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
