Use of foreign language

Use of foreign language

I have recently returned from a trip to Eastern Indonesia and
would like to add my comments to the ban-English move among
the xenophobes in Jakarta.

Other than the "How low can you go?" question posted
everywhere, the Coca Cola signs and the pervasive Kentucky Fried
Chicken shoppes on every corner, there is very little English to
be found in these regions. Consequently, the people speak very
little English and have little or no chance to compete in the
international markets (leaving them wide open for Jakartans).

However, I have decided that the xenophobes are right and wish
to make some suggestions regarding the complete eradication of
this linguistic virus in our Bahasa landscape. The first thing
that has to go is the Coke signs; local folks read a "C" as "Ch,"
thereby leading to pronouncing the soft drink as "Choke," not
something one wants to do with a drink. Therefore, let us require
this soft drink manufacturer to change its name to Koke so that
we get the proper vocalization of this foreign icon.

Next the insidious "KFC" signs must be altered; they stand for
Kentucky Fried Chicken which, as we all know, just will not do. I
suggest changing these signs to "AGK" or Ayam Goreng Kentuki. Of
course since not more than one of 10 folks eating in these
establishments has little or any idea what a "Kentucky" is, the
final letter could be changed to represent almost any Indonesian
word, which I will leave to your imagination.

Finally, there must be a more successful way to translate the
vaguely suggestive question of "How low can you go?", but my
Indonesian is not good enough to give any translation the same
sort of sensual/sexual innuendo that the English words do.
Perhaps some professional translator out there could help us out
because this little saying could be one of those things that The
Jakarta Post is always alluding to in quotes. You know,
"misleading" information -- How low can you go, indeed.

Back home in Jakarta, I noticed that a program on SCTV called
Babalyon 5 was being broadcast in something called Dwibahasa
which, as nearly as I can tell, transmit the first part of the
first program in dubbed Indonesian and then switches to English
for some time before switching back to Indonesian and then back
to English...you get the picture. I only noticed this because my
kid was "channel surfing" and I noticed that the language had
switched from Indonesian to English.

This assures that pretty much all the population will not
watch this particular program because those of us who understand
Indonesian will change the channel when it switches to English
and those of us who understand English will not be watching the
program in the first place. SCTV, this is a really bad idea; keep
it in Indonesian or English, not both.

JOHN R. FENTON

Jakarta