Budi Darma, Indonesian Prose Reform Literature

 By  A. Zamroni Sw.

Budi Darma dan novel Olenka (http://www.biografi-penulis.blogspot.com-medium.com)

Budi Darma was born in Rembang, Central Java, on April 25, 1937. He was the fourth of six children (all boys). Budi Darma spent his childhood and adolescence in various cities on the island of Java - such as Semarang, Yogyakarta, Salatiga, Jombang, Kendal, and Bandung - because he followed his father who worked as a post office employee.

Budi Darma's parents both came from Rembang. His father was named Munandar Darmowidagdo (born 1900) and his mother named Sri Kunmaryati (born in 1909). Budi Darma married Sitaresmi (born 7 September 1938) in 1968. They have three sons, namely Diana (born 15 May 1969), Guritno (4 February 1972), and Hananto Widodo (3 June 1974).

Budi Darma completed primary school education in 1950 in Kudus, completed junior secondary education in 1953 in Salatiga, and completed high school education in 1956 (Wikipedia calls it 1957) in Semarang. After graduating from high school, he continued his studies at the Department of English Literature, Faculty of Letters and Culture, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. He completed his higher education in 1963.

After graduating from UGM, Budi Darma worked as a lecturer at the English Department of the IKIP Surabaya  —  now the State University of Surabaya (Unesa). This work he has been doing since 1963 until now. In his career as a lecturer at the State University of Surabaya / IKIP Surabaya, he had served as Head of the Department of English Literature (1966-1970 and 1980-1984), Dean of the Teaching Faculty of Letters and Arts (1963-1966 and 1970-1974), and Rector of the IKIP Surabaya ( 1984—1988). Now Budi Darma is a professor at the State University of Surabaya. Apart from teaching at this college in Surabaya, he also teaches at a number of foreign universities.

Budi Darma earned his Master of Arts in English Creative Writing in 1975 at Indiana University, United States. He attended a university based in the City of Bloomington, Indiana, with a scholarship fee. With a scholarship from The Ford Foundation, he then completed his doctoral education (Doctor of Philosophy) at the same university in 1980. After earning a doctorate, Budi Darma became a visiting research associate at Indiana University. In 1967, for three months, he attended the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, United States. In 1970 - 1971, he also received a scholarship from the East West Center to undertake a non-degree study of basic humanities 'basic humanities' at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, United States.

Indonesian Prose reformer

Budi Darma began to be active and productive in writing since 1968/1969. Besides in Indonesian, he also writes in English. His writings are in the form of short stories, novels, essays and papers. Apart from the short anthology of Kritisus Adinan  (2002), until now a number of his books have been published; among others, Olenka  (novel, 1983), Rafilus  (novel, 1998), Ny. Talis  (novel, 1996), Bloomington's People  (collection of short stories, 1981), Soliloquy  (collection of essays, 1983), A number of Literary Essays  (collection of essays, 1984), Harmonium  (collection of essays, 1995), Fofo and Senggring  (collection of essays , 2005), as well as a translated work (The Legacy  by Intsi V. Himanyunga, 1996). Other works include Modern Literature of ASEAN  (Chief Editor, 2000) and ASEAN Literary Essay Collection  (ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information). The non-literary books that he has produced include, among others, History of November 10, 1945  (Pemda Jatim, 1987) and Culture in Surabaya  (IKIP Surabaya, 1992).

His short stories are published in the literary magazine Horison, Kompas daily (Sunday edition), as well as the Best Short Story Collection  book selected by Kompas. His inspiring essays have also been published in Horizon  and Kompas. Some of his short stories written in English have been published in various mass media published in Indiana, Bloomington. Other writings have been published in several magazines, including, Budaja  (Yogyakarta), Basis  (Yogyakarta), Gama  (Yogyakarta), Gadjah Mada  (Yogyakarta), Gema Mahasiswa  (Yogyakarta), Contact  (Yogyakarta), Tjerita  (Jakarta), Indonesia  (Jakarta), Roman  (Jakarta), Forum  (Jakarta), and Gelora  (Surabaya), as well as the newspapers Berita Nasional  (Yogyakarta), Minggu Pagi  (Yogyakarta), Kontak  (Surabaya), Jawa Pos (Surabaya), and Indonesia  (Semarang).

 Budi Darma's name began to skyrocket and became widely known in the literary world since publishing a number of absurd short stories in the literary magazine Horison  in the 1970s. During his stay in Bloomington City, he wrote eight short stories which were later published in the book collection of short stories The People of Bloomington (1980) and the novel Olenka  (1983). The short story "People of Bloomington" won the SEA Write Award from the Thai Government (1984). Olenka, published by Balai Pustaka, received a wide and positive response from critics, observers and literary connoisseurs. The novel, written at the end of 1979, is considered to have brought a renewal in storytelling techniques. Budi Darma won various awards through Olenka. Olenka  became the first winner of the Jakarta Arts Council Roman Contest (1980). Olenka  also received the Jakarta Arts Council Literature Prize (1983). A year later (1984), Olenka  also won the ASEAN Literature Prize (SEA Write Award).

Budi Darma's prose works (short stories and novels) are discussed in a separate chapter in the book by the critic A. Teeuw, Modern Indonesian Literature  (Volume 2). Budi Darma's short story published by Horizon, "The Child" by Satyagaraha Hoerip was included in the anthology of Indonesian Short Stories (Volume 3). His short story entitled “Pria Pemanggul Goni” was chosen as the best short story for Kompas  daily in 2012, while another short story, “Derabat”, was made the title of the 1999 Compass Best Short Story Collection  and Budi Darma was named as a short story writer who is loyal to his age. The two short stories were transformed into a drama, namely “Orez” (performed by ISI Yogyakarta students) and “Kritisus Adinan” (performed by STSI Bandung students).

Budi Darma's contribution to the progress of literature is considered very large. His short stories and novels brought new changes in storytelling and characterization techniques, which in turn influenced many Indonesian short stories and novelists who emerged afterward. Budi Darma's storytelling technique is often seen as a collage technique, while the characters he displays often have strange or absurd characters. Together with Iwan Simatupang, Putu Wijaya, and Danarto, he is often categorized as a reformer of modern Indonesian literature for the prose genre.

Budi Darma has an amazing speed in writing short stories or novels. He is used to writing without prior planning. Olenka's novel, which won various awards, for example, was completed in just three weeks. In an interview with the journal Prose  (2003), he said, “I write without my plans, and also without a draft. If writing could be equated with fighting, I just followed the mood, without outlining strategy, nor detailing tactics. Behind the mood, meanwhile, there's an obsession.”

 Achievement Figures

While studying in the United States, Budi Darma was included in the category of outstanding students so that his name was immortalized in Who's Who in The World  (1982/1983). He was registered as a member of the Modern Language Association (MLA), New York, for the period 1977—1990. His name is also listed in the book Indonesian Author Encyclopedia.  When he graduated from his undergraduate education from the UGM Faculty of Letters and Culture, he won the Bintang Wisuda Bhakti award as the best graduate.

Budi Darma was declared a Surabaya citizen with achievements in literature for two consecutive times, namely in 1987 and 1988, by the Mayor of Surabaya, Purnomo Kasidi. In 2004, he was awarded the citizen with artistic achievement by the governor of East Java. In 1993, he was awarded the Indonesian Government Art Award.

As a writer, academician, and intellectual, Budi Darma is often asked to give lectures, teach, and test prospective scholars or doctor of literature both at home and abroad. Not infrequently he also received invitations to do research, especially on English or American literature. In the midst of his busy schedule, he is listed as the chief editor of the Modern Literature of ASEAN  (2000) published by the ASEAN COCI (Committee on Cultural Information). This book discusses the development of literature in several ASEAN countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Budi Darma has participated in literary and cultural broadcast programs at RRI (Semarang, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya) and TVRI  (Surabaya).

In the collaboration of Mastera (Southeast Asian Literature Council), Budi Darma has been a guide for young short stories, essays and novelists from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia in the Mastera Writing Program (1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008). He was appointed as a comparative literary expert in the Indonesian Mastera expert membership. This man who is known to be friendly and polite is also involved in mentoring various workshops and literature upgrading for Language Center employees and young lecturers from various universities in Indonesia which are held by the Language Center, Ministry of National Education.

Budi Darma is known as a character who has broad insight because of his passion for reading and writing. This creative writer has a passion for reading since he was a teenager. When he was in junior high school in Salatiga, he had read a lot of Indonesian and foreign literary books. In the Salatiga government library, he often fills his spare time devouring works by Idrus, Merari Siregar, Suman Hs., and so on. With only limited English skills, he also read works by Karl May, Hector Malot, Alexander Dumas, and so on. The story in one of the Russian short stories (in English) entitled "The Darling" is more or less related to Olenka's character in Olenka's novel.

Budi Darma's penchant for reading is thought to have been transmitted by his mother, who had a good reading tradition for her era. The literature that his mother read a lot was puppet stories and Javanese mythology. In addition, when studying at UGM, Budi Darma stayed at the house of his uncle who was a lecturer and legal expert, namely Prof. Mr. Notosusanto (Nugroho Notosusanto's father - writer, historian, and former minister of education and culture). The scientific discussions that were often held with his uncle also opened and broadened Budi Darma's scientific horizons.

 

Indonesian Language Also Determines the Formation of the Indonesian State

By A. Zamroni Sw.

Bekti Patria-wordpress.com

Historically and etymologically, Indonesian comes from the regional language, namely Riau Malay. This regional language has officially become the national language of Indonesia and the language of the unity of the Indonesian nation. Indonesian - which comes from the Malay language of Riau - was ratified as the state language the day after the proclamation of Indonesian independence, on August 18, 1945, to be precise. The ratification was carried out in a package with the ratification of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia as the state constitution. In Article 36 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the Indonesian language is stated directly and explicitly as the state language.

The naming of the Indonesian language (from the Riau Malay language) begins with the II Youth Congress which gave birth to the Youth Pledge on October 28, 1928. Indonesian has experienced several attempts at standardizing the spelling to make it a modern and sophisticated language. This standardization effort causes the Indonesian language we currently use to differ from its original language, namely the Malay language used in Riau and the Malay Peninsula. Indonesian has now become a dynamic language, a language that lives and continues to produce new words, both through the creation and absorption of regional and foreign languages.

Indonesian is the primary and most important language in Indonesia. As the language of the state and the language of unity, Indonesian is the means of communication for all Indonesian people - from Sabang to Merauke - who have a variety of ethnic, cultural, and regional backgrounds. Without the Indonesian language, the existence of tribes in remote areas of the country that have their own local culture and language will be difficult to meet, connect and mix.

Thanks to the role of the Indonesian language, communication and interaction between ethnic groups in Indonesia can run well. The Indonesian language enables people from various regions and tribes to greet one another, talk, cooperate, stay in touch, and build friendship, kinship and brotherhood. It is also thanks to the Indonesian language that people and figures from various islands and ethnicities can communicate with each other and understand their aspirations and interests, build unity against colonization by foreign nations, and exchange ideas to formulate the basis of the state and constitution so that the Indonesian nation and state can be formed.

It is inconceivable that the end of the struggle of the heroes and founders of the country if their efforts to be free from colonialism and to establish the Indonesian state were not supported by the existence of the Indonesian language. Without language that can be a means of communication and unification, efforts to free oneself from foreign colonialism will be very difficult to do. Without the support of a language that can carry out such a role, the effort to achieve independence and form an Indonesian state seems impossible.

Promote and Support Indonesian Language as an International Language

 By  A. Zamroni Sw.

http://www.damniloveindonesia.com

Language and nation are two entities that influence each other in relations between countries. So far, the adage applies that "language denotes the nation" so that as a consequence of the close relationship between the two, this phenomenon appears: the role of the nation will determine the degree of the language of the nation concerned. English can become the main international language in the world because of the role and dominance of the British people in international forums that exceed other nations in the past centuries.

The phenomenon and experience of England has further confirmed the fact that the status and degree of a language in the midst of world relations is largely determined by the role of the nation that owns it. The same is true of the Indonesian language and nation. The role of Indonesia is quite important in several regions and international organizations have contributed to increasing the popularity and frequency of use of the Indonesian language in world forums.

Our country has a big role in Southeast Asia and in ASEAN. Indonesia has an important position in the Non-aligned Movement because Indonesia is one of the countries that initiated the establishment of the Non-aligned Movement. Indonesia also occupies a strategic position among Asian-African countries. Because of its crucial and strategic role and position, many Westerners (United States, Western Europe, Canada, and Australia) consider Indonesia an important country so that it needs to be a friend and partner for cooperation in various fields. In an effort to make Indonesia a collaborative partner and to get to know the culture and life of the Indonesian people, several Western countries have made Indonesian as a subject and subject in their schools and universities. The same is done by other countries outside Western countries.

This causes the popularity of the Indonesian language and the mastery and use of Indonesian by foreign nationals to increase. Coupled with the beauty of the natural panorama and the stunning wealth of Indonesian cultural arts and the large population of Indonesia, the interest of foreign nationals to learn and master the Indonesian language is getting bigger. The objectives of foreigners (foreign countries) to master the Indonesian language, among others, facilitate their efforts to learn Indonesian culture, facilitate efforts to make friends with the Indonesian people, and facilitate communication with the Indonesian people in marketing goods and services.

This series of phenomena has made Indonesian a language that is widely used in other countries and in international forums. The symptom that sticks out is that Indonesian is developing into an international language. Keeping in mind the predictions of experts that in the next 20–50 years Indonesia will be among the top ten countries in the world so that Indonesia's role in the world will become increasingly dominant, the position of Indonesian as (one of) the international languages ​​will be even stronger.

However, this positive development certainly requires concrete support and participation from the government and the Indonesian people. The Indonesian government needs to make policies that are able to encourage and strengthen the status of Indonesian as an international language; for example, by promoting the ease and practicality of Indonesian as the official language in international forums. As a form of support, the Indonesian people themselves must also increase awareness to use Indonesian properly and correctly for various purposes in order to show foreigners who are in Indonesia that Indonesian is a language that is easy, simple, communicative, intellectual, and at the same time deserves to be one of the international languages.

Teaching English in Indonesia during the Colonial Period and the Present

 By  A. Zamroni Sw.

http://www.awardeelpdpugm.web.id .jpg

As an international language, English is an important language taught in educational institutions in Indonesia. Learning and teaching in Indonesia has been going on since the Dutch colonial era. The teaching of English as a foreign language in Indonesia has evolved over time and changes in policies. The teaching of English in the colonial era cannot be separated from the policies and interests of the colonial government.

During the reign of the Dutch East Indies, English language learning was provided at MULO (SMP level schools) and AMS (SMA level schools). At that time, apart from Dutch children, only certain indigenous children were allowed and able to attend schools at MULO and AMS. Most of the ordinary indigenous children only go to school up to SD level now. Education in the Dutch era, especially teaching in the field of language studies, was recognized as having sufficient quality so that MULO school graduates were generally able to communicate in English well. Apart from mastering English, students are also required to master Dutch as well as French or German (optional) and local languages ​​(Javanese or Malay).

When Japan came and occupied Indonesia, the teaching of English (as well as European languages) underwent drastic changes. Japan carries out a series of cleanups. They completely prohibit the use and teaching of Dutch, English and other European languages. Books and references in English, Dutch and European were muzzled. On the other hand, Japanese is used in society and is taught in schools intensively with the aim of making it a second language in Indonesia.

After Japan was expelled from Indonesia due to its defeat in World War II against the Allies, and Indonesia entered its independence era, English was taught again in schools. The decision to teach it back at school was issued by the government of the Republic of Indonesia. Through the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia in 1967, English is taught as a foreign language in Indonesian schools.

This marks the strengthening of English as a foreign language in the world of teaching and education in Indonesia. Along with changing times and the development of life, the Indonesian government and people are increasingly aware of the urgency of teaching English to Indonesian students. English is considered important to be mastered by the Indonesian people so that the Indonesian people are able to keep up with the development of world life because English is the main international language. The way that is considered the best and systematic so that English is mastered by Indonesian society (especially the younger generation) is to teach it in schools from an early age.