Nama : Ni Luh Putu Gopika Jayanthi

Kelas : XK
No Undi : 12
Tema : Bahasa Jati Diri Bangsa

Our Language, Our Identity

Om Swastyastu.

Good morning to our honorable judges, all respected participants of this speech contest, and
everyone here today. I hope you guys are doing great today. Firstable, I would like to give my
thanks and regard to Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, it is because of him we are all able to
attend this contest today. And I would like to thank the judges for allowing me to stand here
and deliver my speech in this contest.

Ladies and gentlemen, everyone here must be familiar with the word "language". How could
we not? Language is the tool that we use to communicate with each other. Our language is
our identity. Today, I am Ni Luh Putu Gopika Jayanthi from the 10 K class would like to
deliver my speech titled "Our Language, Our Identity".

Ladies and gentlemen, Indonesia is a rich country. Rich in natural resources, culture,
languages, and many more. Because of that, we have a lot of differences with each other. So,
how do we get along with each other if we have so many differences? Let me tell you a bit of
the history behind it.

A hundred years ago, Indonesia was not yet a unified state. However, after feeling the same
fate, on October 28, 1928, Indonesia finally declared 3 oaths that became the forerunner of
the unification of the Indonesian state. We called that event as "Hari Sumpah Pemuda". The
third oath reads, "Kami putra dan putri Indonesia menjunjung bahasa persatuan, Bahasa
Indonesia.". This means, our language is one of the most important tools to unify our country.
You should understand how important our language is by now.

Ladies and gentlemen, to persuade you more let me tell you a story about my experience.
When I was in elementary school, I had a friend who was a transfer student. Without much
thought, all of my classmates surrounded her and asked her to get to know each other. Most
of us use Balinese to talk, so we asked her in Balinese. But there was something wrong, she
only nodded and looked confused.
We asked her, "Are you from Denpasar?", she nodded. When we asked her, "What is your
name?", she nodded. When we asked, "Why did you get transferred here?", she nodded.
When we asked her "Are you stupid?" once again, she nodded. After some times, finally she
spokes to us in her accent, "Maaf sebelumnya, tapi aku gak ngerti yang kalian bicarakan".
She told us that she didn't understand what we were talking about. We thought she was a
Balinese person, but she was transferred from Java. We were stunned and confused about
how to speak to her, and then one of my classmates talked to her in Indonesian. She looked so
relieved after that. Since that day, I have understood that Bahasa Indonesia can help us to
communicate with someone from another place in Indonesia.

Ladies and gentlemen Bahasa Indonesia has many roles. By using Bahasa Indonesia, we can
know that we are one nation, the Indonesian nation. That is why, Indonesian is usually called
the language of unity. Indonesian is one of the characteristics that distinguish us from other
nations. That is why, Bahasa Indonesia is called the identity of the nation. Indonesian is a
place for us to express ourselves through literary works, as well as how to communicate.

Unfortunately, Bahasa Indonesia is becoming more and more erased than its original rules,
especially with globalization. More people are using slang to look cool, rather than using
Bahasa Indonesia. Many also prefer slang words from other countries rather than using
Bahasa Indonesia. For example, they often use the words "on the way", "ngab", "bacot",
"misqueen", "jujurly", and many more.

Using slang is not completely bad, I often use such words too. However, please use the slang
in the right place, don't use it for people who are respected such as teachers and officials. And
please don't forget the Bahasa Indonesia as our identity. If there is no Bahasa Indonesia, then
we lose the tools to communicate with each other. We will lose our identity as Indonesians.
So let's preserve Bahasa Indonesia. Let's cherish and appreciate it, use it properly, and not use
too much slang. Because our language is our identity.

This is the end of my speech. I hope you learned something new today and enjoyed it. Thank
you for your attention and have a nice day.

Om, Santhi Santhi Santhi, Om.