unit of measure to a mind boggling no-win situation.

-- Amir Sidharta