Learn what topics you should avoid during small talk in Indonesia
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What topics are taboo in Indonesia? |
| Blanca: And what are some things you should avoid doing? |
| Michael: At IndonesianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Mutiara, a teenage girl, just had a new haircut and her friend, Sasha, who wants to get a closer look, touches her head, and says |
| "You look amazing!" |
| Sasha Lee: Keren banget! |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Lee: Keren banget! |
| Mutiara Mulyadi: Eh, hati-hati. Di Indonesia, orang tidak boleh memegang kepala orang lain. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Lee: Keren banget! |
| Michael: "You look amazing!" |
| Mutiara Mulyadi: Eh, hati-hati. Di Indonesia, orang tidak boleh memegang kepala orang lain. |
| Michael: "Uh, careful! In Indonesia, you should avoid touching people's heads!" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson you'll learn about taboos in Indonesia. If you are from a Western country, some of these cultural taboos might seem unfamiliar, but many of them are quite common in a great number of Southeast and East Asian countries. |
| For instance, in most Southeast Asian countries, respect towards the elderly is very important. Therefore, in Indonesia, elderly people are not addressed by their names or by using the word for "you," which is |
| Blanca: kamu |
| Michael: Instead of using this, an honorific title such as "father" would be more respectful. In Indonesian, this is: |
| Blanca: [NORMAL] pak [SLOWLY] pak |
| Michael: This is used when a person is quite a lot older than you. If you are talking to a significantly older woman, then the honorific is "mother," In Indonesian, this is: |
| Blanca: [NORMAL] bu [SLOWLY] bu |
| Michael: which is the shortened form of |
| Blanca: [NORMAL] ibu [SLOWLY] ibu |
| Michael: One should also use the "mother" and "father" honorifics when addressing your teachers or older people you have business or formal dealings with. |
| Speaking of being formal, there is an interesting practice in Indonesia that you should be aware of. It's considered impolite to give or receive anything with your "left hand" or |
| Blanca: tangan kiri [SLOWLY] tangan kiri |
| Michael: One should also avoid cooking and eating with one's left hand. Of course, there will be times when using your left hand is unavoidable, in which case you could say, |
| Blanca: Maaf, saya harus menggunakan tangan kiri, or, informally Maaf, pakai tangan kiri, |
| Michael: which means, "Sorry, I had to use my left hand." |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's now take a closer look at the dialogue. Do you remember how Sasha says "You look amazing?" |
| [PAUSE 4 SECONDS] |
| Blanca as Sasha Lee: Keren banget! |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: And do you remember how Mutiara replies "Uh, careful! In Indonesia, you should avoid touching people's heads?" |
| [PAUSE 4 SECONDS] |
| Blanca as Mutiara Mulyadi: Eh, hati-hati. Di Indonesia, orang tidak boleh memegang kepala orang lain. |
| Michael: This dialogue shows another taboo in the Indonesian culture which is "touching someone's head" or |
| Blanca: memegang kepala orang. |
| Michael: Even among members of the same family, nobody touches someone else's head. That's because the head is considered the most important, and therefore sacred, part of the human body. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: We have learned in this lesson, that we must use honorific titles when addressing people older than us. It's also not appropriate in Indonesia to touch people's heads or to use your left hand for eating, cooking, receiving, or giving. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: In English, we talk about "saving face" and, when we talk about "face" in this way, we are referring to our image or reputation. This notion of "face' is extremely important in Indonesia, and should be taken very seriously. It's never a good idea to make an Indonesian person feel belittled in any way, like laughing at others' mistakes. Be aware that you too can lose face if you behave in a way that makes others think less of you. For example, losing your temper or shouting in public can make you lose face. Here is an idiomatic sentence related to this |
| Blanca: Mau ditaruh di mana muka saya? |
| Michael: which means something like "Where should I hide my face?" and people use it when they think they did something that caused troubles to someone else. |
Outro |
| Michael: That's all for this lesson. Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Blanca: Dadah! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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