[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Some considerations on govt language planning
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
- Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 01:31:32 +0100
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com
**http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20060125.E02&irec=1
Some considerations on govt language planning
Setiono, Jakarta
It has been reported that National Education Ministry is considering a draft
bill on languages that would limit the use of foreign languages in advertising
and the media. The draft bill is said to contain 10 chapters and 22 articles,
11 of which require the use of Bahasa Indonesia in the print and electronic
media, product packaging and commercials, and by companies and on buildings.
The basic reason given for proposing the bill is to protect the many indigenous
languages that exist in the country, so that they will not be put in jeopardy.
This reason implies two things.
First, that the use the foreign languages creates linguistic segregation.
Second, that using indigenous languages can maintain Indonesia's traditions and
cultures, and can promote nationalism among Indonesians.
However, to compel the use of Indonesian and to limit the use of foreign
languages, especially English, in the print and electronic media, as well as in
advertisements, is counterproductive because the use of English by journalists
and commentators is motivated by the nature of their work, which requires an
immediate understanding and responses from their interlocutors.
Therefore, spontaneous utterances containing clusters of English words
representing thoughts, ideas and references from various sources and spheres of
life are common in journalistic language. Journalists, for instance, do not
always have the leisure to express their thoughts in well-chosen and accurate
Indonesian words. Consequently, as English words are felt to be far more
efficient than their Indonesian equivalents, their use is natural in certain
domains. A renowned German linguist, Uriel Weinreich, once said that "the
presence of loan words in any borrowing language can be accounted for by the
fact that using ready made designations is more economic than describing things
afresh".
To date, the influx of English words in various spheres such as politics,
economics, technology, commerce, industry, the mass media and government
administration underlines the fact that language is a social phenomenon, whose
existence always penetrates social life. The use of English in the above
domains also shows that journalists, writers, presenters and the like exert a
considerable influence over the society that uses the language. It also
demonstrates that nongovernment agencies disseminate vocabulary far more
successfully than government agencies like the National Center for Language
Development.
Implementing the language bill and substituting well-established English words
in the media and advertisements would hamper rather that enhance communication.
To find indigenous languages and words that can substitute for foreign
languages is not without problems. Indigenizing nativized English words like
institusi (institution), fokus (focus) and efektif (effective) into pranata,
pumpunan and mangkus, would create further problems for language users who are
not familiar with these words, and accordingly much time would have to be spent
in order to learn them. This is particularly true in a multiethnic society like
Indonesia. Changing the English words into indigenous languages would only
create confusion among societies coming from different ethnic groups.
In fact, the use of foreign languages in advertising and the mass media is not
against our language policy. This is reflected in the word-coining policy that
stipulates that if there are no appropriate terms for borrowed words in Bahasa
Indonesia, the terms can be taken from a foreign language.
Sociolinguistically, the persistent use of foreign words in advertising,
commercials and product packaging is motivated by the prestige of these words.
People deliberately use the words to accentuate their role as a modern member
of the educated elite and to mark the group in their speech.
Linguistically, foreign words, especially English one, are inevitably used
because of the following reasons: There is a wider "lexical gap" in Indonesian,
the nuances of English words are so distinctive that their Indonesian
equivalents cannot precisely capture the original meaning, and there is an
insufficiency in the Indonesian semantic field.
Both sociolinguistic and linguistic perspectives should become the prime
consideration in endorsing the bill. Language planning should not be the sole
prerogative of the central authorities (language experts or language
specialists). Good language planning ought to be aware of the social
implications of language. The extent to which one language is preferred or
favored will definitely depend on the community's attitude or perception of the
language used. The development of a sentimental attitude toward foreign words
can exacerbate the planning process since commercials and the print and
electronic media are filled with foreign words.
As a final remark, language planning should not take place in a vacuum,
suggesting that the sociocultural dimensions within the fuller social context
should be taken into consideration. And since language planning is closely
related to the improvement of communication, it must not be isolated from the
wider social concern for the improvement of the entire communications system.
The writer is a lecturer at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta. He can be reached
at setiono.sugiharto@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
printer friendly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
***************************************************************************
Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg
Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia
***************************************************************************
__________________________________________________________________________
Mohon Perhatian:
1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik)
2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari.
3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi
4. Satu email perhari: ppiindia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
5. No-email/web only: ppiindia-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
6. kembali menerima email: ppiindia-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ppiindia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List **
** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi:
** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ **
** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral
scholarship, kunjungi
http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com **
Other related posts:
- » [nasional_list] [ppiindia] Some considerations on govt language planning
