Let’s Love the Local Language

By: Andini

Serang, Banten

Hi! How are you? I hope you are good because I'm good here. Oh no, I mean that I'm
so happy right now. Yeah, finally I can be here, in Java Island. You know that it's one of my
dream, don't you? And finally, I got it.

Well, I'll tell you how I can be here. First, I signed up for an independent student
exchange program or is well-known as “PMM” a few months ago. After going through
several stages of selection, it turned out that I passed it, and yeah I finally flew to this land of
Java.

Oh yeah, you definitely don't or don't even know about the city called Serang, right?
Serang is the capital of Banten province. Banten is one of the provinces in Java Island, more
precisely on the western tip of the Java island. Now, I'm at Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University
(Untirta). Untirta is the best public university in Banten. That's why I chose untirta, lol.

You should know that joining this independent student exchange program is the most
appropriate decision that I've made this year. I am very grateful to be able to pass this
program. You know why? That's because I learned many things through this program. I got to
know many people from all over the country. Each of them also certainly has a different
character and culture.

I, who comes from the island of Sumatra, have a different culture with friends from
Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Maluku, and even people in this area of Java. So, we
experienced a bit of a culture shock here. And I'm curious what if you came here? Maybe you
will be surprised and feel a little different from our customs and culture, right? Especially in
terms of language.

Now, talking about language, I'm remembered of one of my roommates. Her name is
Sukma. Sukma comes from Lombok. You've heard the word Lombok right? Yes, Lombok is
one of the islands in Indonesia which is a holiday destination for Indonesian people and
foreign tourists. The majority of the people of Lombok are Sasak ethnicity. The Sasak people
use the Sasak language in their daily communication.
 One day, my roommates and I gathered to have dinner together. Suddenly, Sukma got
up and wanted to get a drink of water on her study table. Therefore, she had to pass me.

"Tabeq, Sis," said Sukma while she was passing me.

I didn't know what to say because I didn't know what she was saying. Then, Sukma
explained to us that “Tabeq” means excuse me in Sasak language. From that incident, we
began to discuss the language of our own tribes.

Sukma told about her hometown and some words or sentences commonly spoken in
the Sasak language. For example, for asking a help, they say "Tunas tulung". For saying
thank you, they say "Tampi asih". If someone calls, it will be answered with "Napi?" which
means the same as "What?". For apologizing, they say "Ampure". If they want to ask that
have someone eaten, they ask "Uah mangan?"

Well, there is an interesting thing about the Sasak language, that there are similarities
in words or speech between the Sasak language and the Javanese language. For example, in
asking whether someone has eaten, if in Sasak they say "Uah mangan?", then in Javanese it
says "Wes mangan?" There are also similar words or utterances in other words. This is due to
historical factors which are a bit complicated to explain here.

Turning to my other roommate, Liya. Liya comes from North Sumatra. He is of the
Mandailing Batak ethnicity. Have you heard about the ethnic? Not yet, right? So, the
Mandailing Batak is one of the 8 original ethnic groups in the province of North Sumatra.
The majority of the Mandailing Batak people who still live in the village use the Mandailing
language in their daily communication. And after I noticed, there are several words or
speeches in this Mandailing language that are similar and even the same as speech in
Javanese and Sasak. And it's possible that the regional languages in every region in Indonesia
have similarities or similarities with one another, right? I became very curious and wanted to
research this thing. What do you think about it?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell my other roommate. Her name is Rani. He comes
from Mataram. Mataram is the capital of the province of West Nusa Tenggara. You need to
know that there are many destinations that can be visited in the province. So, do you want to
go on vacation there with me?

Back to talk about Rani. There is something interesting about Rani. Rani is Samawa
ethnicity. She always uses Samawa as his local language when she talks with friends or
family members over the phone. I was very impressed with her. As we know that in this era
of globalization, it is very rare for teenagers to know and use their local language in
communicating, while Rani is different. She is very fluent in speaking various sentences in
the Samawa language. So, from Rani, I learned that we must preserve the local language as
our love for the area of origin. Do you agree with me? Please share your opinion about our
language. And don't forget to tell us about your local language.

I think that's enough for my story. I hope you are impressed and more curious about
my country. I'm waiting for your story and coming to Indonesia, Dear. See you on the next
letter.