Among Cina, China, Chinese, Tiongkok, and Tionghoa

Yes, we need to know the proper use of the terms...xie xie.ciayo!

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Confused? It is understandable. No confusion? It’s unacceptable. Hahaha.lol...sorry, just kidding. I understand if a few of us still could not grasp the idea related to the title. Maybe any of you will think that nothing special about it.

However, perhaps many people will think differently. They might look at serious substance there and try to pay special attention to the concern. Whatever the reason is, I will elaborate and share what I know regarding the problems.

My final reason for writing this article is as we still have no standardization in employing those five terms above (Cina, China, Chinese, Tiongkok, and Tionghoa). It is our tendency to apply the terms incorrectly, not suitable to the agreement as listed in our “holy” language dictionary, the Indonesian Language Dictionary (KBBI=Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia) as a reference. We need to know the proper employment for them.

“The best point is people understand what we mean, need and want. That is it,” said several people as a response when other people asked why they misused the words Cina, China, Chinese, Tiongkok, and Tionghoa in their utterances. 

Well, it is true when they claim that communication is a matter of delivering mutual understanding among societies. But, it is not as simple as that. We should know the correct ones. Do not blame others for something that we don’t know. We need to learn to reduce our lack of information. 

As preliminary information, I would describe the origin of the words Cina, China, Chinese, Tiongkok, and Tionghoa based on KBBI, John M. Echols and Hassan Shadily’s Kamus Inggris-Indonesia and AS Hornby’s Oxford Advanced Dictionary of Current English. 

From the KBBI I may say the word Cina means a country in Asia (the place), Tiongkok. Meanwhile, the word China itself discontinues in KBBI. In Kamus Inggris-Indonesia the word China means Tiongkok, written as Cina. The other meaning of China is object dealing with glassware, porcelain, etc. From the same dictionary, I could explain that the word Chinese has a meaning which connects to Tionghoa/Cina, the people. 

So, how about Tiongkok and Tionghoa? No notes or explanations regarding the terms in the KBBI. Nonetheless, as a writer, I will write my conclusion from the explanation above. To conclude, I can say Tiongkok means the country (Cina) while Tionghoa equals the people (Chinese). 

Then, what is the urgency of being aware of those differences? The point is our consistency in using the terms appropriately, both in spoken and written form. KBBI is the source or reference. We should not underestimate the issue. 

We shall read/pronounce and write Cina in the same form, not China in the written form, but Caina in the spoken form. We need to manage the effect of English pronunciation to our Indonesian language. To the media---printed or electronic--- please, be advisable to this matter. 

But, anyway, to avoid using the term Cina and China incorrectly, I suggest we apply Tiongkok to state the country and Tionghoa for the people. Due to the issue, former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered it years ago. It will be clearer for anybody.

Let us start using the correct and appropriate Bahasa Indonesia.