Teaching for a Living...

Well, my final practicum is finished. The five weeks went pretty quickly, I guess being busy makes time seem like it passes by a little faster than it really does. I have also been lucky to have a couple of really good practitioners as supervising teachers.

This current practicum was much easier than the others. I think this might have something to do with me feeling a little more comfortable with my ability to actually do what needed to be done and do it well.

Having taught 7 - 10 and now 11 - 12, I reckon my strengths are definitely going to be in the senior subjects, and particularly the advanced and extension courses. However, the reality is going to be as a new graduate I will be teaching whatever comes my way. This is not likely to be advanced or extension courses. Now, that said, I definitely will not mind teaching 7 - 10. I enjoy the content in those courses as well. With a bit of luck I will get recognition for my Indonesian and get the opportunity to teach a little LOTE as well.

Now, that my final practicum is finished I have faxed off my prac report with a view to getting approval for an interim casual teaching number. With a bit of luck this should be emailed on Monday. Once I have a casual teaching number I can start to look for some casual work and get paid for teaching.

The final piece of the puzzle is getting all my university results finalised.

Teaching Indonesian...

I am on my final practicum and I am enjoying it a great deal. I am working in a great little country town. The school is well run, the staff are accommodating and helpful, and the students for the most part are engaged in the learning process. I am learning, and learning lots. Hopefully, I will be a better teacher for the opportunity and the experience.

I am teaching three classes; Modern History, Advanced English, and a LOTE class (Indonesian). I enjoy them all. However, the LOTE class raises some interesting issues for me. Most significant among these is the syllabus and the expectations of proper and correct Indonesian. The materials / content that I have been teaching is most definitely Bahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar. Yet, herein lies part of the problem, which might be best noted as a question..."how often do Indonesians use Indonesian that is proper and correct in their daily lives?"

To be honest, this is not really a dilemma for me anywhere but of my own making and in my own head. The reality is that I have to teach these youngsters the material and content that will allow them to successfully negotiate their half-yearly and yearly exams.

Today was fun because we were doing sentence drills. It was fun because I quite often find myself trying to remember what it was like for me as a beginner, particularly in trying to pronounce the foreign words. Today reminded me a lot of that MTV advertisement that played in Indonesia for a while, "gue banget". This was almost always pronounced "gooey bang get".

What is interesting to me is that a small country town like the one I am in chooses Indonesian. What is even more enlightening is that there are students who are really keen to learn. So, hopefully, I can help them gain an appreciation for Indonesian and the opportunities that being an Indonesian speaker will open for them in the future.

English to Indonesian...

This post is for all you translators and interpreters out there who sometimes struggle to find the right word or context when moving between English and Indonesian. I received this from a good friend of mine, who in turn received it from a good friend of hers. I figured that I would post it here in my blog because some 24 hours later it still makes me laugh!

To all you non-Indonesian speakers out there, my apologies! But, let me assure you the things said in Indonesian are truly funny. Maybe you should all learn a little! Indonesians are great people and they live in a very beautiful country (kind of like all of us really).

Translation work is always fun. I kind of miss it, kind of.

To all my Indonesian friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or passers by....Enjoy!

And to those who created this fine piece, if you want me to add your names to give you proper credit for this then let me know. On that note, I have just realised that a great deal of these come from the Twitter timeline of Daniel Ziv (@DanielZiv). There are a lot more there so feel free to check them out.


Some say that Indonesian tends to be long winded and not concise. The example below proves otherwise ;)

Ternyata Bhs Indonesia jauh lbh simple dibanding Bhs Inggris.

In English: "Would you care to validate your previous statement?" In Indonesian: "SUMPE LO?!

In English: "Sorry, I think you miscalculated your own capabilities to handle the task at hand." In Indonesian: "Nenek lu kiper!

In English: "Would you care to elaborate on that statement?" In Indonesian: "MAKSUD LOH?!"

In English: "There's a 75% chance I won't make it, I'm far too busy for ur stupid event." In Indonesian: "Insya'allah gw dateng!"

In English: "The meeting will start at 9:15 AM. Please be there 15 minutes beforehand." In Indonesian: "Rapatnya jam 8!"

In English:"Let's try this new scam and see if those carbo-ladden brains buy it" In Indonesian: "Mama minta pulsa"

English: "Please stop by our outlet. There might be stuff you'll find interesting." Indonesian: "Giordanonya, Kakaaak!"

English: "I've stumbled upon something that might be of interest to you. You might find it useful." Indonesian: "CEKIDOT GAN!"

English: "I'm so overwhelmed by this turn of event that I'm speechless and in awe." | Indonesian: "ANJRIT!"

English: "This is a very interesting topic that everybody should stay updated about this." Indonesian: "Sundul, Gan!"

English: "I definitely won't make it. You guys go and have fun without me." | Indonesian: "Ntar gue nyusul."

English: "You're absolutely, positively 100% correct. But I knew that already." | Indonesian: "EMBEER!"

English: "That's so profound. I can't contribute anything further but I need to say something to sound equally smart." Indonesian: "Daleeem."

In english " I'm trying to find the right word for you to understand" In indonesian: " Capeekk deeehhh"

Flag, Language, Emblem, and Anthem -- Indonesian Laws and Regulations...

This is something that I wrote for somewhere else. The original can be found at http://en.hukumonline.com.

In order to ensure that the things that make Indonesians, well Indonesians, are protected from misuse and abuse, the government has enacted Law No. 24 of 2009 on The Flag, the Language, the National Emblem, and the National Anthem. The law is comprehensive and extends over 74 articles and 29 pages. Each of the substantive areas are covered in detail and set out what is and what is not permissible with each of the national symbols.

The law contains all the expected provisions with respect to the flag. Generally, there are prohibitions against abusing the flag, for example by burning it, and against misusing it, for example by exploiting it commercially. Similarly, the national anthem is not to be exploited commercially either.

Also, the national anthem is not to be rearranged to different music. However, the intent here seems to be if the rearrangement is intended to belittle the national anthem or to make fun of Indonesia. This is interesting as recently an Indonesian musician sang a version of the national anthem that had been arranged to a different tune although he maintained the original words. This caused a stir for a while, but it seems to have died down now.

On the language front it is clear that there is an intention to raise the profile of Indonesian to a level that sees Indonesian operating as an international language. This is to be done in a phased, systematic, and ongoing manner, and is to be coordinated by the relevant language agency. All further regulations with respect to this plan are to be in the form of government regulations.

Nevertheless, the law is also explicit in stating that the government may facilitate Indonesians in the learning of foreign languages. The condition here is that there is an element of increasing Indonesia’s international competitiveness with the learning of any foreign language.

Generally, all education institutions are to use Indonesian as a medium of instruction. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Primarily, these exceptions are for international schools or education facilities where there are foreign students enrolled. Foreign languages can be taught in Indonesian schools. However, it would seem that Indonesian would still play a significant part in how the foreign language material is to be delivered.

Similarly to the discussion on the Bill on Language, which is still bouncing around the parliament, all speeches and presentations in international forums, whether here or abroad, when delivered by Indonesian official, must be in Indonesian. This would not conceivably prevent an English translation being provided to those in attendance.

The law provides for criminal sanctions of up to five years imprisonment and fines of up to IDR 500 million.

The implementing regulations required to give force to this law must be enacted within two years of the law being enacted.

The law has been in force since 9 July 2009.

Noordin M. Top Claims Recent Jakarta Bombings

Noordin M. Top has allegedly signed off on an internet message that was posted on behalf of Top. As has been suspected, Top claims the bombings on behalf of a splinter group linked to Jemaah Islamiyya (or Jemaah Islamiyah), Tandzim al-Qaeda.

Interestingly, the message claims that the American business community, and presumably anyone remotely associated with that community, for stealing Indonesia's natural resources. Therefore, this would give some credence to the idea that James Castle's round table breakfast function was in fact the intended target and not a target of opportunity.

The message was written in Arabic and Indonesian. It was posted on Sunday to a website that had not be known previously, Bushro. Top and his band of terrorists have only claimed one previous Indonesian bombing, and by all accounts it seems that this message is in much the same manner as the previous claim. The previous claim of responsibility related to bombings in Bali in 2005.

Whether the claim is legitimate and issued on the orders of Top remain to be seen and investigated more fully. I have recently heard that some experts are starting to question its authenticity as it contains some errors. These experts are questioning the authenticity because Top is a renowned perfectionist. Time will tell I guess.

The note mentions some of Top's closest confidants that have been killed by anti-terror forces during the pursuit of Top. However, these confidants were killed in 2005 and 2006, so this suggests that the planning and execution of the plan were a long-time in the making. So long in fact that it has been reported that the police had intelligence to suggest that a bombing was a possibility.

Noordin M. Top is Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorist. He hails from Malaysia but has honed his bombing skills in Indonesia. He has become a real merchant of death in that he is allegedly responsible for the killing of almost 250 people since his bombing spree started.

The sooner anti-terrorism forces catch this man the better. Otherwise, Indonesians can be assured of one thing; he will continue to build bombs designed to kill as many people as he can for as long as he can. He, and his group, might be targeting foreigners, but history shows he is not adverse to killing Indonesians as acceptable collateral damage in the pursuit of his goals.

Violence is not the answer. It will never resolve our differences and it will never allow us to move forward to a place where we all live in peace and harmony with one another. People of all faiths must denounce violence as a legitimate means to an end; violence is not legitimate and it never ends.

Guns 'n' Roses Tribute To Rhoma Irama

I really do have to learn some new skills. I really wish that I had the ability to edit videos and copy tracks to videos.

This Guns 'n' Roses tribute to Rhoma Irama is a lot of fun. The song, "Begadang" which is colloquial Indonesian for staying up and talking all night long.

Enjoy!

NSW Schools and Bilingual Education

When something sounds too good to be true then it really is, don't you think?

The NSW government has indicated that it is going to fund a four-year project to the tune of AUD 2.25 million that seeks to introduce bilingual education into NSW schools. The idea is an excellent one. Simply, if Australia is going to be competitive in the future it needs leaders and business people who are capable in languages other than English. Considering, our geographic location in Asia, then it makes sense that the focus be on Asian languages.

The beef though, is that AUD 2.25 million hardly seems a sufficient investment into the future of language education let alone as an investment into bilingual education. The project is going to initially target four schools. So, the simple math here is that there will be a little over AUD 550,000 per school, which then equates to about AUD 135,000 per year. This is not a lot of cash considering that specialist teachers will need to be employed and the schools set up to be able to teach a bilingual curriculum.

The schools who want to be a part of the project will need to apply and show that they are capable of running a bilingual curriculum. At least, this is what the NSW Minister of Education is saying. The government's view seems to be that our future economic prosperity depends on it. Perhaps they are right, particularly when one considers that the NSW Treasurer is about to hand down a state budget that has some AUD 900 million in deficit factored into it.

The focus languages are going to be Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, and Indonesian. The bilingual curriculum is to be taught by native speakers. These native speakers will also need to hold teaching qualifications.

The bilingual curriculum will start in kindergarten and be about 90 minutes in length. As students progress through the grades this amount of time will be increased as will the number of subjects that are being taught in the second language.

It goes without saying that one of the keys to learning a language is starting young and keeping at it until you master the intricacies of the language. These intricacies are not only technical, such as grammar, but also the use of a language in its natural setting where grammar rules might be more relaxed.

Hopefully, the NSW government will see in its infinite wisdom to get more serious about this project and allocate a considerably larger sum to ensuring its success.

(picture can be found here. The picture highlights that the bilingual debate is one prevalent throughout Australia)

Miss Indonesia -- Learning to Speak Indonesian

I would have figured that to become Miss Indonesia that the ability to speak Indonesian, even Indonesian like Cinta Laura's hybrid version, would be a pre-requisite for entry into the competition. However, the crowning of the current Miss Indonesia proves otherwise.

The crowning of Karenina Sunny Halim (sometimes spelt Kerenina) is a interesting one. The young women are always stunningly beautiful, but pageants are supposed to have extended beyond the superficial looks to the judging of the women's skills and contributions to the greater community and not just whether she looks like a knock-out in an evening dress and a swimming costume. There is no doubt that Karenina is a beautiful young woman.

There is also little doubt that she is smart. She holds qualifications in public relations, teaching, performing arts, music, and marketing, among others. There is also little doubt that she does not speak much Indonesian. The question then is whether or not she is the best choice to represent Indonesia on the international stage?

Karenina needed a translator in order to be able to understand the questions from the Indonesian judges of the pageant. This is akin to, let's say, the winner of the Miss Australia pageant requiring a translator to answer the judges' questions in English. I don't know that it would ever happen.

It seems that Karenina is also a little short on the knowledge of Indonesian culture front as well. My guess is that she is in for a crash course in the Indonesian language and the culture of the vast archipelago that is Indonesia.

Nevertheless, I wish her nothing but the best as she represents Indonesia in the Miss World competition to be held in Johannesburg in South Africa.

Learning the Lingo -- Indonesian

Language is an important feature of Indonesia and what it means to be Indonesian. So, it is hardly surprising that there is a movement to codify this with a law on language.

The Bill on Language has been in and out of favour for some time as other pieces of legislation deemed either more important or more urgent being considered and enacted in preference to it. Nevertheless, the bill has never totally gone off the radar and a recent workshop on the bill sort to develop a more detailed discourse on the needs for a law on language. The bill specifically regulates the use of Indonesian and other languages.

However, the most interesting issues relate to how the bill mandates the use of Indonesian in all official representations of state and the requirements for all foreigners seeking to work and live in Indonesia to have a standardized level of Indonesian language skills.

The bill in most respects is not all that controversial and even the points of interest noted above are really not controversial in the sense that they are likely to result in deadlock or sink the bill in the consultation and discussion phases. The idea that the Head of State must use Bahasa Indonesia in all formal engagements is likely to resonate with ordinary Indonesians. Furthermore, Indonesian, and in particular proper and correct Indonesian, is a source of pride for Indonesians. Although in a practical sense it is probably important that the Head of State be able to speak English in order to have the option of presenting in English where practical and necessary.

The idea that foreigners must pass an Indonesian competency exam is reasonable and in most cases reciprocal. Indonesians are generally required to speak, read, and write at an acceptable level of English in order to work or study overseas. Therefore, it would seem to make good sense for Indonesia to require the same level of competency in Indonesian for those foreigners wanting to live and work in Indonesia.

It is conceivable that some people will see this bill as a threat to the ease of completing the functions of State and in doing business in Indonesia. However, the bill still has plenty of hard yards to hoe before it reaches the House of Representatives (DPR) and is put into the Committee process leading to a plenary vote.

The bill seems to be making progress however it is currently not a priority. The draft is current as of August 2008.

Provisions
The Bill requires the use of Indonesian in all public and private work environments. Article 11 even requires that all brand names, buildings, advertisements, and company names be in Indonesian.

This is not the first time that measures such as these have been proposed or used. Over the last decade there have been various attempts to compel the use of Indonesian. The most oft cited example of this is the case involving Bakery Holland. Bakery Holland was forced to Indonesianize its corporate name, the solution was simple - Bakeri Hollan, neither of which would seem to be proper and correct Indonesian or for that matter proper and correct words in any language.

Cultural and Ethnic Diversity
The Bill simply acknowledges the cultural and ethnic diversity that is Indonesia but would seem to restrict the use of regional languages to very limited situations. The bill permits the use of foreign languages only in forums that are international in nature and substance. There is a need for a national language. However, there remains a question as to whether this must come at the expense of regional languages and dialects. It must be noted that breaches of the provisions will result in administrative sanctions.

Arguments that the restrictions placed on the use of regional languages do not reflect the spirit of ‘unity in diversity’ seem to ignore the fact that there are no express provisions outlawing the use of regional languages and dialects. To the contrary, regional languages are permitted including how these languages are to be maintained is clear based on Article 27. However, considering the emphasis on ensuring the development of Indonesian for all spheres of use the issue will be one of how the regions will fund and develop the maintenance of their regional languages where there may just well be an overwhelming emphasis on ensuring meeting mandated standards of Indonesian.

Nevertheless, proponents of the bill note that the idea of Indonesia having a national language is something that is mandated not only in the Constitution but from a much earlier time, specifically the 1928 Youth Pledge.

Foreigners
The Bill requires all foreigners working in Indonesia to be proficient in the Indonesian language. In principle this is not an ill-conceived demand, the question is the workability of the proposal and the uniform standards that it will require to be put into place. From a business and investment perspective, all future labor and human resources hiring decisions as they relate to foreign staff will require that the prospective expatriate staff meet the required levels of proficiency.

For example, before a language school could hire an expatriate native speaker language teacher that teacher must first be proficient in Indonesian before they could be offered the position. It is accepted that communication between the expatriate and the local staff would be greatly enhanced if the expatriate knew Indonesian however the knowledge of Indonesian is not critical to the ability of the expatriate to perform their employment functions.

That said, it is important that there is a legal requirement for the transfer of knowledge from the expatriate to the Indonesian counterpart. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that this transfer of knowledge would be greatly enhanced if the expatriate could impart that knowledge in both Indonesian and the foreign language. The Labor Law and the implementing regulations envisage expatriate staff provided expertise, imparting that knowledge to local staff, and then having that local staff take over the role of the expatriate.

Indonesian Proficiency Tests
Foreigners
The Bill mandates that all expatriate employees and foreign students will have to have the requisite knowledge of Indonesian before being permitted to work or study in Indonesia. This will require them to sit and pass the Indonesian Proficiency Test (Ujian Kemampuan Bahasa Indonesia / UKBI) however what score they might have to achieve to 'pass' has not yet been set.

It remains unclear whether the test will be required for expatriate residents of Indonesian who are not working and studying, particularly for the ever-expanding group of expatriates retiring to the warmer climes and quieter surrounds of Bali among other Indonesian locales.

Indonesians
Just so that expatriates do not think they are being unfairly singled out for language proficiency tests, all Indonesian public officials and State employees will have to possess the requisite knowledge levels of proper and correct Indonesian - this may seem easy enough - but anyone watching local news bulletins with interviews with public officials will note that perhaps this is going to be a challenge for some Indonesians as well.

Official Representations
The Bill stipulates that for Indonesians that all speeches in written or oral form presented in Indonesia or abroad in an official capacity must be done in proper and correct Indonesian. The effect, the President in any speech that he makes whether it be, opening an international conference in Indonesia or making a speech addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations, these speeches must be in Indonesian.

As noted earlier international conferences in Indonesia may use a foreign language as the lingua franca yet it remains unclear whether an Indonesian official opening the conference would be permitted to use the foreign language to open the conference, particularly in light of Article 13.

On face value this seems an excessive requirement. This requirement might be directly linked to the controversy over a former Miss Indonesia's participation in an international pageant where she referred to Indonesia as being “a beautiful city”, an honest mistake or otherwise; even native speakers can make mistakes in their own language. Or it might simply be that Indonesian is a source of national pride and as such must be used at every possible opportunity.

Sanctions
The sanctions for breach of the provisions include written and verbal warnings, administrative fines, withholding and cancellation of permits, and the suspension of services until compliance is achieved. The impacts are obvious in regard to investment and foreigners. Nevertheless, one of the other aims of the Bill is to redress many Indonesian problems, such as a weakening of national pride and patriotism, which are considered to result in the deterioration in the use of proper Indonesian.

Enforcement
Yet, it would seem that the practicalities of regulating language use in the private and public spheres is only going to increase the red tape and bureaucracy in an already overburdened, over-bureaucratic State apparatus, which lead to claims at the recent seminar on the Bill that it was nothing more than a paper tiger or an unloaded gun.

Nevertheless, it must also be considered, although not explicitly stated, that Article 19 of the Bill would imply that the Government has an obligation to enforce the provisions and consequently to ensure compliance.

Publishing
Finally, the use of Indonesian is compulsory in the writing and publication of scientific papers and articles in the mass media, and films. Taking this to the logical extreme the inference is that all non-Indonesian language material must be translated or dubbed into Indonesian for local publication and dissemination.

The issue here is not the intent but rather the enforceability of such provisions. Presumably the Indonesian language requirement does not apply to Indonesian scientists and academics intending to publish material about Indonesia in foreign publications, once again this is an enforceability issue. Another example would be subscription based television programming; do the provisions entail that all programming content, free-to-air and subscription based, have to be in Indonesian.

Services Provided in Languages Other Than Indonesian
Another interesting question that the Bill or subsequent Government Regulations will need to address, perhaps in the Elucidation to the law, is the status of Indonesian produced English language news services – will they be required to include subtitles?

Conclusion

In conclusion, the intent of the Bill is a valid one, the promotion and development of the National Language. However, the codification of this intent is problematic and this piece has highlighted but a few of these, of particular concern is the enforcement of the provisions.

This increased bureaucracy and the ever-expanding intrusion of Government into the private corporate and private spheres is perhaps an issue of concern. This is particularly the case where the respective post-Soeharto Governments of B.J. Habibe, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati, and currently Susilo Bambang Yudhyono have sort to distance themselves from the authoritarian nature of the past through the promotion and emphasis on good corporate governance and the human rights and dignity of individuals to be free from excessive intrusion by the Government - the emphasis here is on smaller, more efficient government rather than an unending expansion of the big government of the past.

Cinta Laura -- An Accountant in the Making

It would seem that Cinta Laura Kiehl's parents have her head screwed on pretty tightly. I have posted about her before and her cool accent and her inability to speak proper Indonesian and her desire to create a language of her own. The language of her own would resemble a mix of probably a number of languages including bits and pieces from Indonesian, English, German and perhaps some others as well.

However, this post is not about her language skills and her endeavours to improve it, but rather this post is on what she sees her future to be!

For Cinta, her education is her number one priority -- that is good! She wants to be an accountant -- some might say not so good. Some of my blogging colleagues really do not like accountants (see GJ and Stump).

Nevertheless, Cinta wants to study at Harvard (me too) presumably in pursuit of an accounting degree. It seems that acting is just a hobby that allows her to make lots of friends. I am guessing it also allows her to make some extra cash for her education fund. Harvard is not cheap.

It seems that Cinta Laura is a 15-year old with a future plan. Good luck to her in her pursuit!

Baby Names

Yes, yes, yes, I know the kid is not due until November and that is bloody ages away! Whose idea was it anyway that this pregnancy thing had to last approximately 9 months? Perhaps this is proof that God is a man after all or then again perhaps God is a woman and has consciously kept man away from experiencing the pleasure and pain of child birth...It might have helped though if God had granted me some videography skills so I could better capture the process on film!

I am already planning the kids 18th birthday party and the embarrassment of watching the "day you were born" video!

But I digress! This post is about baby names! Let's face it the kid has to have a name, right? So, my philosophy is that it is better to sort this stuff out in advance so that you're not making rash decisions in the heat of the happiness moment while the missus' legs are spread-eagled and up in the air and in all her glory! To simplify things I reckon "the kid" is a good choice as it is gender neutral and reflects the fact that they will always be the kid no matter how old they get...the missus is not convinced on this one!

My other choice is the gender neutral Dylan. However, the reality is that we both want to capture the essence of the kid having two cultures and a wide array of influences ranging from Australian, Balinese, Indonesian, Welsh, and each of our personal interests and likes, and we want to do this in the kid's name. Yet, we are also conscious of not wanting the kid to have a name as long as the Nile.

I would like to factor in my old fella's Welsh heritage and have at least one Welsh name in the fold somewhere. I am not really into RAB Jr. if it is a son. Yet, I could be tempted with names like Harald, Tristan, or Drew. Besides if it is a daughter I kind of like the names Meaghan, Elizabeth, and Tuyet (Vietnamese for snow), Eloise...

When it is all said and done...I am not hoping for a son or a daughter (although fraternal twins would have been nice), I am just hoping that all goes well and smoothly and that the next however many weeks that remain, fly past :)

Bring it on!

Language - A Real Trendsetter...

Now here's one for all you language purists out there in cyberspace from a budding Indonesian soap star of mixed parentage...

I am proud that I am not fluent in Indonesian and I hope that my style of talking (accent - red) will become a trend and my identity...which was followed by this verbatim quote "I do not feel embarassed when I am being teased while I speak, I hope that how I talk can be followed by other kids. This is who I am ... this is natural!"

Sounds like that her parents have her head screwed on pretty well with the 'this is who I am ... this is natural' part of the quote, but all the same, pride in mediocrity? Yet, I guess as a 14 year old you have that kind of self-belief as the big bad and nasty world has yet to bring its full weight onto your young shoulders!

Nah, let's face it Cinta Laura Kiehl is the product of a mixed marriage where her father as a result of his work travelled frequently and much of, if not all, her education was in English. The old man is German so perhaps she speaks German as well, who knows?

Language is a living thing and it changes over time as new words become part of the lexicon. Indonesia is well-known for sub-languages, such as Bahasa Gaul (social or hanging-out language), Bahasa Preman (literally the language of criminals), and amalgamations of all the various languages and dialects that permeate this vast archipelago blended into the national language.

Bahasa Gaul and Bahasa Preman are more languages in their own right than dialects so perhaps Cinta Laura sees herself as being the creator and founder of another kind of sub-language based on the inability to speak proper Indonesian...

I give her credit for the fact that she has learned some Bahasa and obviously this is more than enough to get her a job in an Indonesian soap opera but there is nothing to be proud of in not being fluent in the language of your family on your mother's side. I have no problem with people who speak Bahasa with a foreign accent. Many of my friends who are long-term residents speak as much Bahasa, if not more, than Cinta Laura and they continue to have the inflections and tones of their native languages. But none of them have at least one parent who is Indonesian and none of them are soap stars and none of them are looked up to as model speakers or representatives of Indonesian culture or language. This is not to say that Cinta Laura is viewed in these ways, but when your country tells you it is important to be able to read, write, and speak proper and correct Indonesian then to be proud not to do so seems strange, perhaps even bizarre!

The reality is soap operas are not real but they follow many social norms and dictate others. Is it any wonder that you hear politicians reverting to slang and Bahasa Gaul at official functions? Yet, if soap operas are only to entertain and not to educate then:

Who cares?

I will still get a smile on my dial every time I hear Cinta Laura speak and remember to dedicate myself to the task of making sure my kids, if and when they come along, speak proper Indonesian in the proper places. They can learn the language of their peers from their peers because I am not gonna be able to help them on that front, then again I can always ask for Cinta Laura's help as the language trendsetter for kids of mixed marriages!