Local Wisdom with Universal Appeal: Dynamics of Indonesian Culture in Asian Context
Abstract
This paper argues that the dynamics of Indonesian culture in Asian context, as seen from a linguistic perspective, may occur in the form of cultural reinterpretation and semantic change. At the cultural level, this paper takes a close look at two things: apology and “Indonglish” (Indonesian English). Apology is a universal speech act. However, where, when, how, and why people apologize to one another can be culture-specific. I pick out an Islam-specific greeting which gets modified by taking a Malay-specific apology as an illustrative example. As for Indonglish, it can be viewed either as a mock term or as a serious term. As a mock term, Indonglish is characterized by Indonesian-specific errors; and as a serious sociolinguistic term, it is characterized by apology, Indonesian address terms, and religion-related expressions.
The semantic change pertains to three expressions: pancasila, bhinneka tunggal ika, and tut wuri handayani. The compound word pancasila means ‘five principles’, and the phrase bhinneka tunggal ika means ‘unity in diversity’. Both expressions originate from an old Javanese literary work Sutasoma, written during the second half of the 14th century. In Sutasoma, both expressions refer respectively to ‘five moral principles in Buddhism’ and ‘a single religious truth proposed to unite Buddhism and Hinduism’. However, in modern Indonesia, they have undergone drastic semantic change. Pancasila is a cover politico-philosophical term for the five state foundations; and bhinneka tunggal ika is a national motto intended to unite people with different backgrounds into a single Indonesian nation. The last expression tut wuri handayani, or ‘giving support from behind’, was part of the educational motto for Taman Siswa, an educational institution established in the early 1920s. Now, it is taken as a motto for national education, for its great relevance to principles of modern educational psychology. Briefly, cultural dynamics are observable in apology and Indonglish; and the three local expressions originating from Javanese have now become prominent terms of national treasure, whose meanings spark some global appeal.
Keywords: cultural reinterpretation, semantic change, apology, Indonglish.
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