Acronyms and Indonesia

If you have ever read an English language Indonesian newspaper or watched the television you will no doubt have seen the initials representing a government body or an area in Indonesia. These are acronyms and Indonesians love them!.

An acronym is where words are formed taking the initial letter of other words. Here is an example for you - Jateng: formed from two words 'Java' and 'Tengah' and means Central Java. Get the idea?.

When I was studying Bahasa Indonesia al those years ago,I knew what North was - Utara, South was Selatan, West being Barat and East being Timur, but the penny never dropped as far as shortening the actual word and adding an area to it. I cursed myself for being so stupid!.

Here is the link to an excellent site that gives you the complete list of acronyms used by the Government bodies in Indonesia and also a few more extra.

Now, you can never be confused again when you are travelling around Indonesia!.