Bahasa Binan (or bahasa Béncong) is a distinctive
Indonesian speech variety originating from the
gay community. It has several regular patterns of
word formation
In linguistics, word formation is an ambiguous term that can refer to either:
* the processes through which words can change (i.e. morphology), or
* the creation of new lexemes in a particular language
Morphological
A common method of word form ...
and is documented in both writing and speech.
[
Boellstorf (2004): 248]
One pattern of word formation modifies standard Indonesian roots (normally composed of two syllables) to have ''e'' as the first vowel and ''ong'' closing the second syllable—hence providing regular
assonance
Assonance is the repetition of identical or similar phonemes in words or syllables that occur close together, either in terms of their vowel phonemes (e.g., ''lean green meat'') or their consonant phonemes (e.g., ''Kip keeps capes ''). However, in ...
with the standard Indonesian word ''bencong'' , a male homosexual,
trans woman
A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...
, or male crossdresser. Another word formation pattern adds -''in''-
infix
An infix is an affix inserted inside a word stem (an existing word or the core of a family of words). It contrasts with '' adfix,'' a rare term for an affix attached to the outside of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.
When marking text for ...
es to other Indonesian roots. The best example is the word ''binan'' itself, formed with the word ''banci'', "male transvestite", to which the -''in''- infix has been added and from which the second syllable ''-ci'' has been dropped. Bahasa Binan also uses a range of standard Indonesian words with altered meaning. The standard word for "cat", ''
kucing'', is used in Bahasa Binan to denote a male prostitute. Another word with wide currency in Bahasa Binan, but actually typical of standard Indonesian informal word formation, is ''waria'' from ''
wanita'' (woman) + ''
pria'' (man), meaning "
transvestite".
See also
*
Ablaut
*
Affix
In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. The main two categories are Morphological derivation, derivational and inflectional affixes. Derivational affixes, such as ''un-'', ''-ation' ...
*
Gayle
*
IsiNgqumo
*
Morpheme
A morpheme is any of the smallest meaningful constituents within a linguistic expression and particularly within a word. Many words are themselves standalone morphemes, while other words contain multiple morphemes; in linguistic terminology, this ...
*
Polari
Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...
*
:id:Betty Bencong Slebor (Indonesian Wikipedia)
*
:id:Joko Wiryanto Suwito (Indonesian Wikipedia)
Notes and references
Bibliography
*
Boellstorff, Tom (2007).
A coincidence of desires anthropology, queer studies, Indonesia''.
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...
.
* Boellstorf, Tom (2005).
The gay archipelago sexuality and nation in Indonesia.''
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...
.
*
*
* Boellstorff, Tom (2003).
"Authentic, of course!" gay language in Indonesia and cultures of belonging'. Chapter 7, pages 181–201 in William Leap, Tom Boellstorff (eds).
Speaking in queer tongues globalization and gay language''.
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...
.
* Offord, Baden and Leon Cantrell (2001). "Homosexual Rights as Human Rights in Indonesia". Pages 233–252 in Gerard Sullivan and Peter A. Jackson (eds).
Gay and lesbian Asia culture, identity, community''.
Haworth Press.
* TYO (2005).
Bahasa 'Binan' dan Trendi. ''
Lampung Post'' 23 January.
External links
GAYa NUSANTARA – official website of ''
GAYa Nusantara''
Gaya Nusantara–
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
subscription to ''GAYa Nusantara''
Bahasa Binan: Detik Forum – moderated open online forum for Bahasa Binan posts, hosted by
detikForum
Society of Indonesia
Languages of Indonesia
LGBTQ in Indonesia
LGBTQ argots
{{LGBTQ-stub