Who is ‘Akang’?

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The word akang [a ka NG] is a term of address for an elder brother or anyone on the same line (see Hardjadibrata’s Sundanese-English Dictionary, p. 11). The same word, which has the same meaning, is also found in John M. Echols and Hassan Shadily’s Kamus Indonesia-Inggris/An Indonesian-English Dictionary. The later dictionary recognizes it as a Sundanese and Jakarta dialect (see Echols and Shadily’s dictionary, 3rd ed., p. 9).

There is also a shorter form of this word: kang. It usually precedes a man's name, e.g. Kang Godi.

Those who use this term of address may be a woman to her husband or someone to his/her elder brother. A man usually uses the word akang to refer to himself when he speaks to younger ones or to his wife.

Here is an example quoted from a dialogue in a novel by Abdullah Mustappa entitled Cihaliwung Nunjang Ngidul (1997):

Dina hiji poé geus liwat lohor, sabot Haji Dahlan keur aya di pabrik, Ajengan Cikaso semu rurusuhan nyampeurkeun. Ku Haji Dahlan buru-buru ditepungan.

“Aya naon, Kang? Aya wartos téa?”

“Ih, sanés. Akang téh katatamuan, cenah tentara nu baralik hijrah ti Yogya, rék ngadon reureuh. Meureun aya kana dua tilu poéna, da mani geus lalimpeu pisan. Akang rék ménta bantuan ka Jang Haji. Da ku Akang téh dibagi-bagi wé di sababaraha imah anu katimbang bisa kaéndongan. Jang Haji di antarana.”

One day, in the afternoon, when Haji Dahlan was at the factory, the Cleric of Cikaso appeared in a hurry. Haji Dahlan welcomed him at once.

“What’s happened, Kang? Have you got the news?”

“No, it’s something else. Akang have some visitors, saying that they are soldiers returning from Yogya, and need some rests. It may take two or three days, for they looked so exhausted. Akang need your help, Brother Haji. Akang shall divide them into several houses, which are proper enough to be lodged. Your house is one of them.”

Verbal Intensifier

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One of the most interesting subjects in Sundanese is the so-called kecap anteuran. The phrase may be translated into English as ‘verbal intensifier’. This element of speech has no meaning but plays important role in a sentence. An intensifier usually precedes a verb to make it more effective, and also more melodious. In the sentence ‘jung manéhna nangtung’ (he/she stands up), for instance, the word jung has no meaning but intensifies the impression of the verb nangtung (stand up).

Every verb has its own verbal intensifier, e.g., gék diuk (sit down), léos indit (going to), berebet lumpat (run), nyéh imut (smile), pok ngomong (say), bray muka (open), bréh némbongan (appear), etc. Each of them are like soul mates. So please don’t forget to make sure which verbal intensifier you need to attach to a particular verb. If, for instance, you said berebet diuk or gék lumpat, people will think that you make a joke, i.e., a mistake.

However, you need not worry. You could make a simple sentence without verbal intensifier. Instead of saying, ‘Barang bray panto muka, bréh manéhna némbongan’, for instance, you might prefer to say, ‘Barang panto muka, manéhna némbongan’ (as the door was opened, she appeared). [barang = when, as; panto = door; muka = open; manéhna = she, he; némbongan = appear, seen].

In several cases verbal intensifiers seem to transform themselves into verbs, as if they are not depend on particular verbs any more. Words such as ngaléos (going to) and pokna (said he/she) are previously verbal intensifiers (from léos and pok). You could express léos manéhna indit ka kalér or manéhna ngaléos ka kalér (she/he goes to the North). [kalér = north].

Here is an example quoted from a description in Darpan's short story entitled 'Nu Harayang Dihargaan' (Those Who want to be Respected):

Hiji mangsa, Ikah geus norojol deui ti nu poek. Sakumaha biasa, ledak deui diwedak gigireun tukang kendang. Dilipen jeung nyisiran, jung nangtung, rengkenek ngarampayak deui...

In a moment, Ikah appeared from the dark. As usual, she put powder on her face beside of a percussion player. She smeared lipstick on her lips, and combed her hair, stood up, and danced again...

In the passage quoted (and loosely translated) above, the words norojol, ledak, jung, and rengkenek are verbal intensifiers.

Hawe Setiawan

Living Sundanese

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At a new mall in Bandung an advertisement is read in Sundanese: 'Hapena hade pisan, facebook oge tiasa' (what a good cell phone, good also for facebook). In fact, as far as speech level is concerned, this advertisement is composed in a somewhat polite manner, except for the word 'hade' (it is better to use the word 'sae' which is polite). However, as the complexity of speech levels have only prevented new generations and foreigners from speaking Sundanese, this advertisement is all right. Why not?

A couple of years ago, amid the growing awareness to the so called deterioration of Sundanese culture, a big banner was displayed in the front window of a provincial government building in Bandung which was read in Indonesian language: 'Gunakan bahasa Sunda di lingkungan masing-masing!' (Please speak in Sundanese at your own quarters!). That was a sympathetic message from the Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata Jawa Barat (Culture and Tourism Bureau of West Java). The government, however, forgot the very instruction, for the message was written in Indonesian language, not in Sundanese language.

In Kuningan, a town in the eastern region of West Java, a tahu (soybean cake?) vendor displays a brand name: 'Mamaningeun'. The word 'maning' is Cirebonese dialect. The form 'mamaningeun', however, makes use of the suffix '-eun' which is known in Sundanese. As for its meaning the word 'mamaningeun' reminds us to the Sundanese word 'deudeuieun' (somewhat like addicted to). Hence, this new word is a hybrid which weds Cirebonese and Sundanese elements.

hawe setiawan

The difference between moal and henteu

Sundanese Corner

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The word moal refers to a situation where a speaker is not willing to do something, whereas the word henteu refers to a situation where a speaker is not doing something.

For instance:

Abdi moal ngiring rapat (I shall not attend the meeting);

Abdi henteu ngiring rapat (I am not attending the meeting);

Abdi henteu tiasa ngiring rapat (I can't attend the meeting);

Dupi salira tiasa nyarios basa Sunda (Do you speak Sundanese)?

Abdi tiasa/henteu tiasa nyanggem dina basa Sunda (I (do not) speak Sundanese).

Gender-Free Pronoun: Everyone is 'Manehna'

Of course, Sundanese people consist of women and men, girls and boys, but they don't think that their words have to be sexist. Unlike English language which separates 'she' from 'he', 'her' from 'his, 'her' from 'him', Sundanese language doesn't separate human being. Everyone is manehna or anjeunna (she/he) in polite manner. The word mantenna, which has the same meaning, usually refers to God or holy figure.

The Context of 'Kuring' and Its Synonyms

There are several words which bear function as the first singular personal pronoun. The words in question are  kuring [koo-ring], dewek [de-wek], aing [a-ing], abdi [ab-di] and simkuring [sim-koo-ring]. 

Which one to be used? Don't be confused. In fact, these first singular personal pronouns have different contexts. What we have to do is considering the contexts, whether the speech act to be conducted is formal or informal, polite or inpolite. 

Kuring is the most common pronoun, especially in informal or friendly speech. Character in short stories usually refers to herself as kuring, e.g. 'kuring indit ka sakola' (I go to school). The word simkuring and abdi are usually used in formal and polite speech, while aing (and also dewek) tends to be inpolite.

The word abdi (which literally means 'servant') is very polite. One can uses it not only to her fellow, but also to God. For example, one can expresses, 'Nun, Gusti, abdi peryogi artos' (O, my Lord, I need some money).

As for the word aing and dewek, one can uses the words when she talks to her best friend, especially in an informal situation. It is also common for one to use the words when she speaks to herself. And don't forget to use the words when you are angry with someone. (Are we angry with ourselves? I have no idea.)

Please note that in Sundanese part of speech there is no difference between subject and object which refer to the first personal pronoun. In English we differentiate 'I' from 'me', for instance. Yet in Sundanese language,  the word kuring could bear function both as subject and object. For example, the expression 'she gives the book to me' may be translated into Sundanese as manehna mikeun eta buku ka kuring.  

What is pancakaki?

Sundanese people have a fondness for kinship relation among each other. It is quite normal if a speaker of Sundanese language ask one these questions: 'How old are you? Are you married? How many children do you have? Who are your parents? Where do you live?' Etc. By means of such questions the speaker is attempting to know how close (or how far)  her/his fellow with her/himself.  

This is perhaps not just an act to introduce oneself, or an act to know one's fellow, in the first encounter. This is an act to know each other personally while considering a degree of relationship to be developed. And this would be a nice introduction of a conversation.

This paticular way of conducting a conversation is called pancakaki [pan-cha-ka-kee]. According to Hardjadibrata's dictionary, the word pancakaki may be defined as 'degree of relationship, kinship relations where one stands in respect to others.' 

From sociolinguistics point of view, the pancakaki may appeared as an integral part of a conventional way to realize social position of the selves that are involved in a conversation. As a consequence of the different social positions, the participants of a conversation has to realize a proper speech level to be conducted. In other words, the pancakaki seems to be prerequisite for realizing a proper speech level.  

Today, in harmony with social changes, among Sundanese people there are ones that have suggested their fellows to take the matter of speech level easy. We do not need to differentiate people on the basis of their social position. Humanity is one. Moreover, this is the time of a democratic life, and we are supposed to be egalitarian. 

    

Kumaha damang? = how are you?

To ask one's condition, just say, "Kumaha damang?". Kumaha means how, damang means healthy or fine. So, the expression literally means "are you healthy/fine?" This is "how are you?" in Sundanese.

To reply to the question, you can say, "Saé." You can also say, "Pangésto." The word saé means "good, well, fine". Pangésto is derived from the basic word ésto which means "to serve someone loyally". Pangésto literally means "blessing". In this context, pangésto means "well (thanks to your blessing)".

The pronunciation of é, e and eu

There are seven vowels in Sundanese language: a, i, u, o, é, e and eu. The last three vowels (é, e and eu) are interesting. The vowel e should be pronounced as ə, just like the sound of a  as 

indefinite article in English, e.g. a book. The vowel é should be pronounced as e as in bed. The vowel eu should be pronounced as əu, something like eu in entrepreneur. Here are some words: begang  = thin, belegug = churlish, kénca = left, sépak = kick, beunghar = rich, seuri = to laugh.

The occurrence of f, v, x and z in Sundanese words

One of the interesting features of Sundanese dictionaries shows that there is no entry of f, v, x and z. We can refer to, for instance, A Dictionary of the Sunda Language of Java by Jonathan Rigg (Lange & Co., 1892). In the preface to his dictionary Mr. Rigg, among other things, provides the following explanation:

“F occurs only rarely in words from the Arabic, when it has generally been converted into p, as f is a sound which the Malays, Javanese and Sundanese are unable to pronounce. Thus fikir to think, becomes pikir, and fasal becomes pasal…

V does not occur in any Sunda word…

X does not occur; its sound would be represented by ks, as kraksan, a place in the Residency Basuki should never be written kraxan…

Z does not occur, and when occurring in Arabic words is replaced by s, as the holy well at Mecca, zamzam is called samsam.”

 

We can also refer to Hollandsch-Soendaneesch Woordenboek (Dutch-Sundanese Dictionary) by S. Coolsma (A.W. Sijthoff’s, 1910). Here we can consider how words from Dutch, the form of which consists of one of the four alphabets, were introduced into Sundanese, e.g. fabriek (Dutch) becomes pabrik (Sd); verlak (Dutch) becomes perlak (Sd); zoopje (Dutch) becomes sopi (Sd). Similar cases due to the alphabets that are lacking appear in Soendaas-Nederlands Woordenboek (Sundanese-Dutch Dictionary) by F.S. Eringa (Foris, 1984).

An interesting feature, however, appears in the Sundanese-English Dictionary by R.R. Hardjadibrata (Pustaka Jaya, 2003). Even though the dictionary is said as “based on” Mr. Eringa’s woordenboek, it compiles some entries with initial alphabet of f or v. Some examples can be pointed out: fajar (dawn), faktur (invoice), féodalisme (feudalism), frustrasi (frustration), valid (valid), variable (variable), véteran (veteran), etc.

It reflects the development of Sundanese words.

 

 

Sundanese-English Dictionary

Jonathan Rigg, an English planter working in West Java in 19th century, compiled the first Sundanese-English dictionary. His monumental work, A Dictionary of the Sunda Language of Java (Lange & Co., 1862) , was published in 1862. The dictionary consists of some 9,300 entries.

Some 141 years since the publication of Mr. Rigg's dictionary, that is in the year 2003, there has been issued a new Sundanese-English dictionary by R.R. Hardjadibrata, a Sundanese lexicographer working in Australia. In his essay Mr. Hardjadibrata states, "The Sundanese-English Dictionary is a general dictionary of 27,127 entries of headwords. This number is a pittance in comparison to some English or any other language dictionary."

You can find the latest dictionary at some main bookstores in Bandung and Jakarta.

Sundanese Language

Sundanese language (basa Sunda) is one of ethnic languages of Indonesia, which is spoken by Sundanese people (urang Sunda). It is the mother tongue of the majority of inhabitants of the Western part of Java.

This language is not only spoken in everyday conversation, but is also used in songs and poems. There are many Sundanese books, both fiction and nonfiction, including collection of poems. There are also Sundanese magazines (e.g. Bandung-based Cupumanik and Manglé) and newspapers (e.g. Bandung-based Galura and Giwangkara), some of which have their own websites.

Sundanese people had spoken in their own language since time immemorial. Sanghyang Siksa kanda ng Karesian, the oldest manuscript that was written in Old Sundanese, was dated from 16^th century. Some Old Sundanese manuscripts were even written in Old Sundanese script. It is believed that Sundanese oral tradition is much older than its literary tradition.

Modern version of the language is a little bit different from the old one. Words develop and change. Modern Sundanese writing is composed in Latin script.

Foreigners may be confused by the problem of speech levels (undak-usuk basa). You need not to worry, however. Just think about different situations where you are supposed to decide whether you should speak in “formal” or “polite” (lemes) manner or in “informal” or “familiar” (loma) manner.  You can remember different words for different situations. Why not?