Name : Atifah Khoiriyah

Reg Number : 1910732012

Course : DDIB (B)

The Use of Slang Variations as the Representation of Pop Culture through Language

Indonesia is a country that is rich in culture and diversity. As time goes by, these cultures
develop as well following the people's necessities and trends particularly in this modern era
which is marked by the presence of Pop culture. According to the Oxford dictionary, modern
popular culture is transmitted via the mass media and aimed particularly at younger people (qtd.
in lexico.com). Pop culture can easily spread among society because it is liked and widely
accepted by many people. Pop culture can be represented through a movie, music, fashion, food,
language, and so forth. One example of pop culture representation through language is the use of
slang. Slang has become popular among young generations because it is considered simple and
cool. It may develop and even change depending on the era which makes it has a lot of variations
as well. There are three common slang variations that are able to represent pop culture through
language such as slang originated from Bahasa Indonesia, slang that is adopted from foreign
languages, and slang that is constructed by the combination of both languages.

The first slang variation that represents pop culture through language is the slang
originated from Bahasa Indonesia itself. This kind of slang is commonly created in the form of
abbreviation or the modification of an Indonesian word to make it simpler and unique so that it
can be remembered by many people. For example is the word "bucin", the abbreviation of the
phrase "budak cinta". This slang is used to define someone who obeys his girlfriend. We can see
that many people use this slang in their captions or comments of the photos that they posted on
social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and so forth. Another example is the word
"kuy", which is the modification of the word "yuk". It has a meaning to invite someone when
you want to go somewhere with him or her. This slang is used to give the impression of being
more relaxed and closer to our friends. These are some examples of the representation of pop
culture through slang in Bahasa Indonesia.

The second slang variation that represents pop culture through language is the slang
adopted from foreign languages. This slang is commonly derived from English words. In
Indonesia, using some particular English words in daily life is considered cool and prestigious
because English is an international language. The slang can occur in the form of abbreviation or
English word that is associated with some particular terms. For example is "btw", the
abbreviation of "by the way". This slang is used to start a conversation or when someone wants
to change their conversation topic. Perhaps most of us have been familiar with this slang that we
often use in our daily conversation either in spoken or written text such as text in WhatsApp or
other social media. One more example is the word "ghosting". It is a term to describe a complete
cut-off from communication with a partner or friend, without revealing the reason behind this
action. In fact, this term has existed in the mid 2015s that refers to an article entitled ‘Charlize
Theron Broke Up with Sean Penn by Ghosting Him’ and was finally added to the Collins English
Dictionary in 2015" (qtd. in Kumparan.com). However in Indonesia, the term "ghosting" was
just recently popular in 2021 and increasingly viral after some Indonesian artists and celebgrams
use this term to represent the break-up of their love relationship that we can find it on TV or
social media. These examples show us that the use of this slang variation can also represent pop
culture through language.

The third slang variation that represents pop culture through language is the slang
constructed by the combination of Bahasa Indonesia and foreign languages. As all we know that
Indonesian people like to modify or mix and match languages as they want to make the language
simpler, unique, and funny even though sometimes it is quite weird and does not match with the
grammar at all. For example is the word "berflower" which has the meaning of “developing
country” or precisely "negara berkembang" in Bahasa Indonesia. This word is constructed by the
combination of Indonesian suffix "ber-" and the English word "flower" (kembang). This slang is
often used as a joke to represent Indonesian citizen behavior that is considered too relaxed and
enjoy their life like the flowing water. This slang has been popular on TV and is often used as a
meme. Another example is the adverb "jujurly" which has a similar meaning to "honestly". It is
the combination of the Indonesian word "jujur" (honest) and the English suffix "-ly". I often hear
this slang on TV, YouTube, TikTok, and other social media in which some artists, vloggers, and
even one of Indonesian TV adverts ‘olx.autos’ use this term when they describe their feeling,
convey their idea, or promote their product that makes this slang increasingly viral among the
society. That is why this kind of slang can be widely accepted and is able to represent pop
culture through language.
 From the explanation above, I believe that there are three common slang variations that
are able to represent pop culture through language. The first variation is slang originated from
Bahasa Indonesia such as the abbreviation "bucin" from "budak cinta" and the modification of
the word "kuy" from "yuk". Another variation is slang that is adopted from English words such
as the abbreviation "btw" from "by the way" and the term "ghosting". In addition, the last
variation is slang derived from the combination between both languages. It is commonly the
combination between an English word and an Indonesian suffix or prefix and vice versa such as
the word "berflower" and "jujurly". All these slang variations are made to make the words
simpler. The use of slang is also aimed to convey our idea or to reveal our feeling in a more
enjoyable and creative way. That is why slang tends to be popular, liked, and broadly accepted
by the majority of people particularly young generations so that it is able to represent pop culture
through the use of language.

References

Kumparan. (2021). Asal Mula Istilah Ghosting dalam Sebuah Hubungan. Retrieved from
https://m.kumparan.com/cinta-rahasia/asal-mula-istilah-ghosting-di-dalam-sebuah-hubungan-
1vJIbRJzxKh/1

Lexico. (2020). Meaning of Popular Culture in English. Retrieved from

https://www.lexico.com/definition/pop_culture