By: Alfisyah Kumalasari) *
Regarding English language skills with perfect pronunciation like native speakers, not everyone in the world can. Even the leaders of countries in the world don’t all want to speak English even though they are able to recite it.
Even so there are some who can speak English sufficiently even though the pronunciation has a non-english accent. Like Indonesian President Joko Widodo, for example, he spoke English with a medieval Javanese accent.
This was received from the Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan who stated that we must be proud of our accent.
However, it turns out that some state leaders are also known to prioritize the original language rather than using English, such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who chose to keep using Indian language even at meetings of world leaders.
The fact is that Modi has sufficient English proficiency, which was evidenced when he spoke at the Bekembang Market Global Meeting Forum in 2013. It also surprised the attendees, however, if we listen through Youtube, Modi’s Indian accent remains clear .
If you have the ability to speak English, of course will raise questions why Modi decided not to use English? It turns out that there are underlying political reasons.
Modi used an interpreter when he met Barrack Obama in September 2014. The choice was considered to be taken based on domestic considerations rather than raising fears the other person would be confused.
Hindi is the official language of India, English is not a language that is too foreign in that country, although only 5 percent are fluent in English.
Mahatma Gandhi once said “giving millions of knowledge of English is enslaving them.”
In that country, the affairs of language can be a political problem, where high school graduates usually boast of their English skills. But Modi Senda is from a simple family and does not attend school in an elite place.
If the figure of Modi appears conversing using English, then Hindu nationalists can certainly feel distant from the figure of Modi. People with English proficiency who are fluent in India are identical to the less populist secular elite. In addition, there is still the impression that English is like the language of the invaders.
Besides Modi, President of France for the period of 2012 – 2017 Francous Hollande also still maintains the prestige of history, where French has once become Lingua Franca. Although he had claimed that he had English skills more fluently than his predecessor Nicholas Sarkozy.
“A French President must speak French,” Hollande said.
“French leaders need to understand that language and have the ability to speak with their interlocutors. But I remain bound to French and to Francophonie (Organization of French-speaking countries), “he said.
In addition, Vladimir Putin also recently studied English, the Russian President who is fluent in German also often speaks Russian. Vladimir Putin knew he had studied English a few years ago, not since childhood. He also does not mind using English to emphasize certain sentences to be more dramatic.
Quoted from The Guardian in his writing in 2014, Putin is still learning to pronounce English vowels. He rarely speaks English and never speaks English on a formal diplomatic agenda.
In addition, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who is known to be fluent in French, German and English, said that English is increasingly losing its importance today.
“Slow but sure, English is losing its importance in Europe,” Juncker said at a conference in Florence in May 2017.
This was also based on the opinion of a Professor from the University of Southern California’s public diplomacy, Philip Seib, who said sometimes diplomats refused to speak in English on the basis of nationalism.
Therefore, if there are some people or netizens who are still “offended” by President Jokowi’s Java-English speech, perhaps the above insights can be considered before making criticism.
) * The author is a sociopolitical observer
