In various local media, news spread widely that Mother Illiza (Mayor of Banda Aceh) forbade Pokemon Go. The reason is because it means 'I am Jewish'. This was obtained by the mother through various news related to the meaning of the word Pokemon which was shared with her through various online media.

I came to know about this reason after Mother later apologized to the public regarding her statement that forbids Pokemon Go. "Sorry if anyone offended Pokemon GO fans. I didn't mean anything, I commented that because of the many news that was shared with me about the meaning of Pokemon, "said the mother's request.

There is no point in exaggerating this matter. There is also no purpose to harass the Mother, let alone question the Mother's Indonesian spelling and grammar which in my opinion there are still many mistakes here and there. I am quite appreciative of his apology. Because we rarely find leaders who voluntarily apologize if they are wrong.

I very well remember reading an article about the meaning of the word Pokemon 3 months ago through an online media in Indonesia. This media quoted it from dailymirror. He said, in Iraq Pokemon cartoons were banned during the reign of Saddam Hussein.

Furthermore, the media explained that the ban was revealed through an Iraqi state document confiscated by American troops in 2004. The document said that the ban was carried out because of its negative meaning in the Syriac language (Syrian language) used by that country.

Still according to the document, Pokemon is said to be very similar to the same term in that language which if interpreted in Indonesian is 'I am Jewish'. Likewise with the characters Pikachu and Charmander. These two words respectively in Syriac mean 'Be a Jew' and 'God Is Weak'. That's why Saddam was "allergic" to the terms in this Pokemon cartoon that (still according to the document) he banned them to prevent Jewish influences from entering the nation's children and culture.

I think this is where the initial news spread that Pokemon means "I'm Jewish". As a result, some people are against this term because they hate Jews (perhaps).

Regardless of whether or not there is such a document or there is a “shrimp behind the dent” in the news by America, I try to find a common thread. I concluded later that there were some people who misunderstood the news. Either because I only heard from other people, just read the title, or misinterpreted it after reading it.

Mistakes like that are commonplace because there is no ivory that is not cracked. However, it is very unfortunate because it can cause extraordinary commotion among the people due to the birth of a misleading "fatwa" without crosschecking it first.

If it is true that Saddam Husein banned Pokemon from showing in his country for reasons as quoted by the online media, we need to be careful to understand that he banned it because the word which is almost the same form is also in his language. It's just that coincidence has a negative meaning. So, in this case Saddam Husein compares words produced by other countries (Japan as the country that produces Pokomen) with the language of his country.

Attempts to interpret a word between one language and another because the form is the same, but the meaning is actually different in language review is commonplace and does not need to be a problem as long as it does not produce misunderstandings, let alone blind faith.

In fact, many of the world's language vocabulary has the same shape as the vocabulary of other languages, but has a negative meaning, and it doesn't happen on purpose.

I remember exactly the largest car manufacturer in India, Tata Motors, changing the name of its newest car at that time, namely Zica. The reason, the name is similar to the name of a virus that is endemic in the United States. Likewise, the name of the Chevrolet Nova car made by General Motors was forced to be replaced when it was sold in Spanish-speaking countries because it meant "not working".

Likewise with the Mitsubishi Pajero. This car also does not sell well in Spanish-speaking countries because the Pajero in Spanish means 'lazy' or 'unreliable'. Even more ridiculous is the Mercedes Benz Vito. This car is guaranteed not to be sold in Sweden because "Vito" means 'female genitalia'.

So, because of the negative meaning of these words, many cars do not sell in the country of destination of the car manufacturer. All solely because of the negative meaning it carries. Perhaps there is a certain belief by the people who use the language if the car is purchased. Call it for example the Chevrolet Nova which means 'no way' or Pajero 'lazy'. People who use this language may believe that if purchased, this car will not run or be tough in the field. However, in fact we do not see that.

So, why did the car sell well in Indonesia, as well as in Aceh? Yes, of course because those words don't exist in our language. Now, after we know these names have negative meanings in Spanish, are we then reluctant to buy them or resell them to those who have already bought them? Of course not, not because these cars have proven to be tough in the field. Even if it is damaged or doesn't work, it's certainly not because of a negative meaning, but simply because of certain damage to the car.

There is a similarity in the form of a word in a language with another language, but it has a negative meaning, of course, not only in the languages ​​of the world. We also have our language.

Call it, for example, between the Acehnese language and the Gayo language. The Acehnese language has a utôh vocabulary which means 'builder'. However, when it is associated with the Gayo language, words that are almost the same in form and pronunciation have negative meanings in that language. So, because of its negative meaning in Gayo language, is it then forbidden to use the word utôh in the Acehnese language? Of course not not. The proof is that we still use it to this day and it doesn't need to be banned, it is said that it is again forbidden.

Such cases do not only occur between languages, but also within a language. Call it the word ipôk (Acehnese language used by some people in the south-west region). In the Acehnese language in this area, ipôk means 'pocket', but will be laughed at by some Acehnese speakers in the eastern region because of its negative meaning in the Acehnese dialect of that area. Because of this, users of the Acehnese language in the south-west region certainly don't have to bother looking for other words or force themselves to use balum which is considered to have the same meaning as ipôk and does not seem negative.

Likewise, the users of the Acehnese language in the eastern region. They certainly don't need to replace or use lumus to find another word for boh pik 'gambas' because of its negative meaning in the Acehnese language in the south-west region.

The same case also occurs in Indonesian. We don't need to complain about finding a substitute for my word with another pronoun because the origin of the word is from sahaya which means 'slave'. Likewise, looking for a substitute for the word champion because of its negative initial meaning, namely the activity of fighting cocks. Of course it's pointless and pointless.

Why did all that happen? The answer, of course, is that language has a close relationship with the culture of its speakers. The Acehnese language is very closely related to the culture of the Acehnese language user community itself. The same goes for the Spanish I mentioned above. This relationship, in my opinion, is one-way (only between the language and the user of that language). So, it can't be related to other people's cultures, which of course have different languages.

Indonesian language associated with the Suriani language certainly does not "fit" because of its culture. Likewise, the word Pokemon used by Japan will never be compatible with the Suriani language, especially with Indonesian. The Acehnese language associated with the Gayo language will also not be in sync, again because of the culture. It is inconceivable that quite a number of words must be replaced when two or more languages ​​are harmonized in meaning because of the same form and pronunciation. Even if it is forced, there will be a cultural clash that results in uproar in society. Therefore, be wise in language and understand the language. Remember, language can be a source of conflict if misused.