Language and Culture Notes
- When learning Indonesian, it is important to learn the uses of the informal and formal registers. In this postcard from a daughter who is abroad to family back home, the sender appropriately uses the informal register which, for this person, exhibits a strong influence from Javanese. She uses aku for ‘I’ and the abbreviated form of aku, ku, as a verbal prefix and a pronominal suffix meaning ‘I’ and ‘my’, respectively.
In addition, in this postcard, the writer uses the Javanese verbal negation nggak, abbreviating it to ngak, although nggak and enggak are the accepted variant spellings.
- The word soalnya is used in informal contexts to replace the word karena. See another example of soalnya below:
A: Besok Ani ikut kita nonton film, nggak?
B: Nggak, dia nggak bisa.
A: Kenapa?
B: Soalnya dia nggak punya uang.
- The main reading begins with a salutation and an opening question about the recipient's health and welfare.
The salutation used is Halo Bapak, Bu Tari, Kevin, dan semua.
Other common greetings for family and friends include Mas/Mbak X; Mas/Mbak X yang baik; and Halo semua. Hai Sayang is a greeting commonly used for girlfriends, boyfriends, wives, and husbands, and by parents to their young children. Commonly used opening questions include Semua sehat, kan?; Apa kabar?; Gimana kabarnya semua?; and Semoga semua sehat sejahtera selalu.
- In the closing, Arti asks her family to keep her in their prayers, sends her warm regards, and expresses her longing for her family.
Below are some examples of other closings that are appropriate for family and close friends: Salam kangen buat semua; Minta doa, dan salam kangen; Salam hangat; and Minta doa selalu. A neutral closing that is appropriate for a wide variety of addressees is Salam.
- There is a great variety of naming practices in Indonesia reflecting the ethnic diversity of the country. For the vast majority of Indonesians, there is no family name; thus each member of the family has a unique set of names. Christians often have one Christian baptismal name along with other local names. In this lesson you can see that Ag. Suparman abbreviates his Christian name, Agustinus, placing it first when written; but the name he uses with his friends and family is his Javanese name, Suparman.
