There are 2 websites mentioned on Okto’s blog (hell yeah, I read those entries at Planet Terasi every day). And I also have take a look at another 2 websites, 2.0 slogan included or a tweet-like functionality expanded.
A friend of mine stares at me when I logon to Facebook with Indonesian user interface. She laughs when she saw my Facebook. You probably heard the term “unduh” lately. Why (not) Bahasa Indonesia?
This question is always popping out of my mind everytime I take a look for Indonesian websites. Is this a cost of <insert Microsoft Windows term here> monoculture (pirate version included) or we are just lazy using computer terms in Indonesian? How many of you installed Indonesian LIP for Windows XP or Vista?
My first highly unscientific guess is that English term is always shorter and we hear it everytime, we saw it everytime, so we use it everytime, and get stuck with it. Even now as early as elementary school. How many elementary students know what is “ponsel“? They call it using its “English” abbreviation, spelled in Indonesian way. Heck, even English people call it “cell phone” or “mobile”, people in Germany call them “handy“, and French are using “portable“.
And then another questions pop out. Are we:
- using English because the developer of the website is only know the common UI words for the website in English? (Home, Login, Search, Register, About Us, Back, Top, bla bla bla..)
- using English because the target user is the people that already familiar with English websites and using Bahasa Indonesia is just too weird, and make use of it will slowdown our speed to socialize?
- using English because we don’t really care who is the target user and we don’t really care as long as I got my job done
- using Bahasa Indonesia is not “cool” enough, doesn’t attract people?
- promoting English first, Indonesian second?
Why am I complaining? I even wrote this in my poor English.
Maybe I’m OMDO, I don’t have any stat here, do I?
