O

ct. 27, p4

I have been speaking English since I was 4 years old. Today, many would say that I can write and speak as well as a native speaker. I find that English, however, sometimes only lets me express half of what I am trying to say.

Let me give an example: Just the other day I was stuck in one of the infamous Jakarta traffic jams. Unfortunately for me, I needed to go to the toilet really badly. If I were speaking to someone in English, I would say, '€œI can'€™t hold it anymore!'€ On the other hand, if I were speaking in Indonesian, I would say, '€œKebelet!'€

Being a bilingual Indonesian, I find the latter option to be the more effective in delivering the purpose of the sentence '€” the sense of urgency. In comparison to the long sentence spoken in English, kebelet quickly rolls off your tongue, displaying just how fast you need to get to the toilet. This example presents the problem I have with speaking English: its lack of soul. (By Brea Salim, Jakarta)

Your comments:

Learning a language is fine but a language isn'€™t just words. It is tone of voice, facial expression, body language and slang. I live in England where the same language differs depending on what part of the country you are in.

Somebody from London speaks English but differently than somebody from Manchester, Newcastle or Birmingham. English is a weird language and an Englishman can swear at you. But really it is a term of endearment. Unfortunately that can'€™t be taught in any classroom. So please don'€™t say there isn'€™t soul.

I Russell

You want to compare Indonesian literature with Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and John Keats? '€œIts lack of soul'€?

Balistars

I for one totally respect free speech, but this is sheer carelessness and utter disrespect for your countrymen, especially to the institutions that once educated you to become an '€œEnglish writer'€.

In case you'€™re wondering what all the fuss is all about; I ask you, would you not be offended if someone shamed Indonesia, the language of your ancestors that you hold dear?

I think you would be outraged and if you were them you would say '€œHow dare you insult my beloved language!'€, and shoved a dictionary and centuries of literature down her throat. Wouldn'€™t you?

Wanting to visit the lavatory urgently, one would not say '€œI can'€™t hold it anymore!'€ but instead one would exclaim '€œtoilet!'€ I assure you anyone could understand that, even your little chauffer.

Speaking of globalization; in my opinion as an Indonesian-born Australian, to date it has been 37 years of living and being educated in Australia and New Zealand, I agree with you, quote '€” '€œThus, one must place equal importance on both the English and Indonesian languages, for they play different roles.'€

Indeed you are correct, English will always play the roles of business, economy, education, transportation, communication, etc. Without an international language, Indonesia will not be where it is now in regard to being Southeast Asia'€™s rising economy. That is a fact, whether you like it or not.

Alkaf Mcdouall

Many Indonesian kids are now being raised speaking mostly English both at home and school. I think this is the group that Brea was referring to when she inferred that Indonesian is '€œbecoming less widely used'€ ('€œa string of Indonesian children who have had English-speaking parents, went to international schools and studied abroad for college'€) when she was writing this article.

I think Brea is trying to say that speaking Indonesian is her first nature, yet she finds it disheartening that she does not have the ability to do that.

I think that when the author said English lacked soul, she meant that she does not have a connection to the language as she does with Indonesian.

I do not think she intends to insult the language. And in the end, this is her opinion; we should just respect what she has to say instead of bashing her social background.

Melia Tandiono

This may very well be what she meant '€” unfortunately she didn'€™t explain it well. I hope she didn'€™t purposely do that to prove a point.

I get that different situations call for different languages when you speak more than just one, but I still think stating English has a lack of soul where she meant she lacks a connection with the language is somewhat flippant '€” even if she didn'€™t mean to '€œinsult'€ the language.

Mira Pangkey

Brea has the courage to admit that she can'€™t use Indonesian with grammatical correctness because of rapid globalization.  I can'€™t use English properly because I was born in Indonesia and started to learn my first English words in 1991, when I was 12 years old! Every language has its own uniqueness so please respect what Brea'€™s written here.

Leonardus Yap

Speaking several languages is a good thing and you reap the benefits over somebody else who doesn'€™t. If you are Indonesian you should be able to speak and master your own language first before another language.

Older generations of Indonesians usually speak regional languages first at home and they communicate with Indonesians from other regions in Indonesian.

Every language in the world has its own style and characteristics. Some are simple and the others are more complex. But I do not think you should judge '€œhow bad or how good they are'€. I do make a lot of mistakes when I speak English but I'€™m not ashamed, I am grateful if someone corrects me.

In my opinion, if you are Indonesian you should speak Indonesian correctly among Indonesians because you are Indonesian, unless you are trying not to. We all have our own identity as a person and
language is one of them.

I'€™m sorry to say that many younger Indonesians choose to become somebody else for a certain reason, or maybe if they speak English, they feel more sophisticated.

Benjoli

I think the purpose of this article was not to say that the English language is incapable of expressing one'€™s feelings, but rather to show her conviction that the roots are equally important as the branches itself.

Besides, I thought that the way she intertwined translation and her final opinion on the importance of roots was genius.

Luz Soedibjo

I understand that this article touches a very delicate issue about the bilingual situations that the current generation is experiencing. I admire Brea'€™s courage to actually post her opinion and even convey this issue according to what she has experienced, not what she theorized. But it is wrong for those people who have different experiences or opinions to feel superior to Brea and counter her opinions in such a patronizing way.

Olen B

I think when the author said that English '€œlacks soul'€, she did not mean that English is inferior to Indonesian in terms of expressing emotion. I think she means that as an Indonesian, there are just some words and phrases in Indonesian that she can better relate to, which can never be translated into any other language.

For most Indonesians, English is a language we use to present information in formal settings such as writing an essay for school, or presenting data to a boss at work. On the other hand, Indonesian we use for much more personal things, like the things we talk to our family when we get home from school or work.

Though generally both English and Indonesian have their strengths in the areas of information and emotion, for Indonesian people the Indonesian language naturally correlates with our deepest feelings. Things we say without really thinking about it like '€œaduh, kebelet!'€ or things we say with deep thought and conviction like '€œaku sayang kamu'€. Given context, there is some truth to what the author is saying, and I can definitely relate to it. See, it'€™s an Indonesian thing. If other readers cannot relate to what she'€™s saying, then that person may not have strong Indonesian roots or not be Indonesian at all.

Pong Pong