Language Miscomprehension of "Ngga"

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Overview

Language Miscomprehension of "Ngga" refers to a slang term from the Indonesian "Ngga" (originally "nggak") that means "no" in English. Online, it has been misinterpreted as an alternative to saying the N-word and caused controversies claiming that Indonesians are racist due to saying it.

Background

In January 2021, after Kristen Gray's Bali tweet got backlash from Indonesians due to an overstayed visa and controversies surrounding the gentrification of Bali island, many U.S. Twitter users who were involved with the feud accused Indonesian users for using racist slurs because they mistook the word "ngga" that many Indonesian users used in their tweets as the N-word. In reality, "ngga," originally "nggak," is a common slang word in Indonesian that means "no." For example, on January 18th, 2021, Twitter^[1] user @yodeesigner uploaded a tweet about people who mistook "ngga" as the N-word. The tweet received more than 15,700 likes and 4,100 retweets (shown below).

On March 10th, 2021, Urban Dictionary^[3] user saus-sambel added the definition of ngga as an "abbreviation for 'Nggak' and abbreviation for 'Enggak' is simple use for 'Tidak' or 'No' in English which usually used by mostly people in Indonesia for non-formal conversation" (shown below).

On April 20th, 2021, Twitter^[9] user @gappytyphoon uploaded a tweet that accused Indonesians of being racist by claiming "ngga" is a part of the N-word and an attempt to be slick. The tweet received just one like and 373 quote tweets. On the same day, Facebook^[2] user Raka Juliasya uploaded screenshots of @gappytyphoon's tweet before it got protected and deleted. The post received 270 reactions and 588 shares (shown below, both left and right).

Developments

In the following days, @gappytyphoon's tweet became popular in Indonesia with many Indonesian users protesting it and making memes about it. For example, on April 20th, 2021, Twitter^[4] user @Fxudgedilf uploaded a tweet that explained how ngga is not an N-word variation. The tweet received more than 1,170 retweets and 3,106 likes (shown below, left). On the same day, Facebook^[5] user Fadly uploaded a "You Better Watch Your Mouth" meme. The post received 205 reactions and 480 shares (shown below, right).

On April 22nd, 2021, Adventia Fade Ténèbres uploaded a "Is This a Pigeon?" meme to both his Facebook^[6] and Twitter^[7] that mocked the monolinguals thinking that ngga, as well as 내가 (Korean: naega, English: I), 那个 (Chinese: nà gè, English: "That/That One), and 逃げる (Japanese: nigeru, English: Runaway) that got the same miscomprehension as N-word. The post received more than 464 reactions, 1,800 shares, 1,200 retweets and more than 3,100 likes, respectively (shown below, left). On the same day, Malaysian Facebook^[8] page Harian Najisposting uploaded a modified "Yes Chad" meme. The post received 584 reactions and 762 shares (shown below, right).

Although numerous Indonesians already explained the misunderstood term, some Twitter users still denied it, with some even insulting Indonesian users for using it. For example, on April 20th, 2021, Twitter user @thyyholytrinity retweeted @yuuwoof's tweet while insulting the ancestors of Indonesians that were mixed with Japanese in the past. On the same day, Facebook^[10] user Piropiro Dambeldor uploaded @thyyholytrinity's screenshot tweet before it got protected. The post received 102 reactions and 296 shares (shown below, left). On April 22nd, 2021, Twitter^[11] user @Akatsuki_Shin04 uploaded @telepathy_soty's retweet, insulting him though he explained what ngga meant. The tweet received 43 retweets and 332 likes (shown below, right).