bugis sword

A. G. Maisey · 7th March 2017, 02:21 AM

Thanks Amuk.

"Gue" or "gua" is Jakarta dialect, also in use by some Indonesian Chinese populations. I recognise it, but have never used it, in fact I have not been to Jakarta since 1978, and the singkatan "GW" was not only unknown to me, but also unknown to three native speakers of B.I., one a 40 year old lady from Malang who arrived here in Australia only last week. Again, all three of these people are strangers to Jakarta, one from Solo, two from East Jawa, and all mature people with academic backgrounds.

The "Wkkwkw" was also unknown to the three native speakers. Is this also Jakarta dialect? Or is it a current colloquialism?

I very much appreciate your explanation, it demonstrates very clearly the fractured nature of B.I. Linguists tell us that Javanese is a non-standard language, and I suspect that if I knew other of the indigenous languages of Indonesia I would find a similar thing applied with these also. The way in which modern B.I. has developed seems to indicate that this propensity for creating one's own form of a public language is hardwired into the persona of the peoples of this country.

7th March 2017, 02:21 AM	#12
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Thanks Amuk. "Gue" or "gua" is Jakarta dialect, also in use by some Indonesian Chinese populations. I recognise it, but have never used it, in fact I have not been to Jakarta since 1978, and the singkatan "GW" was not only unknown to me, but also unknown to three native speakers of B.I., one a 40 year old lady from Malang who arrived here in Australia only last week. Again, all three of these people are strangers to Jakarta, one from Solo, two from East Jawa, and all mature people with academic backgrounds. The "Wkkwkw" was also unknown to the three native speakers. Is this also Jakarta dialect? Or is it a current colloquialism? I very much appreciate your explanation, it demonstrates very clearly the fractured nature of B.I. Linguists tell us that Javanese is a non-standard language, and I suspect that if I knew other of the indigenous languages of Indonesia I would find a similar thing applied with these also. The way in which modern B.I. has developed seems to indicate that this propensity for creating one's own form of a public language is hardwired into the persona of the peoples of this country.