Indonesian Cultural Interference Against the Use of Sumimasen

Abstract

In the process of learning a foreign language, it is necessary to understand the culture of it. It is useful to know the views or mindset where the foreign language is originated. The lack of knowledge about the culture which the foreign language originated will lead to interference of the learners' natural cultures toward the use of the foreign language they learn. For example, the word sumimasen in Japanese which is used by Japanese culture has many meanings and it is used in various contexts of conversation. Therefore, the aim of this research is to examine the interference of Indonesian culture toward the use of the word sumimasen. The method of this research is qualitative approach. The data were obtained by distributing questionnaires to students of Literature Study Program. The data analysis was done by collecting and tabulating answers from questionnaires, then formulated and described using sentences briefly. The results showed that interference is found in the use of the word sumimasen which functions as a gratitude marker or a "thank you" sign. It is because of the difference concepts of 'thank you' meaning in Indonesian culture which contains no remorse.