THE Language Development and Fostering Agency (Language Agency), Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), carried out the Dissemination of the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (KBBI) in partnership with Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives. This activity was held at the Novotel Cikini Hotel, Jakarta, on Sunday (25/8), attended by 100 offline participants from education personnel, Language Ambassadors, Literacy Communities, media partners, and others.
KBBI is an official Indonesian language dictionary compiled by the Language Agency and published by Balai Pustaka. KBBI is a general dictionary that is historical and living, which records all linguistic facts that have ever existed and are currently existing in the Indonesian speech community. KBBI is also periodically updated so that the Indonesian vocabulary in it remains in accordance with the times.
In an effort to improve public understanding regarding the use of KBBI online, the Language Agency has organized a number of guides that can be accessed by the public. These guides include various criteria for accepting new vocabulary, video tutorials, and technical instructions for using KBBI Online.
The criteria for accepting vocabulary into the Online KBBI include important aspects such as euphony, positive connotation, frequency of use, uniqueness, and conformity with Indonesian language rules. Words proposed for inclusion in the KBBI must meet the requirements of not containing unusual sounds, having positive connotations, being frequently used, unique, and in accordance with the rules of word formation in Indonesian.
For people who want to access the KBBI Daring usage guide, there are several resources that can be utilized. Video guides can be accessed through the Language Agency gallery page, while technical instructions and frequently asked questions (SSD) are available on the official KBBI Daring page. These resources are expected to help users maximize the benefits of KBBI Daring as the main reference for the Indonesian language.
Secretary of the Language Development and Fostering Agency, Hafidz Muksin, in his speech expressed his appreciation for advancing the Indonesian language.
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“Legally, the position of the Indonesian language is highly respected, even in Law No. 24 of 2009 concerning the State Flag, Language and Emblem, especially Article 44 paragraph (1) mandates the Government to increase the function of the Indonesian language to become an international language in a gradual, systematic and sustainable manner,” he said.
“Alhamdulillah, the Language Agency as a language institution through programs and activities that are continuously carried out in collaboration with various parties has finally led to the Indonesian language being designated as the Official language of the UNESCO General Assembly,” continued Hafidz.
Indonesian as one of the languages with the largest number of speakers in the world must continue to enrich its vocabulary. Efforts are made through loanword elements, namely the language of native speakers that is adjusted to the rules of Indonesian, both in terms of its spoken language and its reading rules. In addition, it is also enriched through abbreviations or acronyms that can make it easier to convey a message in new terms to the public.
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Hafidz said that the partnership activities of the Language Agency with Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives as a legislative institution are very important to carry out, especially for the use of standard Indonesian terms in drafting laws and regulations, so that every word used in the formulation of articles and verses uses the correct terminology and is in accordance with its scope so that it is not open to multiple interpretations.
“Next, the Language Agency will target new vocabulary in 2024 by targeting at least the number of entries in KBBI to reach 200,000 entries. Participants are expected to contribute to proposing new vocabulary,” he concluded.
In line with this, member of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Himmatul Aliyah, expressed her joy because the Indonesian language has entered the UNESCO session. “As a member of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, I am grateful that since November 2023, Indonesian has been confirmed as one of the official languages in the UNESCO General Assembly,” she said.
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Furthermore, Himmatul highlighted the current phenomenon of many people using slang that has many negative connotations. “There are many choices of words that have bad connotations that can break unity, and our task is to align so that Indonesian becomes a unifying language, while asking the Language Agency to choose loan languages from regional languages that do not have negative connotations between one regional language and another,” he said.
The dissemination activity was continued with a talk session with speakers Himmatul Aliyah and Hafidz Muksin followed by a discussion and question and answer session with dissemination participants. One of the dissemination participants, Aqila who is the DKI Jakarta Language Ambassador, stated that this dissemination event was very interesting, could increase knowledge as well as get information about KBBI which is often used in her educational environment.
In addition, Rifai, the Best National Language Ambassador 2023, as well as the moderator of this activity, said that the Indonesian House of Representatives is an institution that has a legislative function or makes laws. Regarding this, Rifai said that the Indonesian House of Representatives might create an information sheet for various new/foreign terms contained in the law. This information sheet will later be very useful for the socialization of the regulations formed by the Indonesian House of Representatives and also for the development of dictionaries in the documentation of new vocabulary. (Z-3)
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