Locality Enriches Indonesian Language

Locality must be seen as a reality that enriches Indonesian language, not vice versa, being considered to damage the standard Indonesian order.

KOMPAS/SOELASTRI SOEKIRNO

Yunus, secretary of the Culture Office of Alor regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), shows two textbooks about the local Abui and Kafoa languages, which are used by elementary school students on the island on Tuesday (15/10/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Locality must be seen as a reality that enriches the Indonesian language, not vice versa and considered damaging to the standard Indonesian order. As a language, Indonesian is open to the possibility of specific pronunciations, known as dialects.

Over the last three years, as reported by Kompas on Friday (25/10/2019), the number of vocabulary entries in the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia) was recorded at 328,836, with meanings reaching 384,635. The vocabulary entries, among others, come from slang and local languages.

There\'s nothing wrong with that. Local specialties must not be lost.

The head of the Language and Book Development Agency of the Education and Culture Ministry, Dadang Sunendar, said on Tuesday (29/10/2019) that the locality that occurs in the Indonesian language is influenced by the mother tongue.

"There\'s nothing wrong with that. Local specialties must not be lost," Dadang said.

He added that if there were differences in vocabulary or accents between one region and another in Indonesia, that was what made the Indonesian language interesting.

"Diversity in languages must be maintained," Dadang said.

Cultural and Malay language observer Haji Abdul Malik said the variety of the Indonesian language in a number of regions has their respective variations. That variation is called a dialect because it is not a completely different language. Thus, if the people of Makassar, South Sulawesi, for example, often use the additional word mi or ki when speaking, it is a local dialect.

KOMPAS/HERLAMBANG JALUARDI

About 500 students perform the Zapin dance of Penyengat Island for the opening of the Gemala Festival in Tanjungpinang city, Riau Islands, on Thursday (17/10/2019). The festival was held by the Education and Culture Ministry together with the local government with the aim of preserving the Malay culture

This is also the case with the people of Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, who with a certain speed of intonation often abbreviate words, such as sa (me) or pi (to leave). The word dorang can be understood as "that person" by people in the western part of Indonesia. Word abbreviations do not only occur in eastern Indonesia but also in the western and central regions, such as in the Natuna Islands.

"These kinds of variations enrich the Indonesian language; don\'t eliminate them," said the dean of teaching and education at the Maritime University of Raja Ali Haji (Umrah), Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands. Such dialects are commonly heard in informal conversations, such as in the market, on public transportation, in coffee shops or also at home. However, in the official fora, such as meetings at the office, seminars or teaching in schools, the dialects fade away, replaced by a more standard style.

Every region has a different dialect, but it\'s not yet known why it\'s called Malay, not Indonesian.

That variation, said Abdul Malik, is influenced by local languages or the mother tongue of the speakers, which then becomes a habit. Sometimes, the recipients of the messages do not understand the dialects spoken by the message givers. If that happens, usually they will automatically adapt to each other by slowing the intonation or turning to a more general dialect.

Ethnic diversity in Indonesia, including in the city of Kupang, according to professor of Linguistics at the University of Nusa Cendana, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Simon Sabon Ola, gave rise to local dialects. In Kupang, residents call the Indonesian language Kupang Malay. Likewise, residents in Larantuka, Flores, call dialects Larantuka Malay.

"Every region has a different dialect, but it\'s not yet known why it\'s called Malay, not Indonesian," Simon said.

KOMPAS/HERLAMBANG JALUARDI

Up to 16 groups of students participate in the Gurindam XII Visualization Contest, one of the events at the Gemala Festival in Tanjungpinang city, Riau Islands, on Thursday (17/10/2019). The competition saw participants adapt ancient Malay literary texts into theater.

Simon assumed that the distribution of dialects in the NTT region was more caused by inter-island trade routes from Sumatra to NTT. Some words in Kupang Malay have similarities to vocabulary in Manado in North Sulawesi, or Ambon in Maluku.

He cited an example that the use of the syllable pi or tho at the end of each sentence in Manado is the same as in NTT. In addition, the words beta and katong used in NTT are the same as in Ambon. This tendency is included in regional dialects.

Without the Makassar Malay language, the four tribes will not be able to communicate, even though they live side by side in the same city.

What is unique is the fact that Kupang residents have a tendency to cut words. The word pergi (go) is shortened to pi and saya (I) becomes sa and sonde becomes son. Similarly, sudah (already) becomes su and juga (also) becomes ju. The tendency to shorten words is very likely influenced by intertribal relationships in Kupang and surrounding areas.

Read more : Prevent Languages from being Lost

In the city of Makassar, South Sulawesi, there is a social language that is called Makassar Malay. This language actually originates from the Indonesian language, which then experiences localization to accommodate the languages of the four largest tribes in the city. Bugis, Makassarese, Toraja and the Mandar people, according to Celebes Street Art Makassar artist, Farid Prasetya, have been "forced" to use Makassarese Malay to communicate. Without the Makassar Malay language, the four tribes will not be able to communicate, even though they live side by side in the same city.