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English, Jaksel style: Why some Indonesians jump between two languages
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Trending language: People in South Jakarta are well-known for code-switching between Indonesian and English. (Unsplash/Rendy Novantino) (Unsplash/Rendy Novantino)
Many South Jakartans occasionally alternate their language between Indonesian and English. We try to find out why.
Notable code-switching between Indonesian and English has become trending in everyday speech in Indonesia. The style is not unusual, especially for someone living in South Jakarta who speaks English at work and Indonesian at home, resulting in the so-called Bahasa Jaksel (South Jakarta language).
Michelle Rezky, a 22-year-old who works in a prominent position in a startup in South Jakarta with English as one of their main working languages, often finds herself code-switching.
“[I code-switch] quite often because [my] circle is also mostly South Jakartans,” Michelle said. “And many people mix English and Indonesian at work and on social media.”
“Because people are bilingual, perhaps South Jakartans are also frequently exposed to the outside world. So perhaps the brain switches or suddenly mixes them up without us even realizing it, which is also a common thing.”
Michelle believes the phenomenon to be nothing new. She sees this practice is widely spread in the country, not just in South Jakarta.
“It’s not something that only Indonesians [South Jakartans] do. I’ve read that it’s also common in other countries and it’s referred to as a ‘language switch’ from what I understand.”
