J is for... Jakarta

By Sue Potter

J is for Jakarta... or Djakarta, if you were around before 1972. On August 17, 1972, President Suharto implemented the Enjaan yang Disempurnakan, or Perfected Spelling policy, changing the older Dutch-based spelling for the phonetic style we recognize today.

Ages ago Malay-speaking people, who were expert traders and sailors, spread from the eastern regions of Sumatra into surrounding areas, including what is now Malaysia. Ports in this busy maritime region hosted ships from around the globe, so Malay became the trade language for much of Southeast Asia. Regional variations of Malay flourished, but it was generally intelligible from one area to the next. In the Malay heartland, the Riau-Johor Sultanate created a rich literary legacy in Classical or High Malay.' Recognized as the center of correct Malay, the Sultanate carried linguistic authority throughout the Malay-speaking region.

In 1824 Britain and Holland restructured their colonial holdings, and in the process split the RiauJohor Sultanate in two. This authority now rested equally in British Malaysia and the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch (along with everyone else) had used Malay as an official means of communication since their arrival in the Indies; with at least 550 distinct languages in the archipelago, a common language was essential. Sporadic efforts at linguistic standard ization never jelled, due in large part to controversy over what shape the reformed language would take. After 1824, the English chose to anglicize Malay spelling, while the Dutch used their own language's phonetic transcriptions, thus putting the Malay language on a formal path of divergence.

In 1902, C. A. van Ophuisjen's well-researched book and dictionary on Malay language became text of choice in indigenous Dutch East Indies schools nationwide. "His book can be regarded as the first deliberate act of language planning for the language." (Sneddon, p. 92) By the 1920s, however, the large number of local newspapers in Malay (nearly 200 in 1925) and other writings put the development of Malay firmly in the hands of the indigenous population .2 The most dramatic move, widely considered a master stroke in fostering national unity, came during the Second Youth Congress of 1928 in which Indonesian was declared the national language, reflecting the new nation's name: Indonesia. The name change from "Malay" to "Indonesian" followed heated debate analyzing traits of Malaysian and Indonesian Malay.' (The debate continues unabated among specialists in historical-comparative linguistics.)

In following years, academics, writers and politicians all struggled with competing views on the form Indonesian should take. In 1942, the Japanese invasion abruptly stopped all debate. The use of Dutch was banned. Indonesian became the only permitted language widely understood by Indonesia's vast and scattered population, and was used especially by the Japanese as a means to teach the Japanese language. What happened was not broad literacy in Japanese, but instead a quick, widespread literacy in Indonesian. Dutch words in common use were replaced with Indonesian constructs by the Komisi Bahasa, and more informally - and quickly - by creative journalists (a practice that continues today). By the time Indonesia declared independence in 1945, Indonesian was securely rooted in almost every corner of the archipelago.

One of the first formal national linguistic acts occurred in 1947. Soewandi, Minister of Education and Culture, introduced two major changes to the spelling system. The most clear mandated changing "oe" to "u," so boekoe, or book, became buku. The second eliminated the "schwa" - an indeterminate sound in a word, such as the 'u' in circus, or, in Indonesian, the `e' in terimakasih, usually pronounced "trimakasih". The latter change supposedly simplified Indonesian by eliminating both unnecessary letters and diacritic or accent marks, many appearing in words of Dutch origin .4 In practice, however, it added just another spelling choice to an already "flexible" system.

Attempts to coordinate spelling so both Malaysia and Indonesia followed the same system were well under way in 1959, but hostilities between the two countries soon stopped progress. After the Indonesian regime change of 1966, renewed interest in language reform in both nations resulted in the Ejaan yang Diesempurnakan of August 17, 1972. In Indonesia, changes involved 6 letters or combinations: tj, dj, j, nj, sj and ch became c, j, y, ny, sy and kh. Consonants such as f, v, and z, found only in words of foreign origin, were added to the Indonesian alphabet. The change was remarkably smooth; in a very short time street signs, newspaper articles, school and office work conformed to the new policy. (Having said that, the dictionary I purchased in 1983 in its third printing still had not been rewritten to reflect the spelling changes.)

Only personal names retained the old spelling; President Sukarno wrote his name in the new spelling: Sukarno, but signed documents "Soekarno." Books or documents published before 1972 today seem unreasonably quaint, old-fashioned beyond their 33-plus years. It's interesting to ask Indonesian friends, "Where were you in '72?" and listen to ensuing stories of bafflement, national pride, and struggles with schoolwork.

Used by over 220 million people daily in everything from complex literature to sitcoms, and market haggling to formal debate, Indonesian now holds its own among the world's major languages. Language "policing" and reform continues, conducted by the Pusat Bahasa, or Language Center. Who knows what spelling reform lies on the horizon? Indonesian isn't the only language targeted by reformers; one popular society would like to start on English. Plez stay posted for furder newzf' !

Sources
1. Sneddon, James, The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, Australia 2003 p. 9
2. Sneddon, p. 99
3. Debate continues on whether Malay and Indonesian are indeed distinct languages, and efforts to reconcile the two back into the single "Malay" occasionally bubble up into the press, causing flurries of letters to the editor.
4. www.en.wikipedia.org/lndonesian_language

This article was inspired by and closely follows James Sneddon's excellent book, The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society.
Check it out - it's in the library.