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July 2011

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From:
Katrin Bandel <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Indonesian language list <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 11 Jul 2011 03:04:55 -0700
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Having lived in Indonesia for more than 10 years, I still often find it difficult to choose how to address people. I don't think that this is a problem only foreigners have. I often observe Indonesians obviously being unsure how to address someone. 
What I often do in situations like that is to avoid addressing someone directly as far as possible (and it often is quite easily manageable in Indonesian to have a chat with someone without saying "you"). While talking with someone, I then start to get a feeling for how the relationship is - does the other person act as an authority, address me in a formal way, position him/herself as younger or older, use colloquial language... Usually somehow I get a clue about what term of address would be appropriate after exchanging a few sentences.
Another option would be to observe how others address the person. Certainly you can't always easily go along with what others do, but it does give you some information.
Finally, it quite often happens that the term of address is openly discussed - you just ask someone "how should I call you?", or someone corrects the term of address you use ("don't call me "Ibu", I'm not that much older").

What I'm trying to say is not that the exercises below are irrelevant or useless, but I do think that it should be pointed out to the students that choosing a term of address is always complicated and there are no clear rules. It's not something you just learn once and for all, and then you'll always know what to do.

As for the choices of terms that are given: I've never been to Salatiga. But living in Jogja, lately I often experience being addressed as "kakak" (instead of the javanese "mbak"), for example by shop assistants. So maybe kakak/abang could be a choice in Salatiga, too.


Dr. Katrin Bandel

Program Magister Ilmu Religi dan Budaya (IRB)

Universitas Sanata Dharma

Yogyakarta, Indonesia



www.katrinbandel.com

--- On Mon, 11/7/11, Timothy Hassall <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Timothy Hassall <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: help with judging appropriateness of address terms
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Monday, 11 July, 2011, 5:32 AM

 
Dear all,



I would greatly appreciate judgements from colleagues – especially
native speakers of Indonesian -- on the appropriateness of some address
terms in four scenarios.




 




This is to help me to analyse my data for
a study of acquisition of address terms in Indonesian by Australian students. 




 




The Australian students spent some weeks studying in
Salatiga, while living with a homestay family.




 




I gave them a “pre-test // post-test” on their knowledge of address terms. In each
scenario they were asked to write down their choice of address term. I then invited
them to talk about that choice.




 




Certain scenarios had fairly obvious ‘correct answers’, but the
four scenarios below are deliberately less clear-cut. 




 




The Australians were mostly 20-21 years old.



Below is the ‘test’ instrument with the four scenarios of special interest:




 




 




<Notes to BAHASA colleagues>:




 




**In judging address terms below, please take the
perspective of an Australian student who is 20-21 years old**




 




* Respondents are asked to choose a term for the pronoun
slot, so e.g. “Dan IBU?” (‘And you?’). It is not the vocative slot (e.g. not as
in "Terima kasih, IBU.”)








* Respondents were not offered the option of leaving the
pronoun slot empty. 






*  In real-life, their choice of address
term might be affected by what the other person calls them, but that had to be disregarded.





 




* It would be hugely helpful if you could offer an option on
*each* of the address terms I mention in each case, rather than simply saying e.g.
“X would be best” (and not mentioning the others.)




 




 




----------------------------------------------------------------------------




 




<TEST FOR RESPONDENTS> 






"Imagine you are living and studying in a town in Central Java".




 




"You are talking with each of the people below, and you
want to refer explicitly to the person you are talking to. (In English the word
"you" is used for that purpose"). How would you do it in each
case?"





-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCENARIO 1: 

 (a fellow customer at a warung (eating stall) in town.

Ari Wahyuni, male, 22 y.o.



"You're sitting next to each other on a bench with other customers, eating
your meals. He is neatly dressed, and looks like an office worker. He asks you
a polite small talk question, and you reply and ask him something too.



YOUR CHOICE:"________________________ "

[e.g. to say "Have YOU...? // Did YOU...?"



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



<To BAHASA members> : In Scenario 1 "stranger in warung" above,
I'm especially interested in judgements or comments on each of these terms:



- kamu (too familiar here, from the 20-21 y.o. Australian?)



- anda (It is little used between Indon native speakers in face to face
conversation. But Indons sometimes address foreigners as Anda. Is it
appropriate coming from the 20-21 y.o. Aust, here?




 




- "mas" (None of the Australians knew “mas” before
they arrived in Salatiga, so I’m also interested in what other choices of
theirs might be acceptable)






- "Ari" (if they had learned his name)



- "mas Ari"



 



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCENARIO 2 

a becak driver in town.

Ahmad Fahmi, male, 50 y.o.



"You want to go from the main campus of your university to the other
campus. You take a becak, for the first time during your stay, and during your
journey you and the becak driver talk together a little."



YOUR CHOICE: "________________________ "  

[e.g. to say "Have YOU...? // Did YOU...?"



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



<To BAHASA members>: In Scenario 2 "becak driver" above: I'm
especially interested in judgements or comments on each of these terms:



- bapak. [Does the big age difference between 20-21 y.o. student and 50 y.o.
becak driver automatically require "'bapak"? Or is the full form 'bapak'
over-respectful from a customer to a becak driver? It seems more
deferential than vocative short form "pak".



- anda [again, it’s a non-native choice, but coming from an Australian?)






- mas 



- pak [I think of ‘pak’ as only acceptable in the vocative slot, e.g.
"Pagi, Pak". But one Indonesian living in Europe recently called me
"pak" in the pronoun slot throughout a long email message to me. That
made me wonder if the Australian students could get away with it here.]





----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCENARIO 3

a domestic servant in your homestay house




Siti Hartati, female, 18 y.o.






"You have seen each other around the house most days during the last six
weeks, as she goes about her cleaning duties. You sometimes exchange greetings,
and occasionally a couple of brief small-talk remarks."



"YOUR CHOICE:"________________________ "   

[e.g. to say "Have YOU...? // Did YOU...?



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<<To BAHASA members>>: In Scenario 3 "servant" above, I'm
especially interested in judgements and comments on each of these terms in the
pronoun slot:








- mbak [Again, as none of the Australians knew “mbak” before
they arrived in Salatiga, I’m also interested in what other choices of theirs might
be acceptable)




 




- Siti [if the 20-21 y.o. Australian student had learned the
servant’s name]






- mbak Siti



- kamu




 




- anda 










----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCENARIO 4

a local university student/ staff member of your language school

Benny Pribadi, male, 22 y.o.



"He is a local university student who also works part-time in the computer
lab at your language school. You've seen him in the lab on most days during
your six weeks there, and you often greet each other. Occasionally he has
helped you with something, e.g. if there is a problem with the printer.

You ask him over to help you with a minor computer problem, and this time you
chat a little too."



YOUR CHOICE: "________________________ "  

[e.g. to say "Have YOU...? // Did YOU...?"



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<To BAHASA members>: In Scenario 4 "student-cum-staff member"
above, I'm especially interested in judgements or comments on each of these
terms in the pronoun slot:








- kamu



- anda



- mas [Again, none of the Australians knew “mas” before they arrived in
Salatiga, so I’m also interested in what other choices of theirs might be
acceptable)




 




- Mas Benny [If the Australian student had learned
this person’s name.]




 




- Benny






-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




 




 




<To BAHASA colleagues: thank you!>

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