Bahasa Binan Explained
Bahasa Binan (or bahasa Béncong) is a distinctive Indonesian speech variety originating from the gay community. It has several regular patterns of word formation and is documented in both writing and speech.[1] 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 with the standard Indonesian word bencong in Malay pronounced as /ˈbɛntʃɔŋ/, a male homosexual, trans woman, or male crossdresser. Another word formation pattern adds -in- infixes 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
Bibliography
- Boellstorff, Tom (2007). A coincidence of desires: anthropology, queer studies, Indonesia. Duke University Press.
- Boellstorf, Tom (2005). The gay archipelago: sexuality and nation in Indonesia. Princeton University Press.
- Boellstorff . Tom . 2004 . Gay language and Indonesia: registering belonging . https://web.archive.org/web/20070218081441/http://www.anthro.uci.edu/faculty_bios/boellstorff/Boellstorff-JLA.pdf . dead . 2007-02-18 . . 14 . 2 . 248–268 . 10.1525/jlin.2004.14.2.248 . 145251816 .
- Boellstorff . Tom . 2004 . Playing Back the Nation: Waria, Indonesian Transvestites . https://archive.today/20130105102400/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120178780/abstract . dead . 2013-01-05 . . 19 . 2. 159–195 . 10.1525/can.2004.19.2.159 . 54753840 .
- 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.
- 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
Notes and References
- Boellstorf (2004): 248
