Since the 1960s Australia has been an important centre for the study of Indonesian language and culture. Indonesian has been popular both in our primary and secondary schools, and at the tertiary level where it is one of the ‘big three’ Asian languages, together with Japanese and Chinese. So why do students choose to study Indonesian? Consider the following:
Strategic Importance
Indonesia is one of the largest and most diverse countries in the world. With over 220 million people and more than eighteen thousand islands linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans it is of great environmental, cultural, political, and economic interest to the countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Communication
While industry and government agencies need to secure thousands of professionals to work across these diverse fields there has been a clear shortage of professionals with the appropriate communications skills in Indonesian. This means that it has often been left up to the Indonesians to acquire the linguistic and cultural knowledge required for an efficient workplace.
Personal Development
Ultimately language study can not just be about the work place, you need to personally engage with a new culture and understand more about your own. Language study therefore is also about the pure enjoyment and inspiration of entering another culture, journeying into someone else’s world. You may explore Indonesia ‘s theatre, literature, music, and cinema or you might like to follow interests in politics and religion.
Latest News
Monash University’s Translation and Interpreting Studies section scales new heights. The Translation and Interpreting Studies section is proud to announce they have been accepted as full members of CIUTI (Conférence Internationale d’Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes), the oldest and most prestigious international association of universities offering degrees in translation and interpreting. There are only 39 ... Read more- A project originally initiated through the German Program of the Faculty of Arts at Monash has finally come to fruition, following the recent signing of an agreement on the establishment of a Joint Award PhD Program between Monash Arts and Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Philosophy and Humanities. Read more
