Re: Weekly Vocab Fifteenish

Isidora Zamora wrote:
> > > Is Indonesia a very muti-cultural country?
> >Yes, though the vast-majority Javanese tend to overwhelm everyone else.
One
> >rule of thumb:  if someone gives you a direct "No" in answer to a request
or
> >proposal, they're not Javanese.
>
> Cultural issue with the Javanese?  How do they say no?
>
Very much cultural.. They pride themselves on their politeness,
correct/courtly behavior, harmonious social relations..
So they don't say "no", or at least very seldom.  You say "yes", but then
either don't carry out the request at all, or perhaps make only a pro-forma
effort, so that it gets botched or fails. (My prejudices may be showing...).
From what I hear, this is common practice in many cultures, not just Asian.
The point is to maintain an veneer of politeness and harmony, avoid
confrontation, and reach decisions by consensus.

I'm sure Javanese (and members of other such cultures) know how to read the
nuances of a "yes", and would have the good sense not to entrust something
really important to someone who wasn't going to treat it seriously.

Other ethno-linguistic groups are willing to be more forthright, or feisty;
of course the Javanese consider them "kasar" 'coarse', or even (gasp) "masih
primitif" 'still primitive' like some of the out-island and Papuan tribes.

The idea of avoiding a direct negative is also prevalent in Malay/Bahasa
Indonesia, such that "belum" 'not yet', and "kurang" 'less, not very..." are
very common.  One is "belum kawin" not yet married, never 'tidak kawin'
not....; dinner was "kurang enak" 'not very good' versus 'tidak enak'.

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