Indonesian slang vernacular (Indonesian:bahasa gaul,Betawi:basa gaul), orJakarta colloquial speech (Indonesian:bahasa informal, bahasa sehari-hari) is a term that subsumes various urban vernacular and non-standard styles of expression used throughoutIndonesia that are not necessarily mutually intelligible. Regional slang from the capital ofJakarta, based onBetawi language, is however heavily exposed and promoted in national media, and considered thede facto Indonesian slang.[citation needed] Despite its direct origins, Indonesian slang often differs quite significantly in both vocabulary and grammatical structure from the most standard form of Indonesia's national language. These expressions are neither standardized nor taught in any formal establishments, but rather function in daily discourse, usually in informal settings. Several dictionaries ofbahasa gaul has been published. Indonesian speakers regularlymix several regional slangs in their conversations regardless of origin, but depending on the audience and the familiarity level with the listeners.
Simplified overview of progress of the development of standard Indonesian and Indonesian slang.
It is exactly unclear when the slang was first appeared in conversation. However, the earliest documented use of the slang started during the Dutch colonial era in Indonesia around the 1860s and 1870s. Its native name,bahasa gaul (the 'social language'), was a term coined in the late 1990s wherebahasa means 'language' andgaul means 'social', 'cool' or 'trendy'.[1] Similarly, the termbahasa prokem (a more outdated name for Indonesian slang) created in the early 1970s means 'the language of gangsters'.[2]Prokem is a slang form of the wordpréman 'gangster' and was derived from the Dutch wordvrijman, which literally means 'freeman'.[2][3]
Indonesian slang is predominantly used in everyday conversation, social milieus, among popular media and, to a certain extent, in teen publications or pop culture magazines.[2] For those living in more urbanized regions of Indonesia, Indonesian slang language often functions as the primary language medium for communication in daily life.[2] While it would be unusual to communicate orally with people on a casual basis with very formal Indonesian, the use of proper or 'good and correct' Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar) is abundant in the media, government bodies, schools, universities, workplaces, amongst some members of the Indonesian upper-class or nobility and also in many other more formal situations.[3]
Indonesian slang has evolved rapidly. This is, in part, due to its vocabulary that is often so different from that of standard Indonesian andMalaysian and also because so many new words (both original and foreign) are quite easily incorporated into its increasingly wide vocabulary list. However, as with any language, the constant changing of the times means that some words become rarely used or are rendered obsolete as they are considered to be outdated or no longer follow modern day trends.[3]
At present, there is no formal classification for Indonesian slang language but it is purportedly and erroneously claimed by many to be essentially a manipulated and popularized form of the Indonesian (the national language of Indonesia). This is not true in the case of Jakartan bahasa gaul, as it is primarily based on the Betawi language.
Indonesian slang language is mostly spoken in urban regions of theIndonesian archipelago. It also spoken in some Indonesian soap operas and animated television series (such asTukang Ojek Pengkolan orAdit Sopo Jarwo). Variations of slang language can be found from city to city, mainly characterised by derivatives of the differentlocal ethnic languages. For example, inBandung,West Java, the local slang language contains vocabulary from theSundanese language, while the slang found inJakarta tends to be heavily influenced byEnglish or the oldBatavian dialect (i.e. the language of the original inhabitants of Jakarta orBatavia as it was known during theDutch colonial period). For more information relating to the geographic distribution of Indonesian slang and regional influences, please see "Region Specific Slang" below.
Indonesian slang language is not anofficial language of Indonesia. However, it is claimed as a modified form of the Indonesian language and is widely used for everyday communication and in informal situations. Sometimes it is mixed withformal Indonesian in formal situations, except during state ceremonies, business meetings, and sacred prayers. A number of Indonesians sometimes speak a mixture of Indonesian slang and formal Indonesian in everyday conversation and informal situations.
Indonesian slang generally uses the same pronunciation as standard Indonesian, although there are many influences from regional dialects on certain aspects such as accent and grammatical structure. Loan words adopted from foreign languages (especially European) such asEnglish orDutch are often transliterated according to the modern Indonesianorthography. For example, the word "please" is often written asplis. Another closely related phenomenon to arise in recent years is the formation of complex nouns or phrases created using a combination of English and Indonesian (slang) in the one sentence. A prime example of this is the phrase"so whatgitu loh!", meaning "who cares?!" or quite simply "so what!" with added emphasis from the phrase"gitu loh".Gitu is an abbreviated form of the Indonesian wordbegitu meaning 'like that/such as', whileloh (also speltlho) is aparticle commonly used in slang or conversational Indonesian to show surprise or instigate a warning. In these cases of combined, interlingual phrases, the original spelling (and quite often the pronunciation) of the foreign word(s) are retained. Hence, the English component of the Indonesian slang phrase"so whatgitu loh!" remains relatively unchanged as far as spelling and pronunciation are concerned.
The overall structure of Indonesian slang is not all that different from formalIndonesian, although in many cases sentences are simplified or shortened when necessary. The differences between formal and colloquial Indonesian are most evident in vocabulary and grammatical structures (e.g.affixes).
No littering sign at Big Mall,Samarinda,East Kalimantan, with colloquial Indonesian features:DILARANG NYAMPAH ('do not litter')A film with a titleGagak Item, which released in 1939. The worditem is still used today in Indonesian slang.
The structure of the Indonesian slang language is mostly derived from formal Indonesian. However, its vocabularies are different story altogether. Indonesian slang vocabularies are enriched by a combination of derivatives or loan words/structures from foreign languages such asMin Nan commonly referred to asHokkien,English, andDutch, as well aslocal ethnic languages such asBatavian,Sundanese, andJavanese. However, in many cases, new words are simply created at random and their origins often quite obscure.
A large proportion of the vocabulary used in Indonesian slang language was developed from formal Indonesian through several methods,[5] most of which are listed below:
Shortening the prefixmen-,me-,mem-, ormeng- inton- ornge-. For example:
mengambil →ngambil 'to take' (fromambil 'to take')
menyapu →nyapu 'to sweep' (fromsapu 'broom')
merasa →ngerasa 'to feel' (fromrasa 'taste; feel')
membuat →ngebuat 'to make' (frombuat 'to make')
menutup →nutup 'to close' (fromtutup 'close')
Replacing the suffix-kan or-i with-in (Balinese andBetawi influence). For example:
menanyakan →nanyain 'to ask about something' (fromtanya 'to ask')
diajari →diajarin 'to be taught' (fromajar 'to teach')
Usingke- at the beginning of non-volitional passive verbs instead of usingter-. For example:
tertangkap →ketangkep 'to be caught' (fromtangkap 'to catch')
terpeleset →kepeleset 'to accidentally slip' (frompeleset 'to miss a target')
Elimination ofs orh from a word. For example:
habis →abis 'deleted, emptied'
tahu →tau 'to know'
hitung →itung 'count'
hitam →item 'black'
hijau →ijo 'green'
sudah →udah 'already'
saja →aja 'just'
lihat →liat 'see'
Contraction of two or more words into one word or abbreviation. For example:
Altering the pronunciation of[a] in some final closed syllables into[ə] (Javanese, Betawi, and Sundanese influence; in many cases this revived the oldProto-Malayic syllable-əC). For example:
tangkap →tangkep 'to catch'
benar →bener 'correct'
pintar →pinter 'smart'
malas →males 'lazy'
segar →seger 'fresh'
cepat →cepet 'fast'
hitam →item 'black'
diam →diem 'shut up'
ingat →inget 'remember'
sambal →sambel 'chili sauce'
dekat →deket 'near'
Altering the pronunciation ofi intoe. For example:
ingin orpingin →pengen, 'want'
naik →naek 'up'
kemarin →kemaren 'yesterday'
baik →baek 'good'
Altering the pronunciation ofu intoo. For example:
belum →belom orbelon, 'not yet'
telur →telor, 'egg'
Contracting a diphthong into a monophthong (monophthongization). For example:
kalau →kalo 'if'
kacau →kaco 'chaotic'
galau →galo 'confusion'
hijau →ijo 'green'
pakai →pake 'to use'
sampai →sampe 'until'
cabai →cabe 'chilli'
capai →capek 'tired'
Addition and exclusion of silent consonants andglottal stops to the beginning/end of a word, usually in speech. For example:
kalo[kalɔ] →[kalɔʔ]
pake[pakɛ] →[pakɛʔ]
sampe[sampɛ] →[sampɛʔ]
Making of aprokem word by adding-ok- infix. For example:
bapak →bokap 'father'
nyak orenyak →nyokap 'mother' (a special case where the consonant /k/ become /p/ to make it rhyme withbokap)
jual →jokul 'to sell'
berak →boker 'to defecate'
sapa →sokap 'who' (sapa is a colloquial word ofsiapa 'who')
polisi →plokis 'police'
sini →sokin 'come in'
tua →toku 'old' (originated from MAPALA UI, an environmentalist and adventure students club atUniversity of Indonesia)[10]
Reversing thephoneme or syllable order from a word. For example:
satu,dua,tiga →utas,aud,agit 'one, two, three' (in this context,satu orutas means afreshman in Senior High School;aud ordua means asophomore in Senior High School; whileagit ortiga means a penultimate orsenior in Senior High School.[14][15][16]
Some words are simply loaned from English. For example:
sorry →sori
friend →fren orpren
basically →besikli
swear →suer
brother →bro
sister →sis
please →plis
slow →selow
babe →beb
by the way →btw orbetewe
on the way →otw orotewe
double →dobel
triple →tripel
simple →simpel
bother →bader
backhoe →beko
septic tank →sepiteng
check it out →cekidot
cancel →kenseul orcancel
Some words are also loaned from Chinese languages (mainlyHokkien andMandarin). For example:
bo 'no; don't have' (Chinese:無; it is often used with another descriptive noun/adjective, for examplebo huat 無法 'unable',bo kam guan 'not sincerely willing to let go off somtehing')
hauce sèn cin ping 'extremely/overly delicious' (Chinese:好吃神经病; the phrase is derived from Indonesian popular slang expression enak gila (from enak 'delicious' andgila 'crazy, insane'), withshén jīng bìng (神经病) literally means 'crazy, insane')
Some words originated from theLGBT community (especially among transvestites) usually have word ending-ong. This either come from the pattern of changing the vocal of thepenult into[ɛ] and replacing therime of theultima with-ong, or entirely different origin. This was also an attempt among LGBT community to alter the words to become more "French-sounding", thus sounding more sexy.[citation needed] For example:
Many words also emerged without following the above rules at all or have their own unique history and/or origin not related to its literal meaning. For example:
anjay,anjir,anjrit,anjas,bejir etc. 'wow (interjection)' (from the profanityanjing 'dog' usually used as a negative interjection, the change in its rhyme gives a slightly positive meaning)
beud 'very' (frombanget 'very'; this word has become popular after Indonesia's fast food chain,CFC coined the word on one of their television advertisement)
bokep 'blue film' (from the abbreviation of "blue film",BF, which is read asbé-èf orbé-èp then transformed into aprokem word using infix-ok-)
chuaks (avocalization of someone who wants tospit; used to dismiss someone else's argument, made popular by Reza "Coki" Pardede, an Indonesiancomic and Majelis Lucu Indonesia, an Indonesianstand-up comedy community)[23]
jijay 'disgusting, grotesque' (fromjijik 'disgusting'; sometimes used to express a condition of 'utmost disgust', used in the phrase "jijay bajay" or "anjay jijay")
jomblo orjombs 'single' (fromSundanesejomblo 'unable to sell (the product); unrequited')
jutek 'sassy; rude'
kenti 'penis' (fromkontol 'penis')
kimpoi 'sexual intercourse' (fromkawin 'to have sex')
kinclong 'shiny; good looking'
koplak 'silly'
KW orkwalitas 'counterfeit goods' (a portmanteau ofGermanKopierteWerke orDutchgeKopieerdeWerken 'copied works' and Indonesian affix -alitas 'characteristics')
lebay 'overacting' (fromlebih 'more' with exaggerated English pronunciation imitation, or fromSumatran Malaylabaih/lebaih 'excessive; crossing the line')[24]
lesbiola 'lesbian' (fromlesbi 'lesbian', extended into the wordles biolalit.'violin course')
maho 'gay men' (frommanusia homo 'homosexual man')
matre 'materialistic' (frommaterialistik)
meleyot 'limp due to side effect of overadmiration; smitten'
memek 'vagina' (from Sundanesemomok 'vagina' in polite form)
Mimin 'Administrator' (from Mr. Admin (Mister Admin)) used mainly on the internet and social media to interact with the person responsible for certain groups/forums, online shops, online customer service,etc.
modus ormodal dusta 'the act of deceptive tactics, by providing false information or conveying a false impression when engaged in an action or activity'
Some of these slang words have also evolved intopejorative words.
alay 'tacky; garish; drama queen' (fromanak layangan,lit.'kite kid'; used to describe the appearance associated withlower class children often spending their time outside and getting sunburnt, but then get a broader meaning)
bang jago (fromabang 'older brother' andjago 'champion; master'; used to end any argument in apassive-aggressive andad hominem manner)[27]
decul (fromdedeCules/Culers), used byMadridista to ridicule Cules/Culers. Similarly,demit ordedemit (fromdede Madridista) used by Cules/Culers to poke fun at Madridista. Both of these words usually said atEl Clásico.[34]
fafifu wasweswos orfa fi fu was wes wos 'nonsensical', 'gibberish'.[35]
halo, dek orhalodek, an epithet for Indonesian policeman and soldiers corps, due to their flirtatious yet creepy and perverted behaviour, such ascatcalling against girls (especially doctors, pharmacists, midwives, and nurses), both online and offline.[36]
IQ 78,IQ jongkok, andIQ gorila 'stupid people' (from pseudoscientific paper fromRichard Lynn which says that Indonesian IQ level are only at 78, just similar with apes)[37]
Indog (from "Indonesian dog" or "Indognesial"; a pejorative name for Indonesia and Indonesian)
jamet (fromjablay/janda mètal 'women who dresses and acts overly provocative but didn't care about their appearance and won't bother to take care about themselves',jajal metal 'metalposeur', orJawa metal 'metalheadJavanese'; a pejorative name for Javanese people)[38][39][40][41]
Jawir 'from the wordsJawa and ireng (literally 'black' in javanese)' used for non Javanese people mocking a Javanese people.
mokondo (an abbreviation frommodal kontol doang "done just by penis", a pejorative name for a men that less than ideal in terms of intellectuality, skills, manners, and economical, a useless and cancerous men)[46]
Malaydesh (from 'Malaysia but Bangladesh-flavored’; a pejorative term for Malaysia's current cultural condition)
ndakik-ndakik 'words or terminologies that too hard to understand, to the point it soundsnonsensical orgibberish.[35]
ngondek 'sissy, effeminate' (fromkondektur 'public bus attendant'; describing the manner of fast speaking on announcing the destinations while doing waving gesture done by bus attendant, popularized by LGBT community)
RT 16 (used as a counter by Muslim apologists to describeChristianity, and similarly,warga RT 16 is used to describeChristians in general)[51][52][53]
terong-terongan (fromtérong 'eggplant'; the male counterpart ofcabé-cabéan, refer to the similarity of an elongated-shaped purple eggplant with a penis. Thus the termtérong dicabéin (lit.'chilied eggplant') meansmale to female cross-dresser)
Vrindavan orPrindapan (fromVrindavan, the location mentioned inLittle Krishna animated series; a pejorative name for India)[54]
One of the advertising inJakarta with the particlekok.
Many slangmodal particles are used in the end of a sentence. Usually, these particles do not directly change the sentence's meaning, in the sense that thetruth conditions remain the same. However, they can have other effects, such as emphasizing a sentence, or suggesting hesitancy. They can be used to reinforce the social link between speaker and listener.[56]
For example, the sentenceDia datang (she/he comes) could be modified by one of the following particles:
Dia datang nih - used as exclamation.
Dia datang dong - expresses certainty (She comes for sure), or sometimes obviousness (usually cheekily);dong can be stressed with a long vowel to meanShe has to come.
Dia datang kok - used to convince someone who might doubt the sentence.
Dia datang lah - expresses a high level of certainty.
Dia datang lho - could be translated asShe comes, you know.
Dia datang ah - expresses hesitancy; could be translated asI think she/he comes.
Dia datang dooong - expresses hesitancy; could be translated asI wish she'd come orPlease let her come
Dia datang deng - used to correct what was wrong; could be translated asShe came apparently
Dia datang deh - used to emphasize that 'finally' the person is coming, or in different intonation and context, it is used to emphasize a condition for proposing a request, for instance in a context of: 'She will come too, so please also come with us'
Dia datang, lagi orDia datang pula - expresses annoyance, exasperation, or general displeasure; could be translated asShe/he comes, too?
Particles can also be used to introduce questions. The following examples could both be translated asHow could she come?:
Kok, Dia datang? - used when the speaker finds the sentence difficult to believe.
Lho? Dia datang - indicates surprise or disbelief.
Kumpul kebo literally means 'water buffalo-style gathering' or 'gather like cattle'. It originated during the Dutch colonial era and was known askoempoel gebouw, fromkoempoel 'to gather' and Dutchgebouw 'building', thus the phrase means to live together under the same roof (as an unmarried couple). Confusion has caused this term to be linked with Javanesekebo 'buffalo'. This term basically means that two people in a relationship areliving together without being married, i.e. in a domestic partnership or ade facto relationship. Tokumpul kebo in Indonesia is considered immoral and sometimes illicit. For these reasons and also those relating to religion, Asian culture, and general ethics, it is often frowned upon in modern Indonesian society to do such a thing.
The 1980s was the era ofbahasa prokem. At this time slang language vocabulary was formed by the insertion of the infix-ok-, creating a totally new word.Prokem itself is aprokem word frompréman.
Prokem words created by reducing theultima, then inserting the infix-ok- before the vocal of thepenult (which is now become the ultima). If the penult is an open syllable, the penult taking the nearest consonant after it as itscoda. If the word is monosyllabic, the infix simply inserted before the vocal. Examples are given below, with the vocal of the penult marked with bold and the nearest consonant marked with underscore:
ba-pak →bap →bokap 'father'
ju-al →jul →jokul 'to sell'
sen-di-ri →sen-dir →sendokir
The wordsekolah 'school' was transformed intoskokul, fromskul, reminiscent of the English word "school". This word slowly become outdated and by the 1990s the word was no longer used, and changed tosekul or simplyskul.
Other notable words such asmémblé 'ugly, frowning',kecé 'beautiful, good looking' (fromkeren cekali 'very cool'), the sentence attributenih yé, and the exclamation "alamakjan!" all emerged in the same decade.
Much of the slang language created post-2000 originated from the IndonesianLGBT community. The latest method for transforming a word is to take a totally different word which differs in its ultima,rime, or coda. For example, the wordmau 'want' is replaced with the wordmawar 'rose'. Despite its creativity and originality, this latest form of Indonesian slang can be quite complicated to understand, even to the native Indonesians themselves. For example, "Akikatintamawarmacarena" originates from the sentence written in proper Indonesian "Akutidakmaumakan", which means 'I don't want to eat'.
The abbreviations often used to mask insult, such askamseupay 'totally lame', abbreviation ofkampungan sekali udik payah which means 'really bumpkinish, yokel, lame'.
Medan is the capital ofNorth Sumatra Province. Most of the slang from Medan are heavily influenced by Malay, Hokkien and Karo language. For example, "bapa" for "father", "nande" for "mother", "kedé" for "shop", "tutup lampu" for "turn off the light", "buka radio" for "turn on the radio". Another example of Medan slang is by adding "punya" at the end of the sentence. For example, "mobil aku punya" for "my car". They also have the tendency to confuse between e/ə/ and é/e/, partially due to the fact that most of nearbyBatak languages lack the former vowel, the schwa.
Jambi andPalembang slang mostly involves changing the letter at the end of the word with letter 'o'. However, not all words can be modified to include the characteristic 'o', as this rule applies mostly to words ending with the letter 'a'. Sometimes Palembang use shorter-version of word by erase first syllables, like 'segala' in standard Malay-Indonesian to 'galo'.
Kito -kita (we)
Galo -segala (all, every)
Ngapo -kenapa (why or what happened)
Jugo -Juga (too)
Another characteristic pattern of Jambi and Palembang slang involves the addition or replacement of the final letter of a word with 'k'.
Pulak -pula (too, also, as well)
Aek -air (water)
Another classic Malay Sumatran dialect also prevailed in most of Sumatran cities, from Palembang to Bengkulu, Jambi and Pekanbaru. These classical Malay words such asnian is used in Sumatran cities instead ofsangat orbanget (very).
Jakarta includingBodetabek is the capital city of Indonesia with a population of more than 20 million people. Consequently, such a huge population with a more diverse ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and different nationalities will undoubtedly have a role in the Jakarta slang evolution. And being the biggest media production nationwide such as national TV broadcasts, film productions, social media contents, etc, Jakarta Slang has influenced the rest of Indonesia's regional slang. Either directly or indirectly with varying adaptations. Much of the slang evolved from theBetawi dialect, that itself, absorbs some regional or foreign dialects as a result of past interactions.
Some prominent examples:
Ajé (from 'saja') - Only, just, from theBetawi dialect
Busèt - A form of expression which is similar to "Oh My God" or "Alas" or "Holy shit!"
Lu/Lo/Lw - You; Originally fromHokkien 你, throughBetawi
Pengen -Want (ingin)
Kondangan - Invitation (undangan), usually a wedding invitation
Gan/Agan - Boss, from SundaneseJuragan
Gendut orGembrot - Fat
Gombal - Crazy or, as another term, flirtatious words
Sinting - Insane, a freak person.
Yo'i - Yes, very cool.
Guga/Uga - Juga, (also)
Ngenlay - Kangen, although "kangen" is slang for rindu. (miss)
Nyengnyong - Nyanyi, (singing)
The following words are taken from Hokkien (Fukkien) Chinese, and commonly used in transactions.
Cepek - IDR 100
Gopek - IDR 500
Seceng - IDR 1000
Cenggo - IDR 1500
Goceng - IDR 5000
Ceban - IDR 10.000
Goban/Gocap - IDR 50.000
Pego - IDR 150.000
However, many Indonesians of non-Chinese descent do not know the meaning of the transaction words above, probably with the exception of Goceng due to its usage onKFC Indonesia's advertising on their "Goceng" products, in which all "Goceng" menus are sold at the IDR 5000 price range. Sometimes the word "perak", literally "silver", is used to describe small denominations of currency.
This slang is acode mixing between Indonesian andEnglish. It is named afterSouth Jakarta. Some iconic English words used in this slang includewhich is,like,literally,sometimes,basically, and some Indonesian words +-ly exp (jujurly). Code mixing with English does not only occur in Jakarta, but also in other major cities in Indonesia.[57]
Negative sentiments on this slang caused this given the name "fart language" (Indonesian:bahasa kentut) by some.[58][59]
In theWest Java andBanten region, the main place forSundanese speakers, there are several words or phrases belonging to the slang language. This diversity of slang has its own peculiarities in each region in West Java Province.
Bandung is the capital city ofWest Java province with a predominantlySundanese culture. TheSundanese language has three levels or forms, namely: high (polite), middle class, and low (impolite). Bandung slang often uses the Low Sundanese pronouns along with the many other Sundanese translations of popular Indonesian.
Some examples:
Uing (fromkuring) - I/me
Didieu (fromdi dieu, actually mean 'here') - I/me
Didinya (fromdi dinya, actually mean 'there') - You
Euy - Sundanese particle in the end of the sentence to express excitement and surprise
Da - Sundanese particle in the end of the sentence to express certainty and emphasizes the meaning, somehow similar to Japanese "desu".
Sok - meaning 'pleasure'
O'on (from Bolo'on) orOneng (from the name of a slow witted character in Sinetron Bajaj Bajuri) - stupid, dim witted
Belegug - stupid
Aslina - (from wordasli 'real', plus a suffix-na) which is mean 'for real'.
Anying - (from wordanjing, but change 'j' to 'y') which is mean 'fuck'
Jangar - headache
Stoppan - meaning transportation stop in 'traffic light'
Sukabumi slang the language is a non-standard variety ofSundanese language that is often used in Sukabumi,West Java in theTipar area, becauseWidal itself meansTipar.
ThisSani orWidal language can also be called slang or slang in the Sundanese dialect, where the pronunciation of the letters in the consonants changes.
For example, the letter G becomes S, J becomes C, and 'ng' becomes 'ny' and so on.
These slangs are shared acrossCentral Java andYogyakarta where Javanese is predominantly spoken. Like Sundanese which are spoken in Bandung, Javanese also has 3 different set of vocabularies, based on the politeness level. Common people usually talk with a mix between low-Javanese, middle-Javanese, and Indonesian. Some non-Javanese residents added their own dialects to the pot, resulting what is called the Central Java slang
Jogjakarta slang is also known asBasa Walikan, literally means 'Reverse Language'[1].
It is a transformation of Javanese, in which Javanese consonants are switched with one another, as shown below:
ha na ca ra ka ↔ pa dha ja ya nya
da ta sa wa la ↔ ma ga ba tha nga
With the above rules, the expletive expressionMatamu! (which literally means: 'Your Eyes!') becomesDagadu! (also the name of a clothing brand). The following website automatically performs this transformation:Walikan Translator
A ribbon which readsOtos tahes, which means healthy soto in Walikan Malang language.
Malang slang is inverted alphabetical word (mostly fromJavanese and little bit fromIndonesian). Commonly known inJavanese asBoso Walikan Malang (Reversed:Osob Kiwalan Ngalam.[60] Meaning: Malang's Reversed language). The slang started appearing sometime in 1949 when the people atMalang's Gerilya Rakyat Kota (GRK, meaning City People'sGuerilla) needed a form of communication method that is unknown to the occupying Dutch intelligence (Both to theDutchman, and the recruited natives) while maintaining typical daily conversation. Thus, the idea to reverse Javanese and Indonesian words was born. The goal of the creation of the language is to maintain plan secrecy, prevent leakage of information, and to confuse the enemy.[61] At First, the language was only known amongst the guerillas. Further adding the language's purpose as an identifier whether that person is a friend or foe. But after the Dutch retreated from the city, the language remained and becoming more widespread amongst the people of Malang and its surroundings.
In the present days, the technique of reversing words has become more popular nationwide and played a role in creating modern Indonesian slang. Words such asNgab (From: Abang meaning 'Older Brother'),Sabi (From: Bisa meaning 'Be able to..' or 'Can') orKuy (From: Yuk meaning 'Let's go') owes credit to Malang's Walikan Language.
Sentence structure of Walikan Malang language is similar to those of Javanese and Indonesian language. Albeit reversing some of its vocabularies. However, not all Javanese and Indonesian words or phrases can be directly reversed into Walikan Malang Language.
Example:
Question: "kalau kerja bakti bahasa walikannya apa 'idrek ikteb' mas? (Is the word for "kerja bakti" (community service) be reversed to "idrek ikteb" sir?)
Answer:Walikan Malang:"...Idrek bakti (menurut ayas), kadit amoes kata osi di kiwal/dibuat osob kiwalan, mba."
Javanese:"...Idrek bakti (menurut saya), ora semua kata iso di walik / dibuat boso walikan, mba."
Indonesian:"...Idrek bakti (menurut saya), tidak semua kata bisa di balik / dibuat bahasa Walikan, bu."
English:"...Idrek bakti (to me), not every words can be reversed / made into Walikan Language, ma'am."
Word ExampleWalikan-Javanese (English):
Sam = Mas (Older brother. Javanese version of 'Abang' or 'Bang')
Kera Ngalam= Arek Malang (lit. The kid of Malang. Referring to The People of Malang)
Libom= Mobil (Car)
Nawak Ewed = Kawan Dewe (Your own Friend/s)
Silup= Pulis (Police (Although the Javanese word for police is the same as in Indonesian,Polisi. they altered the word slightly to make it less obvious and better spoken))
As the second largest city in Indonesia and the capital ofEast Java,Surabaya uses a rougher dialect of Javanese and has a fairly complete list of its own slang. Javanese language originated from the Central Javanese farmland and by the time it reached the coastal area of East Java, it changed from its original polite form into a more impolite version with the creation or further adaptation of many new 'Javanese-style' words and swearwords. One of the most notable Surabaya slang is the wordJancok.
Makassarese slang is highly influenced by the native Makassarese dialect and sometimes combined with Chinese accents. The slang, in the end, sounds more informal and 'rude', as going with the tough image of Makassarese people. The possessive word foryou (kamu) has three degrees of politeness:-ta (very formal and respectful),-mu (neutral), and-nu (informal). For example:
This book belongs to you → Buku ini punya-ta (the - reads as a glottal stop, which makes it punya'ta. In Makassarese dialect, the apostrophe is sometimes added in written form). Buku ini punya'mu is deemed more neutral, whileBuku ini punya'nu is only spoken with very close friends.
Meanwhile, the word foryou itself is divided into two, the formalki and the informalko.
'Di manamaki' (Where are you now) as opposed to informal 'Di manamoko'. The-ma and-mo derives from the-mi which is often added in the end of words, having various meanings. It is hard to determine when to usemi or not, except to learn it by heart.
Inimi? -> 'This one?'Biarkanmi -> 'Let it go'Ko sudah belajarmi? -> 'Have you studied?'.Ko derives from the informal Indonesian wordKau, which stands for 'you'.Sudah dimulaimi itu ulangan? -> 'Has the exam started?', literally, 'Has-been started-the exam?'
Ji is also often used in the end of words. Most often, it means 'only', or used to give a more assuring tone to a sentence.
Sedikitji -> 'It's only a little'
Tidak apa-apaji -> 'It's okay'
Tidak susahji soalnya -> 'The problem isn't difficult.'
Di functions more like a question tag, read with a glottal stop at the end, which makes it to be 'dik'
Tidak susahjidi?? -> It's not difficult, right?
Aside from that, Makassarese more often speak with a heavier accent, mixing many of the Indonesian words with native Makassar words.
Tena ku issengi apa maksudnya (or even more complicatedTena ku issengi apa massu'na) -> Literally, "No I understand what its meaning", actually meaning, "I don't understand what it means". In places, Makassarese slangs add-i at the end of words, putting a glottal stop before that. Furthermore, the words tend to be shortened considerably, which makes-nya read as-na and words ending with-d or-t gets its ending replaced with glottal stops.Menyusut (shrinking) becomesmenyusuk, and vice versa. Native Makassar people usually readsbecak (pedicab) asbecat.
