Since we are small, generally we learn English by looking at the original writing, such as "Hi, how are you?". However, some people learn it written as (transliterated) "Hai, hau aa yuu?". Or furthermore, it might be "He, ho a yu?". The pronunciations are different, we can hear nice sounds here ^^

Dari dulu kita belajar bahasa Inggris dengan melihat tulisan aslinya, seperti "Hi, how are you?". Namun ada yang belajarnya "Hai, hau aa yuu?" Atau, mungkin saja "He, ho a yu?". Pengucapan pun berbeda-beda, di sini bisa didengarkan suara yang indah ^^

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Mungkin banyak dari kalian sudah tahu bahwa orang Jepang terkenal dengan bahasa Inggrisnya yang unik (buruk). Bagi yang belum tau, coba liat ini (English Education in Japan, Japanese Engrish, Japanese Learning English, Paul Snowden先生のEnglish Angles on Japan).

Maybe most of you know that the Japanese is notorious with their unique (if you don’t want to say bad) English. For you who don’t know yet, look at these links (English Education in Japan, Japanese Engrish, Japanese Learning English, Paul Snowden先生のEnglish Angles on Japan).

Tentu saja tidak semua orang Jepang berbahasa Inggris buruk. Cuma biasanya saja. Selain Jepang, yang cukup terkenal buruk yaitu Jerman.

Of course, not all Japanese speak bad English. But usually they do. Apart from Japan, another notorious nation is the German.

Dalam tatabahasa (grammar) mereka cukup bagus, karena wajib diajarkan di sekolah. Tapi dalam pengucapan, mereka sangat unik dan tidak seperti berkata bahasa Inggris. Menurutku, mungkin karena:

• bahasa aslinya punya suku kata yang terbatas
• segala macam sudah tercukupi dengan bahasa Jepang (tidak butuh bahasa Inggris)
• kekurangan guru bahasa Inggris yang bisa berucap dengan benar
• pengucapan bahasa Inggris diajarkan dengan katakana (pembahasan di bawah)

They are pretty good in grammar, because it’s compulsory to be taught in school. But their pronunciation is unique, it doesn’t sound like English. I think, this is because:

• Their native language has limited syllables.
• Everything is already fulfilled with Japanese (English is not needed)
• Lack of competent English teacher who speaks rightly.
• English pronunciation is taught by using katakana. (explained below)

Tapi ku senang dengar suara orang Jepang berbahasa Inggris, karena lucu ^^. Tentu saja butuh contoh kan? nih contohnya:

However, I like how the Japanese pronouncing English. It’s funny ^^. Of course I know you need examples. Here they are:

• "if you have a chance to watch fireworks show in Japan, try to call out." [1]

• "pokemon battle revolution." [2]

• "excuse me. I'd like to try this. yes. oh, it didn't fit me. smaller size please. yes. oh, good." [3]

Contoh berikut ini diambil dari buku "とっさのひとこと英会話". Begini contoh pelajaran bahasa Inggris yang dipakai:

The following example is taken from a book "とっさのひとこと英会話" These are examples of how they teach English pronuncation:

Bagi orang Jepang yang lebih terbiasa melihat huruf katakana (di bagian "Cara baca" di atas), tentu mereka lebih nyaman membaca itu. Maka kalau kita (orang Indonesia pada kususnya) mendengar mereka, akan terdengar seperti yang di "Huruf latinnya" di atas.

For the Japanese who are used to see katakana (in the "How to read" part), there is no doubt that they will be more comfortable reading that. So, when we (writer is an Indonesian, ed.) hear them, it will sound like what's written in "In Roman letters" part.

Masalahnya, dari anak2 yang belajar bahasa Inggris pertama kalinya, penulisan dengan katakana sudah dipakai. Ku pernah liat poster besar buat anak2 gambar buah2an dengan kata2 Inggris di bawahnya, misalnya "apple", di bawahnya ada tulisan "アップル" (appuru).

The problem is, even from the little children who are learning English for the first time, the katakana-style reading is used. I once saw a big poster (you know, these posters used to teach children the appropriate English words for certain items) with fruit pictures. One of the fruits listed there is apple, and below the word "apple" is included the "how-to-read" part "アップル" which reads "appuru" (read: up-poo-roo).

Nah untungnya di Indonesia, pelajaran bahasa Inggris tidak pernah (setauku) menggunakan cara baca yang ditulis seperti itu.

Fortunately in Indonesia, English language subject is never taught using the "how-to-read" like the one mentioned before. Student's are expected to know how to read English words based on what they hear from English teachers, TV shows/movies, etc. (Because in Indonesia the local entertainment is not enough at all. A lot of English media penetrates.)

Mari kita berangan2, seandainya saja di Indonesia, orang2 belajar bahasa Inggris dengan pengucapan yang ditulis dengan cara baca bahasa Indonesia. [4]

Let’s imagine, if only the people in Indonesia learn English with the "how-to-read" part written in Indonesian style. [4]

A: Eksyus mi. Is der e supermarket nir hir?
B: Yes. Der is wan nir hir. (Yes. There is one near here.)
A: Hau du Ai get der? (How do I get there?)
B: Et de trefik laits, tek de fers lef en go stret on. Its on de lef.
A: Is it far?
B: Not rili.
A: Tengkyu.
B: Don mensyen it.

(Translator's note : this was made using the pronunciation rules of Indonesian, so due to that condition, I don't think translating this is necessary. Translator's note again: just a quick summary. In Indonesian, a is read as in father, e as in met or alone, i as in dig, o as in song, u as in soon. Hope this helps non-Indonesian reader…. A bit.)

Atau sebagai variasi, beberapa catatanku yang harusnya bahasa Inggris kutulis dengan penulisan yang aneh, untuk menghemat waktu nulis. Ini tidak begitu tepat cara baca bahasa Indonesia, tapi lebih singkat. [4]

Or as a variation, I write some of my notes which should be written in English in weird spellings, just for the sake of saving time. It is not really according to Indonesian’s reading rule, but obviously it’s shorter. [4]

A: He. Ho a yu duiq dis aftrnun?
B: Fen, teq yu. Ken E si a menu plis?
A: Srtnli, hi yu a.
B: Teq yu. Wots tude spesl?
A: Gril tuna en cis on re.
B: Det son gud. El hef det.
A: Wud yu lek samtiq tu driq?
B: Yes, ed lek a kok.

Hint: q = ng. (Hanya untuk menyingkat)

Semoga anda bisa ngerti apa maksud dua percakapan terakhir.

I hope you can understand the meaning of the last two conversations.

Lalu temanku ada yang tanya, dengan cara tulis seperti yang terakhir, bagaimana dengan dua kata yang beda tapi jadi sama? Seperti (contoh ekstrim):

But then my friend asked, with that way of spelling, what happens to two words that become the same? For example:

• main → men
• mind → men
• man → men
• men → men
• meant → men

Jawabannya: tentu dari konteks.

The answer: of course from the context.

Pada bahasa Indonesia atau Inggris, jarang satu kata mempunyai banyak arti. Kalau pun ada, hanya ada 2 arti atau artinya mirip atau sebagian jarang dipakai. Sedangkan bahasa Jepang banyak kata yang sama tapi artinya beda. Contoh yang populer adalah "hasi" (はし) yang berarti jembatan, atau sumpit, atau pinggiran. "Niji" (にじ) = pelangi, atau dua huruf, atau jam 2, atau bawahan.

In Indonesian or English, it’s a rare case that one word has many meanings. Even if they do, most often there are only 2 meanings and the meanings are alike or some of the meanings are rarely used. It’s a different case with the Japanese, where one word can have many meanings. The popular example is "hashi" (はし) which can mean bridge, chopsticks, or edge. "Niji" (にじ) can mean rainbow, or two letters, or two o'clock, or a subordinate.

Kalau orang Jepang saja bisa, harusnya bukan masalah walau kelima kata di atas ditulis men.

• Hu is det men? (Who is that man?, ga mungkin jadi Who is that main? atau Who is that mind?, kan?)

• Det ws men tu bi d grets tiq in d wld (That was meant to be the greatest thing in the world)

• Tu men a lukiq et d ske (Two men are looking at the sky -- karena ada kata "two", berarti sesudahnya pasti men bukan man. Lagipula, siapa sih yang peduli apakah itu man atau men? Asalkan ada kata "two", apalagi diikuti "are" sesudahnya, masa belum cukup jelas bahwa itu plural (jamak)?)

So if the Japanese can overcome that problem, I think we should be able to understand even though the 5 words mentioned earlier are all written as men.

• Hu is det men? (Who is that man?, it can't be Who is that main? or Who is that mind?, right?)

• Det ws men tu bi d grets tiq in d wd (That was meant to be the greatest thing in the world)

• Tu men a lukiq at d ske (Two men are looking at the sky – due to the word "two:, the word following it must be men, not man. Furthermore, who really cares whether it's men or man? As long as there is the word "two", and is followed by "are", isn't it clear enough that it's plural?)

Ah, sudah, sekian dulu perjumpaan kita kali ini. Semoga tulisan ini menambah sedikit inspirasi anda.

Ah, that’s all for today. I hope this article will inspire you a bit.

Translated by sylvdoanx. Sources

1. Miki's blog, japanesepod101.com
2. TVCM
3. いちごましまろ
4. esl.about.com
5. Wikimedia Commons Image:Shadowgraph.jpg