(or ''4L4Y'', ', ''Anak Jablay'' or ', ) is an Indonesian

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

phenomenon.Kasali, Rhenald. 2011. ''Cracking Zone''. Jakarta: Gramedia. Hal. 71. It is a

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

describing something "tacky" (') and/or "cheesy" ('). The Alay culture phenomena spans a wide array of styles in music, dress, and messaging. It has often been compared to that of the Jejemon phenomenon originating from the Philippines, and Harajuku from Japan. Although, the former emerged much later and the latter was even admired in the West.The Jakarta Post
/ref>

Etymology

The word "Alay" or "Alayen" or "Sharon Alay" has no exact meaning or obvious derivation. Various definitions of alay are offered. One theory that is widely accepted is that "Alay" comes from the term "" (

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

: Kiteflyer), a pejorative describing someone having certain attributes from spending most of their time outside and getting sunburnt (e.g. reddened hair and skin). Kites are also considered as cheap entertainment to the middle and lower class in modern Indonesia, stereotyping alay as a part of that class.

Characteristics

Writing style

' (Indonesian: Tulisan alay) is a form of the Indonesian language that has undergone "excessive leet transformation". Contrary to the popular belief that it is "destroying" the national language, grammatical standards are met in contrast to the modern

Indonesian slang Indonesian slang ( id, bahasa gaul, bew, basa gaul), or informal Indonesian language ( id, bahasa informal, bahasa sehari-hari) is a term that subsumes various vernacular and non-standard styles of expression used throughout Indonesia that are n ...

language. Similar to the jejebets, alay texts offer an alternative in compressing words so that they are under the 160 character-limit in text messages, often to the point that they are impossible to read. Rules in capitalization are mostly ignored. Alay text may have originated from the method of making strong passwords for internet accounts, which requires combinations of small and capital letters, numbers, as well as special characters. Normally, to keep the password meaningful and easy to remember, the password would consist of normal words, where some letters are capitalized or substituted with numbers (e.g. the letter a with 4, the letter o with 0). Soon this becomes a habit in writing text in general, and improved with mixing English and

in one sentence. Confusing text that could not be understood properly and probably has no meaning (except for the writer), is also considered as Alay Text. This type of text usually contains information of the writer's mood and feelings, it is also common for the text to contain the writer's own philosophy on certain topics such as love, heart break, and relationships. According to '' The Jakarta Post'', a high school student from East Java initiated the trend and became famous after her writings were discussed in forums and blogs not because they were great, but they were in "code". Her approach in writing attracted much attention, with some people reproducing her writings in forums and blogs.

References

{{Internet Dialects Counterculture Internet slang Culture of Indonesia Indonesian words and phrases

Etymology

Characteristics

Writing style

See also

References