TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The setting of the target for Indonesian language to become an international language by 2045 has made a number of linguistic and literary experts work together to realize this effort. One way is through the Indonesian Language Congress which is held every five years. Quoted from kemdikbud.go.id, the 9th KBI was held from 26th October to 29th October 2023, featuring 550 online and 950 offline participants which took place in Jakarta.

Since 1928, Indonesian has become the identity of Indonesian society as a national communication tool that connects various tribes and regions of Indonesia. Reported from balaibahanjateng.kemdikbud.go.id, at the general assembly UNESCO has even determined Indonesian to be the official language.

The following are a number of interesting facts regarding Indonesian language, here they are:

1. Becoming one of the most widely learned languages in the world

Indonesian has spread to 47 countries in the world, with 428 institutions providing Indonesian language learning for foreign language speakers. In fact, in December 2021, Indonesian speakers reached 199 million users. The ease of use of Indonesian has allegedly caused this language to be widely learned throughout the world because the spelling and pronunciation are also flexible to follow the original letters.

2. The most widely spoken language in Southeast Asia

Apart from being widely used in the world, Indonesian is also ranked first as the most widely spoken language in Southeast Asia. Reported from the Journal of Social Work and Science Education, this is because Indonesian can be used as an international intermediary language (lingua franca) and is even ranked third after English and Spanish. Previously, Indonesian language was originated from Malay language which had an enriched vocabulary, was unique and dynamic following the times. Even in Malaysia, the younger generation enjoys learning Indonesian and often practices it.

3. Heard it in space

A number of songs in Indonesian were performed by satellites belonging to NASA (United States Aeronautics and Space Administration) to be heard in space via the gold disk of the Voyager satellite. The team led by Carl Sagan from Cornell University in 1977, not only Indonesian but 55 other foreign languages were also screened there.

4. Have a flexible tongue

According to some experts, native Indonesian speakers have a fairly good tongue origin because their accents and sounds are diverse. This flexibility, as reported by bpkpenabur.or.id, makes it easy for Indonesian people to learn foreign languages. You can even adapt your foreign language accent without adding to your Indonesian accent. Like Koreans, Chinese, Thais, Indians, Japanese, those who speak English sometimes still have a strong native accent.

5. Studied at foreign campuses

Quoted from hotcoursesindonesia, on overseas campuses, Indonesian language study programs have even been established there. Such as at Western Sydney University, Hankuk University in South Korea, Tokyo University in Japan, Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Yale University in the United States. This happens because foreigners are starting to become interested and consider Indonesian as a language that has the potential to be used universally in the future.

MELINDA KUSUMA NINGRUM | S. DIAN ANDRYANTO

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