Indonesian language and traditional Indonesian language are used widely in Indonesia. All of Indonesian people can understand Indonesian, so this language is used the most.
However, sometimes we can hear people in Indonesia use broken English in their daily lives, especially in the big cities. We sometimes wonder why they use broken English instead of using Indonesian.
Here are several reasons that we can explain for that phenomena.
Not all of Indonesian People Can Speak English Fluently and Using the Correct Grammar
One of the reasons people speak using broken English is because they cannot speak using correct grammar. Not all people understand proper English. Some of them still want to speak English based on their level of understanding.
Using English Can Make Indonesian People Look Cooler
Indonesian people tend to see things related to west people as something cool. As a result, people that speak using English seems way cooler and smarter. Some people want to look cooler by speaking English despite of the lack of knowledge.
Some Words are More Simple in English
We can’t deny that some words are more simple in English than in Indonesian. This mostly applicable for technical words. For example, the word “break” is simpler than “istirahat”
Several English Words Cannot or Hard to be Found in Indonesian
We also can’t deny that some English words are cannot or hard to be found in Indonesian. For example, the word download. Not all people know that download can be translated into “unduh” in Indonesian.
English is an International Language
It is a fact that English is an international language. This means that people are encouraged to be able to understand English.
Some people are still learning English, so they speak using broken English mostly.
Many Indonesian People Work at Multinational Companies
Indonesia is a large country with a lot of residents. It is a good country for business and multinational company. As a result, many Indonesian people work at multinational companies. In these companies, there are many people from other countries.
The workers have to use English for communication. At workplace, speed is more important than grammar. As a result, they speak fast without thinking much about grammar. This leads to more people speak using broken English.
Indonesian People Have High Confidence
Many Indonesian people have high confidence. This affects the way they speak in daily life. Even though some people cannot use proper English, they still very confident when speaking using broken English.
Learn more about Indonesian language:
Learn more about Indonesian people and language:
- Why don’t many Indonesian speak Dutch?
- What languages are closest to Indonesian language beside Malaysian language?
- Which Indian language is the closest meaning to Indonesian?
That’s all the complete explanation on why do Indonesians like to write and say things in broken English amongst fellow Indonesian, and why not they just use Indonesian. I hope the explanation can fulfill your curiosity.