Originally Posted by
injian
Yes I’m curious about the Tamil language as well. Lost in translation?
OK. I apologize that I've used wrong word.
Actually I don't have any sentiment about Tamil language.
What I mean is, there are some criteria about what languages should be used in public signage.
Chinese, Japanese, Korean. These people understand almost no English, but they do travel to all parts of the world, especially growing number of Chinese tourists. That's why many airports install signs on these languages.
French people are so proud of their languages, making them don't have strong desire to learn English or other languages. I don't know exactly about how often French people travel especially to Indonesia and other Asian countries, but I've seen French people here in my country at least 10 times.
This also applies for Spanish language, the 3rd most-spoken language in the world.
Tamil? It's declared as official language only in Singapore and its native homeland, Tamil Nadu state in India. Then as a British legacy in India, generally Indian people can speak basic English. As far as I know, number of Indian visitors to Indonesia, especially from Tamil Nadu, is lower than tourists from China, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, etc. I really rarely listen people speaking Tamil in Jakarta and other regions in India. Even around 10,000 Tamil people in Medan today generally speak Bahasa Indonesia at home and don't speak Tamil anymore, unlike their Tamil brothers and sisters in Malaysia and Singapore who still preserve their native language.
I think what Angkasa Pura II (the operator of Jakarta's international airport) do is only copying similar signs in Changi Airport's water fountains, without considering what languages should be used in Jakarta's airport.
But if most people don't have any problem about it, fine.