Locality Enriches Indonesian Language

Locality must be seen as a reality that enriches Indonesian language, not vice versa, being considered to damage the standard Indonesian order.

KOMPAS/SOELASTRI SOEKIRNO

Yunus, secretary of the Culture Office of Alor regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), shows two textbooks about the local Abui and Kafoa languages, which are used by elementary school students on the island on Tuesday (15/10/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Locality must be seen as a reality that enriches the Indonesian language, not vice versa and considered damaging to the standard Indonesian order. As a language, Indonesian is open to the possibility of specific pronunciations, known as dialects.

Over the last three years, as reported by Kompas on Friday (25/10/2019), the number of vocabulary entries in the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia) was recorded at 328,836, with meanings reaching 384,635. The vocabulary entries, among others, come from slang and local languages.