Indonesian Language

The Indonesian language was born on October 28, 1928.

At that time, young people from various corners of the archipelago gathered in the Density of Youth

And pledged (1) one blood- heaped, land of Indonesia, (2) one nation, the Indonesian nation, and (3) upholding the language of unity, the Indonesian language.

The pledge of these young men is known as the Youth Oath.
The third element of the Youth Oath is a statement of determination that the Indonesian language is the language of unity of the Indonesian nation.

In 1928, Indonesia confirmed its position as the national language.
Indonesian was declared its position as the language of the state on August 18, 1945.

because at that time the 1945 Constitution was passed as the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

In the 1945 Constitution, it is stated that the language of the state is Indonesian (Chapter XV,
Article 36).
The decision of the 1954 Indonesian Congress in Medan, among others, stated that Indonesian
derived from Malay.

The Malay language is the root of the Indonesian Language

Indonesian grew and developed from Malay which since ancient times has been used as a language of transportation (lingua franca) not only in the archipelago  But also almost throughout Southeast Asia.

Malay began to be spoken in Southeast Asia in the 7th century.

Evidence that states is with the discovery of inscriptions in Kedukan Bukit dated 683 AD (Palembang), Talang Tuwo dated in 684 AD (Palembang), Kapur City dated 686 AD (West Bangka), and Karang Brahi dated 688 AD
(Jambi).

Kuna Malay

The inscription is inscribed with the Malay-language Pranagari letter Kuna.

Kuna Malay language was not only in use in the Srivijaya era because in Central Java (Gandasuli) inscriptions were found
inscriptions dated 832 AD.

In Bogor found inscriptions dated 942 AD which also use Malay Kuna.
In the days of Srivijaya, Malay was in use as a cultural language, namely the language of Buddhist
textbooks.

Malay is also in use as a language of inter-tribal relations in the archipelago and as a trading language.

both as an inter-tribal language in the archipelago and as a language used against traders who come from outside the archipelago.

Language of Transportation

Information from a Chinese historian, I-Tsing, who studied Buddhism in Srivijaya.

among others states that in Srivijaya there is a language namely Koen-louen (I-Tsing: 63,159), Kou-luen (I-Tsing: 183), K’ouen-louen (Ferrand, 1919), Kw’enlun (Alisjahbana, 1971: 1089).

Kun’lun (Parnikel, 1977:91), K’un-Lun (Prentice, 1078:19), Adjoining Sanskrit.

What Koen-luen means is the language of transportation (lingua franca) in the Archipelago, which is Malay.

Islamic Influence on the Malay Language

The development and growth of the Malay language is clear from the relics of the Islamic kingdom.

both in the form of inscribed stones, such as the writings on tombstones in Minye Tujoh, Aceh, dated 1380 AD, as well as the results of literature (16th and 17th centuries).

Such as Hamzah Fansuri Poem, Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai, Malay History, Tajussalatin, and Bustanussalatin.
The Malay language spread to remote parts of the archipelago along with the spread of Islam in the archipelago.

The people of the archipelago It is easily accepted as a language of interisland, inter-tribal, inter-regional, international, and inter-governmental relations because Malay does not know the level of speech.

Malay is in use everywhere in the archipelago and is growing and stronger in existence.

The Malay language that is in use in the regions of the archipelago in its growth is influenced by the
cultural patterns of the region.

vocabulary from a variety of languages

Malay absorbs vocabulary from a variety of languages, especially from Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and European languages.

Malay also in its development appeared in various variations and dialects.
The development of the Malay language in the Nusantara region influenced and encouraged the growth of a sense of brotherhood and unity in the Indonesian nation.

Inter-group communication that rose at that time using Malay.

Indonesian as the language of unity

Indonesian youth who were members of the movement association consciously raised Malay to Indonesian, which became the language of unity for the entire Indonesian nation (Youth Oath, October 28, 1928).
The national awakening has driven the rapid development of Indonesia.

The role of political activities, trade, persuasion, and magazines is very large in modernizing Indonesian.

The Proclamation of Independence of the Republic of Indonesia, August 17, 1945, confirmed the constitutional position and function of Indonesian as the language of the state.

The Development of Indonesian language

Now Indonesian is used by various levels of Indonesian society, both at the central and regional levels. enhanced spelling (EYD : Ejaan Yang Disempurnakan)
In writing Indonesian, of course, spelling is very important to note.

In the Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), spelling is a rule of how to describe sounds (words, sentences, and so on) in the form of writing (letters) as well as the use of punctuation marks.

Quoted from the book Essay on the Application of Spelling Indonesian (2020) by Widya Fitriantiwi

“Spelling is also referred to as a rule that must be followed by language users so that regularity and uniformity in language writing can be achieved.

Enhanced Spelling

From some of these understandings, it seems that spelling is a way of writing words/sentences correctly, by paying attention to the use of letters and punctuation marks correctly.

Then, what about EYD or Enhanced Spelling? Enhanced spelling is the spelling in the writing of words/sentences in Indonesian contained in Presidential Decree No. 57 dated August 16, 1972.

until today the Enhanced spelling more often shortened to EYD is the basic rule of spelling in Indonesian that is still used.

Before using EYD, the country of Indonesia had used the name Suwandi spelling.

to write words/sentences correctly not only using spelling

Spelling also has a fairly important function in writing Indonesian. According to Siti Maimunah in the book Indonesian
for Higher Education (2019), the following spelling functions include:
– As an improvement in making grammar more standard.
– Make the selection of vocabulary and terms more standard.
– As a filter of elements of foreign languages to the Indonesian so that in writing it does not eliminate its original meaning.
The use of spelling can help digest information more quickly and easily, due to more regular language writing.

Great Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI)

The Indonesian Dictionary or also known as KBBI is the official dictionary of the standard language of the Indonesian language which is an official reference and recognized by the Indonesian state.

And it reflects the development of the progress of civilization of society Supporters.

it’s seen in the development of vocabulary.

The development of the vocabulary of Indonesian very rapidly in the late 20th and early 20th centuries.
The 21st century is, among other things, spurred by the development of science and technology as well as art.
you can see the development of vocabulary in the increasing number of words in the language dictionary from one edition to the next.

The Great Dictionary Indonesian has been in the middle of society for 20 years, both inside. Or abroad. During that time the dictionary experienced the number of words load increased from 62,000 words in the first edition (1988) to 91,000 words in the fourth edition (2008).

This shows that the dictionary always upgrades the content of the words.
And Indonesian dictionary is seen as an attempt to update references Indonesian wealth of vocabulary.

Therefore, this dictionary becomes a source of reference.

for the community to improve the ability to express language users Indonesia, both oral and written especially among educated people.

This dictionary become the main handle of students in improving their abilities for expression and verbal or written communication.

The same goes for researchers, authors, translators, journalists, and the wider community can use this dictionary
for the sake of increasing knowledge and insights Indonesian language and the progress of the civilization of the people of Indonesia.