The language I speak at home

...is Indonesian.

I often hear comments from people -smart arses or not- that the language I speak at home is English.

Well I tell you, though both my parents have spent a considerable time outside the country, we always instil a sense of pride for being an Indonesian family.

In comparison to other so-called internationalised families in Indonesia (i.e. families whose parents are American or Europe-educated and choose to speak totally English and zero Bahasa Indonesia at home), we are very much prouder to speak our own mother tongue on everyday basis.

If you want to know how I could keep my English grammar and lexicon nearly intact since I left Singapore 20 months ago, it is due to the fact that I have a strong sense of discipline to myself to watch CNN and BBC regularly everyday.

I also shun the usage of English when conversing with fellow Indonesians: I consider it a haughty and inconsiderate attitude towards our own mother tongue.

But of course I always delight on the prospect of having a non-Indonesian desiring to converse in Indonesian with me, because this gives me a chance to promote the usage of Indonesian in this globalised world!

A tinge of chauvinism in this post doesn't hurt, I suppose.