Linguists Urge Good Indonesian in the Media

By Barrie | September 4th, 2007 | No Comments

Linguists in Bali have called on the mass media to use proper Indonesian to prevent the further spread of bahasa gaul, or slang, across the archipelago. In a discussion organized by the Bali Mass Media Language Forum (FMMB), linguists from the Denpasar-based Udayana University said the media should play a more active role in preserving the Indonesian language.

According to the linguists, Indonesia is facing a “crisis of youth” in which the use of the Indonesian language could be altered.

“Our youth now mostly speak in bahasa gaul,” linguist I Wayan Pastika said.

He said bahasa gaul is a pidgin language made up of a mixture of Jakarta Malay and the Indonesian language.

A surge in the number of private television stations since 2000 has contributed to the spread of informal language use in the country.

There are currently 10 private television stations broadcasting in Indonesia, as well as public station TVRI. With the exception of TVRI and news channel Metro TV, the target audience of each television station is essentially the same.

“Infotainments that screen interviews with celebrities facilitate the spread of bahasa gaul,” Pastika said.

“Bahasa gaul is appropriate if used in informal situations, but because these programs are screened in front of a large audience, a more appropriate variation of Indonesian should be used so everyone can understand,” he said.

Indonesia is home to a diverse group of cultures, with more than 500 different ethic languages spoken across the archipelago.

The linguists blamed the electronic media, especially television and radio broadcasters, for promoting the use of the pidgin language.

Pastika said the print media continues to promote the proper use of the Indonesian language, although sometimes mistakes are still made.

Radio announcers, characters in movies and teen sinetron (local soap opera) stars frequently speak in bahasa gaul.

Over the last five years, the Indonesian film industry has made a come back. The Jakarta-based industry often uses the language spoken by teens in the capital, facilitating the rapid spread of Jakartan slang to other cities in Indonesia.

“There is a possibility the Indonesian language will be undermined by Jakarta Malay,” Pastika said.

Linguist Dana Wati said it was unfortunate the average Indonesian lacked insight into the importance of preserving the country’s national language.

“In Malaysia and Singapore, people who can speak Indonesian highly respect the language. However, Indonesians themselves don’t care about it,” she said.

She said a lot of foreigners attempt to learn the Indonesian language, but become lost in the slang Indonesians use in daily conversation.

“They don’t understand what people are saying and can’t follow conversations because too much bahasa gaul is used,” she said.

Linguistics student Eva Trisna said she was often confused by informal terms used in daily conversations.

Eva said the Center of Languages should become a guardian for the Indonesian language.

“The center should publish guidelines regarding the proper use of the language and distribute them to the media,” she said.
She also said columns on proper language use should appear in the print media.

“The success of a word is the success of the media,” she said.

Prodita Sabarini