Using Good and Correct Indonesian Language

Share

By: Dr. Felicia N. Utorodewo

In 2019, the President issued Presidential Regulation No. 63/2019 concerning the Use of Indonesian Language. What may be regulated and what impact will it have on our communication in everyday life? The core of the regulation is in Chapter II, Part 1, Article 2, concerning “Terms of Use for Indonesian Language”. It is stated in Chapter II, Part 1, that “The use of Indonesian must meet the criteria of good and correct Indonesian”. The following article will discuss the criteria for good and correct Indonesian.

Speaking good Indonesian means that we must use Indonesian in accordance with the language context that is in line with the social values of society. This regulation deals with the use of various languages in writing and speaking for communication needs. There are two types of language in terms of language use, those are formal and non-formal styles. There are two things we notice in this sentence. First, language is in accordance with the context and, second, language is in accordance with the social values of society. That is the reason the 2013 Curriculum uses a text-based approach in language teaching, both Indonesian and other languages. Language is introduced to students in its context and not as independent word units. Thus, students are exposed to language concepts from the start. For example, the difference in the use of the words just and only. Meanwhile, good Indonesian is related to the social values of society. This means that when using language, it is mandatory to pay attention to whom we communicate with. Communicating with friends will certainly be different from communicating with parents. The word aku is used of friends and the word saya is used of someone who is older or who is respected. In this case, language politeness begins to be taught.

Illustration of writing (freepik.com/katemangostar)

To speak Indonesian correctly means that Indonesian must be used in accordance with the rules or regulations of the Indonesian language. Indonesian language rules include grammar rules, spelling rules, and term formation rules. Grammar rules and rules for forming terms relate to spoken and written Indonesian. Using language that doesn’t pay attention to grammar rules can be confusing. For example (in Indonesian), a grammatical error in the sentence “Due to frequent floods, the governor prohibited the construction of buildings there”. Is it the “governor” who is frequently flooded or “an area”? Such mistakes often occur in compound sentences. The grammatical rule is “in a multilevel compound sentence, the subject in a clause can be omitted if the main sentence and clause contain the same subject”. In the example sentence, the subject in the main sentence is not the same as the subject in the clause. As a result, the subject in the clause must be present. The rule of forming terms relates to the use of loanwords. Often, we find the words “Selamat pagi. Selamat menjalankan aktifitas hari ini (aktifitas is activitas but misspelled—Ed.)”. Language users do not carefully distinguish the writing of aktif and aktivitas because in Indonesian the sounds [f] and [v] do not differentiate between meanings. Another example, Pengakuannya menunjukkan sisi gentle dari dirinya (His confession shows the gentle side of him—Ed.). Supposedly, the term used is gentlemen. These two adjectives have different meanings. The word gentle means “soft”, while gentlemen means “a man who has ethical, moral, and refined language skills.” The use of foreign terms, preferably, is accompanied by knowledge of the foreign language used.

The spelling rules only relate to the use of written Indonesian and are related to two things. First, spelling rules are related to word writing, for example, not sekadar not *sekedar (common mispelled—Ed.); di antara not *diantara; ditonton instead of *di tonton. Second, the spelling rules deal with the use of punctuation marks. For example, “Come on, let’s eat, Grandma” will have a different meaning from “Come on, let’s eat Grandma”. The first sentence “invites the grandparent to eat together”, while the second sentence means “invites us to eat the grandparent”. Using a simple comma makes a big difference in meaning.

Then, does it mean that we must always speak the formal style? When we talk to vegetable vendors or to friends, we certainly don’t need to use formal styles. The problem is whether when speaking in non-formal style, do we have to obey the rules of language? The answer is yes! Using rules in a non-formal manner means using the appropriate and precise choice of words and using the correct grammar rules. For example, when buying meatballs, don’t say, “*Bang, saya bakso pake bihun(Bang, I meatballs with noodles)” That sentence is not the correct sentence. I am not a meatball, I am a person. To be a good and correct sentence, it only takes one word, namely “mau (want—Ed.)” to become “Bang, saya mau bakso pake bihun. (Bang, I want meatballs with noodles)

So, speak good and correct Indonesian means to convey thoughts with complete information on a regular basis. The variety of language used can be in the form of formal or informal languages, depends to the context.

This column is presented by:

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *