You went to Global Jaya too? That's crazy. Do you have a brother around my age (I'm 30)? Because I remember having a classmate who has the same last name as yours.
Anyways, I do think about the difference between the Indonesian and the English languages. I get what you mean about using English to better express yourself. It's a complicated thing.
On one hand, there's the case of being exposed to American/Western culture. Most of my entertainment and reading is in English, so I ended up being able to express myself better in English. I don't know about your experience, but I rarely use the Indonesian language outside of a family setting. I'm trying to remedy this by reading a book in Indonesian and watching Indonesian YouTube videos, but most of the stuff I watch/read is still in English.
On the other hand, English is objectively an easier language to use than Indonesian, and I don't mean easier to learn. I'm not sure how to describe it, so I'll use the following exercise: think of a sentence in English, and then think that same sentence in Indonesian. Chances are, the English sentence will have less syllables.
Anyways, that's just one aspect of the comparison between the two languages. If I go on, I might end up having to write a whole article about it, lol.
As for selling out, I think there's an aspect to that, unfortunately. There seems to be an inferiority complex that Indonesians have when dealing with people from the West (America/Europe/Australia/etc.). We think that just because the bule have more money, then their opinion is more important than ours. I know this is true because I used to feel the same way until recently. I don't know if I would call it 'guilt', but I'm definitely seeking to move beyond this "America worship" (for lack of a better word) that I used to have.
As for which language is more important, that's a tough question. English is the lingua franca of the world right now, so it makes sense that everyone in the world is speaking it. On the other hand, we shouldn't jettison the Indonesian language. It's our language, it's what differentiates us from other countries like Malaysia or Singapore. It's also one of the things that hold the country together given that we have lots of ethnic groups with their own local languages. Without the Indonesian language, how are they going to talk to one another?
Anyways, that was my thoughts. Thanks for your comments.
Please tell Michael that I’m doing well and give him my regards as well. :)
Since I moved from the US to Indonesia around mid-2007, it probably is the case that we missed each other by only a few months.
Thank you for your kind comments. I’ve been thinking on what I want to write about next in this Substack. So I think I will write that article on the comparison between the two languages. It’s something that I’ve thought about from time to time and it would be interesting to write about it. That being said, I do have a lot on my plate right now so it might take some time for me to get that done.
Anyways, I don’t want to appear ‘woke’ either. I’m glad that you reject the ‘victim mentality’ because it’s toxic and unhelpful. The way I see it, this victim mentality is the mirror counterpart to the inferiority complex we’re talking about. You’re right that there is a psychological scar. Maybe it’s because of centuries of colonialism, or maybe it’s because we saw that their countries are richer. But in any case, the result is that we either see the bule as either the oppressor or the savior; we either hate them for no reason or respect them for no reason; they’re either angels or demons. You get the idea.
I’m going for a more nuanced position. I’m not the most social person, but I’ve dealt with enough white folks to remove this sort of mystical view of the bule that most Indonesians have. They’re neither angels nor demons, they’re human beings just like us. Yes, we know that explicitly. But what about implicitly?
I’m saying this because they are also victims of the current Western culture just like us. In fact, it’s even more so for them because they’re closer. At least us Indonesians are halfway around the world (well, you are lol).
As for historical facts, it’s fine to acknowledge them. It’s just that sometimes people like to distort history by exaggerating one aspect while downplaying another. For example, black Americans get angry at their white counterparts for slavery. But then they forgot (or ignore) the fact that it was other blacks who sold their ancestors to slavery. As for us Asians, we focus on centuries of European colonialism. But then we forgot that prior to that, we have the Mongols invading Europe and possibly spread the Black Death there.
Well that’s my rant. I hope you’ll find it helpful.
Hi Alvin,
You went to Global Jaya too? That's crazy. Do you have a brother around my age (I'm 30)? Because I remember having a classmate who has the same last name as yours.
Anyways, I do think about the difference between the Indonesian and the English languages. I get what you mean about using English to better express yourself. It's a complicated thing.
On one hand, there's the case of being exposed to American/Western culture. Most of my entertainment and reading is in English, so I ended up being able to express myself better in English. I don't know about your experience, but I rarely use the Indonesian language outside of a family setting. I'm trying to remedy this by reading a book in Indonesian and watching Indonesian YouTube videos, but most of the stuff I watch/read is still in English.
On the other hand, English is objectively an easier language to use than Indonesian, and I don't mean easier to learn. I'm not sure how to describe it, so I'll use the following exercise: think of a sentence in English, and then think that same sentence in Indonesian. Chances are, the English sentence will have less syllables.
Anyways, that's just one aspect of the comparison between the two languages. If I go on, I might end up having to write a whole article about it, lol.
As for selling out, I think there's an aspect to that, unfortunately. There seems to be an inferiority complex that Indonesians have when dealing with people from the West (America/Europe/Australia/etc.). We think that just because the bule have more money, then their opinion is more important than ours. I know this is true because I used to feel the same way until recently. I don't know if I would call it 'guilt', but I'm definitely seeking to move beyond this "America worship" (for lack of a better word) that I used to have.
As for which language is more important, that's a tough question. English is the lingua franca of the world right now, so it makes sense that everyone in the world is speaking it. On the other hand, we shouldn't jettison the Indonesian language. It's our language, it's what differentiates us from other countries like Malaysia or Singapore. It's also one of the things that hold the country together given that we have lots of ethnic groups with their own local languages. Without the Indonesian language, how are they going to talk to one another?
Anyways, that was my thoughts. Thanks for your comments.
Sincerely,
Michael
Hi Alvin,
Please tell Michael that I’m doing well and give him my regards as well. :)
Since I moved from the US to Indonesia around mid-2007, it probably is the case that we missed each other by only a few months.
Thank you for your kind comments. I’ve been thinking on what I want to write about next in this Substack. So I think I will write that article on the comparison between the two languages. It’s something that I’ve thought about from time to time and it would be interesting to write about it. That being said, I do have a lot on my plate right now so it might take some time for me to get that done.
Anyways, I don’t want to appear ‘woke’ either. I’m glad that you reject the ‘victim mentality’ because it’s toxic and unhelpful. The way I see it, this victim mentality is the mirror counterpart to the inferiority complex we’re talking about. You’re right that there is a psychological scar. Maybe it’s because of centuries of colonialism, or maybe it’s because we saw that their countries are richer. But in any case, the result is that we either see the bule as either the oppressor or the savior; we either hate them for no reason or respect them for no reason; they’re either angels or demons. You get the idea.
I’m going for a more nuanced position. I’m not the most social person, but I’ve dealt with enough white folks to remove this sort of mystical view of the bule that most Indonesians have. They’re neither angels nor demons, they’re human beings just like us. Yes, we know that explicitly. But what about implicitly?
I’m saying this because they are also victims of the current Western culture just like us. In fact, it’s even more so for them because they’re closer. At least us Indonesians are halfway around the world (well, you are lol).
As for historical facts, it’s fine to acknowledge them. It’s just that sometimes people like to distort history by exaggerating one aspect while downplaying another. For example, black Americans get angry at their white counterparts for slavery. But then they forgot (or ignore) the fact that it was other blacks who sold their ancestors to slavery. As for us Asians, we focus on centuries of European colonialism. But then we forgot that prior to that, we have the Mongols invading Europe and possibly spread the Black Death there.
Well that’s my rant. I hope you’ll find it helpful.
Sincerely,
Michael