The seductive quality of English
The seductive quality of English
JAKARTA (JP): Many English words are so seductive that after a
brief stay here they are bastardized without shame. At the least
they are arbitrarily forced to change their meanings or
grammatical status.
There is no doubt that English words have entered the
Indonesian vocabulary to fill the local vacuum. In the march of
time, they have even become status symbols. The more some people
insert English words into their conversations the more cultured
they look, regardless of whether their use is called for or not.
It is in this way that the original meanings of the words shift.
So we need to look deeper into this issue. But please be
careful, because "issue" as used in Bahasa Indonesia means
"rumor".
When an official tries to deny a certain report, which he
believes to be a rumor, he just says, "Ah, it is not worth
discussing. It is an issue".
This quirk started about three decades ago during the
political power transition here when the old government had to
step aside for the New Order. There were so many matters being
discussed that officials were reluctant to repeat those they
considered irrelevant, calling them issues instead.
Political change has also introduced "security approach,"
which native speakers might find a curious way of saying military
approach.
Rapid economic development has created many successful
"president directors", though the term is neither English nor
American. It is an anglicized version of the Dutch president
directeur, which has gained popularity here in the local acronym
of presdir. The Dutch might have borrowed it from the French term
president directeur general.
Economic development has also given rise to konglomerat, a
corruption of the English word conglomerate. But a konglomerat to
local people is not a large corporation made up of different
firms. It refers to the owners, most of whom do not like
publikasi. When a tycoon refuses to discuss the background of his
success, interviewers usually react by saying: "It seems to me
that bapak does not like publikasi".
As you have guessed, what the interviewer means is publicity.
If using English words is not enough to make the right
impression, why not use an English suffix. It is now common to
hear "nationalization" translated into Bahasa Indonesia as
nasionalisasi. Swastanisasi, or privatization, may be necessary
before a company can begin pipanisasi, or the installation of
pipes for underground cables or liquefied gas.
More foolish might be the word restrukturisasi, which, if not
carried out properly, could lead to konfusisasi.
The root of this evil is that most Indonesians are too lazy to
look up words in the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, a
comprehensive dictionary published by the Ministry of Education
and Culture whose use should be encouraged in our campaign for
disiplinisasi.
-- Thayeb I Sabil