This linguistic matter and endless debate seems to have rooted in our daily lives recently. Some people are persistent on using Indonesian whenever they could, some use perfect English whenever they could, some use somewhat moderate English, combining them with regular Indonesian words, and some simply don’t have the ability to speak English at all. While, personally, the last of those permutations seems to be the least to be expected from someone in this modern day, do all of those make everything wrong? Of course not. We are entitled to make our own choices, and everyone’s entitled to have their own opinions.
The article that recently spawned over my Twitter timeline strikes multiple retweets in just minutes, stating that someone was not hired by a company simply because he was to proud on using the Indonesian language. In the article, it was ambiguously stated whether the company is Indonesian or foreign. It is a company IN Indonesia, people who worked there are Indonesians, and the work COULD be done in Indonesian. Does that statement make the company Indonesian? No. So I thought, hey, maybe it’s not a foreign company? So it is perfectly fair if they conduct job interviews with whatever language they think is appropriate. It could be their standard operating procedure and they have their reasons.
The article itself is good, perfectly written, and I’m sure that it was meant to open our eyes on matters that we didn’t see before. But this post is something that I have always wanted to write about, and it seems like a good timing. I realize that this might spark an endless debate again, but I think just like everyone, I am also entitled to my own opinion. So bear with me with what I think.
The reason why I chose to write mostly in English is simply because I want my writings to be accessible and understandable by virtually anyone without hassle. Yes, we have Yahoo! Babel Fish, or Google Translator, and countless online dictionaries, but is there anything wrong with writing it the way it was intended to be? No. Does this make me not Indonesian enough? Definitely not. If people insisted that every Indonesian should use the Indonesian language absolutely at all times, then what about Indonesian offices abroad? What about the people working there? Wouldn’t we be hypocrites by calling others chauvinistic, yet we are marching ourselves to the same state while being in some other country? While this may be an extreme example, I assume you see my point.
Here’s another case. In my company, I don’t accept people who does not speak English. If you read it just like that, it would make my company into just another egocentric workplace that worship the English language, am I right? Just like the way I see the implied message in that article earlier. But is there a reason why? Yes, of course. Most of our clients are from the US, and our work requires extensive correspondence with them. Imagine if everyone must route their communications to one or two persons just because nobody except them could speak English. We wouldn’t probably be where we are right now.
Another popular opinion is to compare our nation to Japan, France, or Germany. They have successfully maintain their language, using them at all times, yet become powerful countries. I would say that using this comparison is not fair. Different countries have different needs, you can’t simply say “hey, the Japanese could do that, why can’t we?” Let’s be fair now, can we actually do that? Let’s go back to my previous example. If I was that, sorry, ignorant to persistently use Indonesian to find overseas clients who can’t even speak the language, I don’t think I would have any clients right now. And if that’s the case, to be extreme, I would rather choose not to be nationalistic than to be jobless. As I said, different people, different nation, different needs.
I think the reason here is not whether we should be forced to use our native language, nor to be emotionally challenged to see that the Indonesian language is at the brink of extinction. I think it’s a powerful language and whether we use it or not, it will stay there. So if you’re an Indonesian linguist, then fine, do what you’re good at. If you love the language that much, fine, I see no reason why you shouldn’t. But in my humble opinion, bragging about the issue is just plainly pointless. The important part here is when to appropriately use, and when to not use a certain language.
You don’t agree with me? Hey, it’s a free world, you have the right to disagree as much as I have the right to stand by my opinion.