Tintin Forums

Tintinologist.org Forums / Official Tintin books /

Flight 714: Language of the Sondonesians

cigars of the beeper
Member
#1 · Posted: 1 Jul 2009 01:18
Many foreign languages which appear in Tintin books are false such as the language of the Arumbayas (Kanyun derst andthis?)
However, the Sondonesian language in Flight 714 looks like a real one:
"Kurang adjar! Apa tidah bissa djaga sajapoenja lajar! apa gilah!" (page 15)
"...Brenti!... Brenti la!" (41)
"Disana... Diatas batu karang... Lihatlah tanda dawa 2(?) terbang ini diatas kereta2(?) berapi." (41)
"Saja." (41)
"Itu betul." (41)

Is this a real language, and if so, what do these sentences mean?
I have done a search and this doesn't seem to have been discussed before, so please forgive me if such a discussion has already occurred.
NikkiRoux
Member
#2 · Posted: 1 Jul 2009 10:10
It's real. I can understand some of it, though I find the spelling a bit weird. When you go to the Tintin Books Guide on this website and click on the Flight 714 link, there's a section which tells you what some of it means.
"Kurang ajar", I think, is an expression used when some one has been rude, insolent, or offensive, or he or she might have done something very annoying to the person who would later say "kurang ajar!"
"Gila" means "crazy", "apa" means "what", but I'm not sure what it means when you put those two words together.
"Brenti" is another way of saying "berhenti", or maybe I'm just mixing up two languages. Anyway, it means "stop". "La" is just an expression put at the end of sentences, and it doesn't really mean anything.
"Di sana" means "over there". The guide for Flight 714 here says that "batu karang" means "coral". I don't know if it's correct or not, but I see no coral that frame of the book.
I think "saja" is also another way of saying "sahaja". Again, I could be wrong. "Sahaja" means "just", as in "only", and Idon't know why it's used right there and then. Maybe that's because I'm so bad at Malay (and probably worse at Indonesian).
"Itu betul" means "that's right".
cigars of the beeper
Member
#3 · Posted: 2 Jul 2009 15:09
Thanks for the help. How is it that you happen to know some of it? I'm just curious.
Also, I wonder where Herge got knowledge of it. He must have found someone who spoke it.
NikkiRoux
Member
#4 · Posted: 3 Jul 2009 06:45
I'm Malaysian. That's the language spoken here. Indonesian and Malay are quite similar, but different enough so that when they show Indonesian drama here, there are Malay translations in the subtitles.
topanbadai
Member
#5 · Posted: 3 Nov 2010 09:08
Loosely translated the sentences mean:

"Damn! Can't you see my sail? Crazy!" (P15)

"Stop! Please stop!" (P41)

"Over there...on the rock...this is the signs of the deities flying in fiery vehicles" (P41)

"Me" (P41)

"That's right" (P41)

Flight 714 was made when Indonesian language still used the old spelling system, and I think the translator made several mistakes here. Under the current spelling and correction for errors, the sentences would be like this:

"Kurang ajar! Apa tidak bisa lihat layar saya? Dasar gila!"
"Berhenti...berhenti lah"
"Di sana...di atas batu karang...lihatlah tanda dewa-dewa terbang di atas kereta berapi"
"Saya"
"Itu betul"
jock123
Moderator
#6 · Posted: 3 Nov 2010 14:23
topanbadai:
I think the translator made several mistakes here.

Did they make mistakes, or were they deliberately making it as if Sondonesian is a real language, similar to, but not the same as, Indonesian, in the same way that Indonesian is different to Malay?
Rianna Lauren
Member
#7 · Posted: 3 Nov 2010 15:12
The translator did not make any mistakes. .___. The translation is, loosely, what topanbadai said. What Cigars posted was using an old spelling system while what we Indonesians have right now, which is again what topanbadai posted, uses our modern, daily language.
Topanbadai, where's the difference, if you can point it out?
topanbadai
Member
#8 · Posted: 4 Nov 2010 10:08
I don't know whether the mistakes were deliberate or not, but I tend to think those were not deliberate.

Here are the mistakes:

"Kurang adjar! Apa tidah bissa djaga saja poenja lajar! Apa gilah!"

There are several words which were spelled wrongly (under both old and current spelling system):
Tidah should be tidak (meaning no).
Gilah should be gila (meaning crazy).
Bissa should be bisa (meaning capable)
"poenja" is spelled under even older spelling system (the Dutch spelling system), under the Indonesian spelling at the time of Flight 714 it should be "punja".

"Apa tidah bissa djaga saja poenja lajar!" is not a correct sentence. I think the author basically want to say "Can't you look where you're going?" or "Can't you see my sail?" so a better Indonesian sentence for this would be "Apa tidak bisa lihat?" or "Apa tidak bisa lihat layar saya?"

On P 41, dawa is wrong, it should be dewa (meaning deity)
Rianna Lauren
Member
#9 · Posted: 5 Nov 2010 07:09
Oh, those... Perhaps it's what makes it Sondonesian instead of Indonesian? :P
tintinsgf
Member
#10 · Posted: 21 Jan 2012 12:25
Rianna Lauren:
Perhaps it's what makes it Sondonesian instead of Indonesian? :P

I think so, for making Sondonesian language looks like a different language apart from the proper bahasa Indonesia ;D. But I think, grammar-wise, it's definitely not different that much from Indonesian. It's just that the Sondonesian grammar pattern (to me) look much like Indonesian grammar pattern in older periods (say, early 20th century to early 1960s). Perhaps it is caused by the time of making this adventure story?

Anyway I was delighted when reading the language (although it seems somewhat deprived XD).

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the Forum Posting Guidelines.

Disclaimer: Tintinologist.org assumes no responsibility for any content you post to the forums/web site. Staff reserve the right to remove any submitted content which they deem in breach of Tintinologist.org's Terms of Use. If you spot anything on Tintinologist.org that you think is inappropriate, please alert the moderation team. Sometimes things slip through, but we will always act swiftly to remove unauthorised material.

Reply

 Forgot password
Please log in to post. No account? Create one!