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April 21, 2015 edition

Jennifer Lindsay*
Personal names, like pronouns, are a minefield of sensitivity in written and spoken Indonesian. People usually put some kind of kinship term before a name, or use these terms instead of names. This poses quite a challenge when translating into English, as in a collection of stories by Leila Chudori that I have been translating and which makes extensive use of appellations.

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More Word Watch articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

Jennifer Lindsay*
Welcome to the year of the goat. Or the sheep.Which is it?

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January 1, 1970 edition

Jennifer Lindsay*
A comment often made about the Indonesian language is that it is easy because it does not have verb tenses. There are many problems with this kind of comment. First, it assumes that complexity in a language is linked to the presence of verb tenses. Secondly, it ignores the fact that verbs can change in complex other ways, not related to time. Thirdly, it implies that without verb tenses, time is not conveyed, or is simplified.

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