The Language of Medan not just ‘Kaleng-kaleng’

New terms are also growing in cafés, traditional markets, mainstream media, social media and campuses, but they are still based on their main roots, namely the national language of Indonesian.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

An announcer of Radio Visi FM Medan greets listeners with the Indonesian dialect of Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday (13/8/2021).

Thousands of new terms in the spoken language have appeared in the city of Medan, North Sumatra. The variety of new words has produced a unique linguistic culture. Hundreds of years of multi-ethnic interaction have not just produced kaleng-kaleng (nonsense).

An episode of the Pagi Berisik radio program on Visi FM Medan that was presented by Atto Hiria and Dicky Naibaho on Friday (13/8/2021) morning began with the greeting, “Entah hapa hapa aja kamu, jangan menyebar berita sembarangan [whoever you are, don’t spread false news or hoaxes].”