Dewan Banasa dan Pustaka Brunei (Language and Literature Council, DBP) is Brunei's central national agency dedicated to the development of language and literature in the country.

The official date of its creation is considered to be September 16, 1961, when the Language Committee was founded, which was later renamed the Department of Language and Literature of the Department of Education1 . The current name (effective January 1, 1965) was intended to emphasize the role of the DBP in promoting the Malay language, which was declared the official language of the State under article 82 (1) of the 1959 Constitution of Brunei ^.2 Over the 40 years of its existence, DBP has grown from a modest committee to the Sultanate's largest research and publishing center. It now employs more than a hundred specialists who carry out unique work to preserve and develop the Bruneian version of the Malay Language3 and literature, to translate the best examples of world literature into Malay, to prepare and publish dictionaries and encyclopedic publications.

The legislative basis for the Language and Literature Council's activities is the Government's decision, according to which the DBP is part of the Ministry of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports as an autonomous body. DBP is not only responsible for the development of language and literature, but also for the preservation and development of culture in general. The first director of the Council was a prominent Brunei scholar Awang Mohamad Jamil (until 1977).

DBP has thirteen divisions-departments: administrative and operational, linguistics, research, textbook preparation, journal preparation, public relations, training and retraining of personnel, information technology, publishing, planning, reference and bibliographic (library) ⁴ . The Council's activities are fully funded by the State.

The most important activity of DBP is the development and enrichment of the national language. This task became particularly urgent after the Sultan of Brunei issued Circular No. 4/65 in 1965, which recommended that all government agencies switch to Malay in official correspondence. In practical terms, this goal is also realized through the organization of "language months", discussions and seminars, and broadcasts on Brunei Radio. At the same time, the task was set to expand the lexical capabilities of the language by creating new terminology so that it could effectively play the role of a national and official language in the state apparatus, in the education system, in science and technology.

DBP played a significant role in the introduction of a new, unified Malay orthography in 1972, together with Indonesia and Malaysia, and since 1984 it has been working together with similar agencies in these countries to unify the terminology of various Malay variants. As a result, the MABBIM ⁵ trilateral Council was created . By holding meetings twice a year, it was able to agree on thousands of terms that are regularly published in magazines and newspapers, as well as in the form of compilations6 .

DBP has also made a huge contribution to the development of lexicography in Brunei. In 1991, he published an explanatory dictionary of the Bruneian version of the Malay language "Kamus Bahasa Melayu Brunei" ⁷ . This dictionary has gone through several editions and has served as the basis for many other lexicographic works, including educational dictionaries and thesaurus dictionaries.

DBP pays great attention to the development of literature, preserving the legacy of the past and encouraging young talents. For this purpose, work is being carried out on recording oral folk art, on preparing anthologies and scientific publications of masterpieces of Brunei classics, seminars, conferences, competitions for the best poetic and prose work are organized. The Council works closely with the National Association of Writers on this issue

page 162

Astravani ⁸ . In collaboration with DBP, the talent of such prominent writers and poets of Brunei as A. Lehman Ahmad, Muslim Burmat, K. Mania, Abdul Latif, Salleh Abd has blossomed. Latif et al.

DBP is not only a research organization, but also the largest publishing center in the country, publishing dozens of titles of books annually, as well as most textbooks in Malay. DBP also publishes magazines: "Beriga" (scientific); "Banana", "Pangsura" (literary); "Mekar" (children's).

The Brunei Culture Committee has been operating under the DBP since 1971. Its goal is to preserve existing and revive forgotten folk art forms ⁹ . First of all, we mean folk dances (alus jua dindang-wedding dance; samalindang-graceful dance of beauty; anding rimba - trance dance; aduk-aduk-dance imitating the techniques of the national martial arts silat; adai-adai - dance of fishermen; jipin-dance with an Arabic flavor such as slow cha-cha-cha; benari-paired with the singing of quatrains-pantuns; alai sekap - dance with bamboo sticks), recitative singing (diangdangan) and playing traditional musical instruments (gulintangan-a set of ten small messengers; canang - a type of gong; umpung - bamboo flute; gambus - lute; gandang labik, gandang sadaman - local varieties reels) ¹⁰ .

DBP Library is a unique collection of books on Malay language and literature, with more than 100 thousand volumes, 200 titles of magazines and newspapers, hundreds of microfilms and microfiche. Currently, computer technology is widely used. In essence, this library serves as a national library, with branches in Kuala Belait, Seria, Tutong and Bangar, as well as an extensive network of libraries.

DBP maintains active contacts with many research and scientific institutions abroad, and invites foreign specialists to implement literary and linguistic projects on a contract basis. One of the most notable projects in the field of cooperation with countries other than MABBIM is the establishment of the Southeast Asian Literature Council (MASTER) in 1995, consisting of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, with the cooperation of Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. ¹¹

notes

^{Muhammad Abdul Latiff.} 1 Suatu Pengenalan Sejarah Kesusasteraan Melayu Brunei. Bandar Seri Begawan: DBP. 1985. Hal. 70.

² Cenderamata Kenangan Upacara Meletakkaan Batu Asas DBP. Bandar Seri Begawan: DBP. 1965. Hal. 31.

³ Recently, Malay has been considered a "supranational" language with several national variants: Malay or Malaysian (bahasa Melayu/Malaysia) in Malaysia, Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia) in Indonesia, Bruneian Malay (Bahasa Melayu Brunei) in Brunei, and Malay (bahasa Melayu) in Singapore (Majlis Antarabangsa Bahasa Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: DBP. 2000. Hal. 10). The views of Russian scientists are close to this point of view. For example, lexicographer R. N. Korigodsky defines modern Malay as a supranational social and communicative system, the subsystems of which are national variants of Malay in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei ( R. N. Korigodsky et al. Bolshoy ekzesiysko-russkiy slovar ' [Big Indonesian-Russian Dictionary], edited by R. N. Korigodsky, vol. 1, Moscow: Russian Language, 1990, p. 5)

⁴ http://brunei.sultanate.com/

⁵ MABBIM abr. от Majlis Bahasa Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia. It was created on December 29, 1972, initially as part of Indonesia and Malaysia (called MABBIM). Brunei joined on 23 May 1985. The 40th meeting of the Council was held in March 2001. Prizes were awarded to the best lexicographers of the three countries on the occasion of their 25th anniversary, which was celebrated in 1997. From Brunei, they were awarded to Ahmad Qadi (b. 1937), Awang Haji Abdul Majid (b.1946) and Awang Haji Abdul Ghani (b. 1956).

⁶ To date, three collections of agreed terms have been prepared: Daftar Istilah MABBIM Jil-id I (1974-1985); Daftar Istilah MABBIM Jilid II (1985-1992); and Daftar Istilah MABBIM Jilid III (1992-1997). In addition, the General Indonesian - Malaysian - Malay-Brunei Dictionary of Words and Expressions (Kamus Kata dan Ungkapan Am Bahasa Indonesia-Malaysia - Melayu Brunei) was published in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in 1988.

⁷ Kamus Bahasa Melayu Brinei. Bandar Seri Begawan: DBP, 1991.

page 163

⁸ Asterawani abr. from Angkatan Sasterawan dan Sasterawati-Union of Writers and Women Writers. It was established in July 1962 on the initiative of local writers, including Maha Husin, Adi Marhaen, Mahadi R. S., Muhammad Fitah, Muslim Burmat, Samad Kahar, Nor Insan.

⁹ Penubuhan Baban Kebudayaan // Bahana. N 21, Bandar Seri Begawan. 1973.

^{Muhammad Abdul Latiff.} 10 Suatu Pengenalan Sejarah Kesusasteraan Melayu Brunei. Bandar Sen Begawan: DBP.1985. Hal. 77.

¹¹ MASTERA abr. from Majlis Sastera Asia Tenggara. The Declaration of Establishment was signed on 25 August 1995 at the International Congress on the Malay Language in Kuala Lumpur. The opening ceremony took place on August 12, 1996. The Council conducts workshops for writers and poets (three workshops were held in 1997, 1998, 1999 - all in Bogor, Indonesia), implements projects for the study of literature, and compiles anthologies of works in Malay. Since 1999, the best writers have been awarded the "MASTERS" awards. H. O. Baharuddin received the Brunei Prize in 1999 for his collection of poems "Episodes from the Life of Si Awang".

Permanent link to this publication: