Who Shapes the Indonesian Language?

Jakarta (ANTARA) — Technology is advancing at great speed. Within hours, new products, features and applications can appear with names that are immediately used in interfaces, advertisements and conversations among users. These names are generally introduced in their original languages and quickly become familiar, while Indonesian equivalents may not yet exist or be widely used.

Coining an equivalent term takes time: the concept must be identified, an appropriate form selected and the term introduced to the public. As a result, foreign words often enter use before their Indonesian equivalents are accepted.

The word “gadget”, for example, has the Indonesian equivalent “gawai”. Yet both are still used in conversation and news reporting. The same is true of “browser” and “peramban”, and “email” and “surel”. The existence of an equivalent does not automatically displace a foreign word that people already know.

This is not unique to Indonesian. In Japanese, “pasokon”, a shortened form of “personal computer”, has become part of everyday vocabulary. The Japanese term for “microwave oven” is “denshi renji”. Indonesian, meanwhile, uses “unduh” and “unggah” as equivalents of “download” and “upload”.

Today, “coding”, “cloud” and “prompt” are increasingly common in discussions of digital technology and artificial intelligence. Should all these terms be translated or adapted into Indonesian? If equivalents are already available, what makes people adopt or ignore them?

A term is not fully accepted simply because an equivalent has been devised or entered in a dictionary. “Tetikus”, for instance, is listed as an equivalent of “mouse”, but has not automatically replaced the word familiar to computer users. Similarly, “mangkus” and “sangkil”, introduced as equivalents of “effective” and “efficient”, have not become common choices in everyday communication.

This shows that coining terms is not just a matter of linguistic accuracy. Habit, convenience, context and public acceptance also play a part.

Other languages, including Russian, Japanese and Mandarin, face similar challenges in translating and adapting terms, each with its own writing system and linguistic characteristics. Japanese, for example, uses katakana to write many loanwords. “Handbag” can be adapted as “handobaggu”, while “microwave oven” is called “denshi renji”. These forms show that terms are not always adapted by translating their meanings word for word.

This raises a broader question: who shapes Indonesian—the language institutions that set out its rules, the people who use it, or the changing times that create new needs?

From Old Malay

At the Second Youth Congress on 28 October 1928, Indonesian was declared the language of unity. It has been the language of unity for less than a century, but the history of the language on which it is based is much longer.

Indonesian grew out of Malay, which was used across the archipelago, including as a language of communication and trade. Traces of Old Malay can be found in inscriptions from the Srivijaya period, such as the Kedukan Bukit Inscription, dated 683 CE, and the Kota Kapur Inscription, dated 686 CE.

At the time, links between regions and trade with different peoples encouraged the use of a language that many could understand. Malay became an important lingua franca in the region. Over the course of history, it continued to develop through interaction with other languages and cultures.

Efforts to standardise spelling also took place in stages. The van Ophuijsen spelling system, a spelling system for Malay, was introduced in 1901. After Indonesia gained independence, the Republican Spelling System, or Ejaan Soewandi, came into force in 1947. The Enhanced Spelling System (EYD) was formalised in 1972 and underwent several revisions, leading to the Fifth Edition of the Enhanced Indonesian Spelling System in 2022.

During the Japanese occupation, Indonesian gained wider use in government and education because the use of Dutch was prohibited. This was an important part of the language’s development towards its status as the national language.

Indonesian vocabulary also bears traces of encounters with many languages. Arabic contributed numerous words, particularly those related to Islam, such as “takwa” and “insyaallah”. Sanskrit left its mark on words such as “suami”, “dunia” and “surya”. From Dutch came words such as “gratis” and “asbak”. Portuguese contributed “bendera”, “sepatu” and “kemeja”. Contact with Chinese languages can also be seen in culinary terms such as “bakmi”, “bakso” and “tahu”.

There are also words of Latin or Greek origin, some adopted through other languages, used in science, law, education and religion. This vocabulary shows that Indonesian did not develop in isolation. It has grown through encounters, adaptation and the needs of its speakers.

Culture and religion

The arrival of cultures and religions from outside the archipelago also brought terms that remain in use today. Their traces can be found in Hindu traditions in Bali, Islamic religious terminology, and Latin and Greek terms used in the Catholic tradition.

Translating religious terms presents particular challenges because certain words carry historical, theological and liturgical meaning. Translation must take context into account so that important meanings are not lost.

The expression “insya Allah”, for example, comes from the Arabic “in shā’a Allāh”, meaning “if God wills”. In everyday use, it is sometimes understood as an uncertain promise, or even as a polite way of declining. This shift in understanding shows that a word’s meaning is shaped not only by its origin, but also by the context and habits of its users.

In the Catholic tradition, the term “Ekaristi” comes from the Greek “eucharistia”, meaning thanksgiving, and is used in the context of the sacrament rooted in the Last Supper of Jesus Christ. For people unfamiliar with Catholic tradition, the term may be less familiar than “misa” or “ibadah”. However, these words are not always interchangeable, as their meanings differ in scope.

Some people therefore want certain religious terms to remain in their original languages. They believe that the original forms preserve links to traditions and meanings considered important. On the other hand, translating or adapting the terms can help the public understand them, provided their context is explained accurately.

The issue is not simply whether to choose the original language or Indonesian. What matters more is understanding when a term should be retained, when it can be translated, and when additional explanation is needed to prevent its meaning from being narrowed or changed.

Language and identity

Similar issues arise in the spelling of geographical names and country names. Names used in Indonesian do not always match those used in the countries concerned. Some are borrowed or adapted to Indonesian conventions, while others take different forms because of their history and established usage.

Examples include “Mesir” for Egypt and “Selandia Baru” for New Zealand. Meanwhile, debate over the use of “China”, “Cina” or “Tiongkok” shows that naming can involve history, identity and social choice, not merely spelling.

Geographical names are not determined by the target language alone. Official considerations, established usage, international relations and linguistic conventions can all influence decisions.

In 2025, Indonesia brought a document updating country names to a session of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) in New York. The update aimed to align the spelling of country names in Indonesian with orthographic and phonological conventions, and to improve consistency in official documents, educational materials and news reporting.

Proposed examples included changing “Thailand” to “Tailan”, “Uruguay” to “Uruguai”, “Bhutan” to “Butan” and “Chile” to “Cili”. The move shows that standardising names is not only a linguistic decision, but also requires coordination between institutions and consideration of how the names are used in public life.

Language is shaped collectively

Language is constantly changing. New words emerge, some terms endure, and others gradually disappear from use. Not every coined equivalent will be accepted by the public, just as not every foreign word needs to be immediately replaced by an Indonesian equivalent.

For this reason, efforts to promote terms need to go hand in hand with the development of linguistic conventions. Language institutions have an important role in assessing the accuracy of forms and meanings, documenting usage and making recommendations. But it is the public that uses these terms in everyday life.

The mass media has a strategic role in this process. Words used in news reporting can reach many people and recur in real-life contexts. Consistent use, accompanied by explanations when necessary, can help the public become familiar with and understand new terms.

Language institutions and the media should therefore work together, not only to introduce equivalents but also to explain why they were chosen. At the same time, language institutions need to take account of terms already established in society and remain open to feedback from their users.

Ultimately, Indonesian is not shaped by any one party. Language institutions formulate guidance, the public brings words to life, and the changing times create new needs. The language grows through the relationship between all three.

Indonesian will continue to develop. The challenge is not to stop change, but to guide it so the language remains communicative and precise, and can accommodate the changing experiences of its people.