Language and Culture Notes

 
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  1. The first step in the process of applying to a university in Indonesia is to obtain an application form either online or at the administrative office on campus. After completing the application, the applicant registers to take the entrance examination that is administered by the university. Each university has its own entrance exam for prospective students. Results of the entrance examination are posted on a public bulletin board on campus. Once accepted, the successful candidate pays the tuition and then begins classes.
  2. The word kuliah can be used as a noun or a verb. As a verb, kuliah means to study at an institution of higher education. As a noun, kuliah refers to the teaching or lectures at an institution of higher education.
  3. Indonesian universities consist of schools (fakultas) that house departments or programs of study (program studi). Within a department, there may be tracks or areas of concentration (peminatan/konsentrasi) that a student may choose. In the main text, all eight schools (fakultas) at Atma Jaya are advertising bachelor (sarjana) degree programs, which are commonly referred to as S1.
  4. The 24-hour clock (also referred to in English as military time) is used in Indonesia in formal, written documents such as in airline, bus, and train schedules. For example, in this advertisement, you see that the university office closes at 16.00 which is 4:00 PM.
  5. The words pukul (abbreviated as pkl.) and jam are both used to refer to time. Thus, Pukul berapa sekarang?, and Jam berapa sekarang?, both mean ‘What time is it?’. The answer to these questions may be either, Sekarang sudah jam empat. or Sekarang sudah pukul empat., meaning ‘It is four PM.’. However, the word pukul is used with the 24-hour clock in formal, written contexts such as in schedules and in formal, spoken contexts such as in announcements on television or radio.
  6. Indonesia stretches across three different time zones: Waktu Indonesia Barat (WIB) which is Greenwich Mean Time plus 7 hours (GMT +7 hours); Waktu Indonesia Tengah (WITA) which is GMT +8; and Waktu Indonesia Timur (WIT) which is GMT +9.
  7. In the main reading text, the prepositional phrase, sampai dengan, abbreviated as s/d, is used to connect two dates. Thus, 29 Maret s/d 29 Mei 2010 means from the 29th of March until the 29th of May. One may say, Hari Senin sampai dengan hari Jumat ada pameran lukisan di Galeri Kampus. (From Monday until Friday there is a painting exhibition at the Campus Gallery.)