By: Dr. Felicia N. Utorodewo
The key to the Presidential Regulation no. 63 in 2019 regarding “The Provision of the Use of Indonesian language”, which governs the use of Indonesian language, is regulated in Chapter II, Part 1, Verse 2. In Part 1, there is a rule stating that the utilisation of Indonesian language should oblige with the principles of the Indonesian language, which includes principles of grammar, spelling and term formation. This article will be focusing on the principles of term formation.
Terms originate from a word or a phrase to accurately define or express a concept, a process, a situation or a unique feature to a particular branch of study, technology and art. Therefore, a term is derived from a common word which is given a specified meaning in accordance with the field of study. For example, the common word language can be changed into a term in the context of language or linguistic studies. Language now has a conceptual meaning or a unique characteristic, as such “language is a sound signalling system, agreed by members of one’s community, used as a means of communication, teamwork and self-identification.”
A word is differentiated from a term by its two distinct criteria. The first criterion is that a word has various meanings bound by the context it is used in. For instance, the word sour can be utilized in the sentence “That raw mango is very sour” and also “Why does he have a sour look on his face?” The second criterion is that a word has a social connotation (invokes a feeling) and is localised. For example, the use of words like besar, agung, raya, makro, and gede (big, grand, great, macro and huge -Ed). The word makro is usually used as a scientific term (ekonomi makro or macroeconomics). The word raya is mostly associated with ‘holiday and majestic things.’ The word gede is an informal word that is used in certain regions, such as those with Betawi or Javanese dialect.
Meanwhile, terms also have two distinct criteria. Firstly, terms only have one definition that does not depend on the context. In any context, the term has the same meaning. In particular, food flavouring and MSG (monosodium glutamate). Food flavouring is heavily bound with the context and can be interpreted as spices, sugar or salt whereas MSG only has one definite meaning and does not change alongside the context. Secondly, as a term only has a sole meaning; it does not have a social connotation and appeals more internationally compared to a word. For example, the word language and the term linguistic. The term linguistic does not have a social connotation and is understood internationally in the study of any language.
There are two types of terms: common terms and special terms. Common terms refer to those that started as a specific term in a certain branch of study and are then converted into common vocabulary due to their vast usage. For instance, radio, energy, and budget. With the ever-developing information media and increased social media usage, it causes specific terms to arise in various fields, like coffee break, talk show, deadline, and timeline. On the other hand, each special term has a definition that is specific only to a certain field. They are usually found in a scientific piece and a scientific conference or a particular crowd. Examples of these terms are appendectomy, oxide and particles.
There are five requirements needed in the process of a term formation. Firstly, the chosen term should be a word or phrase that accurately expresses a particular concept and does not stray far from this concept. Secondly, the chosen term should be the most concise word or phrase from all the proposed terms with the same referenced meaning. Thirdly, the chosen term should be a word or phrase with a positive connotation. Fourthly, the chosen term should be a euphonic word or phrase (easy on the ears). Lastly, the chosen term is a word or phrase that conforms to the principles of Indonesian language. Possible sources of the chosen word or term are from the Indonesian language, Malay, other languages spoken within the Indonesian archipelago like a regional dialect, Ancient Javanese and foreign languages.
Term formations derived from foreign languages or regional languages go beyond the language absorption process that the word is accepted in the Indonesian vocabulary. There are three ways to absorb a language. Firstly, the stabilisation process which stabilizss or polishes the concept from a regional language into a term, for example unduh (download -Ed) and unggah (upload -Ed). Secondly, the designation process whereby a new concept is invented or designated based on the environment and the type of activity. Also, the term is taken from a regional language such as fondasi cakar ayam (literal meaning: chicken’s feet foundation; metaphorical meaning: one of construction techniques to build a strong foundation on soft grounds -Ed) and jembatan simpang susun (bridge interchange -Ed). Lastly, the adaptation process in which old or new concepts from a foreign language is directly adopted into Indonesian language, such as radio and bank. There are 3 ways to achieve this adaptation process namely 1) translation, direct or indirect, where download is translated to unduh; however, it can also be done solely by absorption when it’s 2) related to spelling and pronunciation, like the word download becomes donlot (Indonesian slang for download -Ed); and, 3) through a combination of absorption and translation like subdivision becomes subbagian (bagian means division -Ed).
Evidently, behind the extensive list of foreign terms, there exists an absorption of those terms into the Indonesian language. Indonesian term formations are arranged in Pedoman Umum Pembentukan Istilah (PUPI) published by Indonesia’s Ministry of Education and Culture’s Language Development Agency.
This column is presented by:
