Pertama atau Kesatu

Ordinal numbers in Indonesian are signified by the prefix ke~ before the number. For example:

First = Kesatu

1st = Ke-1

Second = Kedua

2nd = Ke-2

Third = Ketiga

3rd = Ke-3...and so on.

I have often heard or read that for 1st / First, you should never use ‘ke-1/ kesatu; you must use the word pertama.

This is not true. Instances of kesatu can be found quite easily if we are prepared to look. In particular, official documents, where we would expect to encounter only proper standard Indonesian (bahasa baku) often use kesatu rather than pertama. See for example this document:

Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana (KUHP)


Buku Kesatu - Aturan Umum

http://www.jsmp.minihub.org/English/webpage/reso/KUHP%20indo..pdf

As for teaching kesatu, it is obviously a legitimate and currently-used alternative for pertama. However, it most often appears when a more striclty numerical order is implied, such as lists of chapters in a book - Bab Kesatu, Bab Kedua, Bab Ketiga and so on. Pertama, on the other hand, seems to have a more 'organic' primeness to it, giving the element it represents a sense of special place or prime importance - Hal yang pertama, hal yang kedua, etc.

So I tell my students that it is ok to use it in things such as ordered, itemised lists, but that pertama is far more frequently used in general. Not only that, but many Indonesians, especiallly those who are unaware of the validity of kesatu will probably think it a little strange.

Some examples of kesatu in use appear at the bottom of this post.


So where did pertama come from?

Pertama, whose Javanese equivalent (though not used in ordinal numbers) is pratama (pron: pratomo) comes from Sanskrit. It is actually made up of a root pra followed by a suffix ~tama. A quick glance at some Sanskrit grammars online suggests that this suffix ~tama provides an ordinal quality to whatever root it is attached to. So pratama means ‘in the prime position’, ‘in first position’ thus its Indonesian use for ‘First’; Sanskrit saptama means 'seventh' and so on.

The same appears to apply to the Indonesian word utama which is borrowed from the Sanskrit uttama. Again we see the suffix ~tama giving an ordinal quality meaning roughly in the highest position, or most important position. Hence the Indonesian use of utama meaning ‘main’.

Further examples of kesatu in use:

"Menurut kaidah Freemasonry Yahudi, ada tiga jenis manusia di dunia ini, satu, mereka yang mengamati ke mana arah peristiwa berjalan; kedua, mereka yang bingung melihat peristiwa berjalan; dan ketiga, mereka yang tidak pernah mengerti ke mana dan mengapa suatu peristiwa berjalan. Sebagian besar kita termasuk kategori kedua dan ketiga, sedangkan Usamah bin Ladin jenis yang kesatu." (ZA Maulani, Mantan Kepala BAKIN)


Emphasis mine. From the sidebar of this page:

http://unseenhands.wordpress.com/about/

And - (which also happens to be a nice piece of Indonesian animation)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEN2xPucJkE

And -

Prediksi UNAS SMP Bahasa Indonesia 2011/2012

http://www.banksoal.sebarin.com/download/file/2011/11/prediksi1-bind-smp.pdf

question 5:

"Cinta bagi ruh laksana makanan bagi tubuh. Jika engkau tinggalkan, akan membahayakan. Jika engkau lebihkan akan membinasakan. Namun, jika engkau sucikan akan membahagiakan.


Dalam paragraf tersebut hubungan perbandingan terdapat dalam kalimat...

a. kesatu (emphasis mine...)

b. kedua

c. ketiga

d. keempat
...

14. Anda penggemar lukisan? Kalau ya, tentu Anda telah mengenal pelukis terkenal Pablo Picaso. Selama kurun waktu 75 tahun, ia sudah mencipta lebih dari 20.000 lukisan. Pokoknya, Pablo Picaso tak syak lagi seorang seniman serba bisa yang sulit dicarikan bandingnya.

Fakta terdapat pada kalimat...

a. kesatu (emphasis mine)

b. kedua

c. ketiga

d. keempat

-------------------------