Adverbials of manner with dengan and secara (“dengan cepat”, secara formal, etc). We can show how an action is done by using ‘dengan’ with an adjective. Examples:
Mereka bebas.
They are free.
Minuman keras dijual dengan bebas.
Alcohol is sold freely.
Jawaban itu jelas.
That answer is clear.
Dia menjawab pertanyaan itu dengan jelas.
He answered that question clearly.
With many adjectives, we can use ‘secara’ instead of ‘dengan’. So, for example:
Minuman keras dijual secara bebas.
Alcohol is sold in a free way, i.e. freely.
Dia menjawab pertanyaan itu secara jelas.
He answered that question in a clear way, i.e. clearly
But with most adjectives, ‘dengan’ is more common. * And with some adjectives ‘dengan’ is strongly preferred. For example, ‘secara’ would be unusual with marah, manis etc below:
menjawab dengan marah (answer angrily)
duduk dengan manis (sit nicely)
menyanyi dengan gembira (sing cheerfully)
tiba dengan selamat (arrive safely)
menunggu dengan sabar (wait patiently)
So as a rough rule, it is safer to use ‘dengan’ rather than secara with adjectives.
There is one large exception to that principle. Adjectives that are borrowed from Western languages and resemble English words tend to use ‘secara’ instead. So we would tend to say:
diperiksa secara rutin (be inspected routinely)
bersaing secara global (compete globally)
belajar secara formal (study formally)
diadakan secara nasional (be held nationally)
Most speakers accept ‘dengan’ with such western adjectives too.*
‘Secara’, unlike ‘dengan’, can be followed by a noun. Examples:
Mereka harus ditindak secara hukum. [hukum: law]
They should be dealt with legally, i.e. by law
Dia sering bergaul dengan orang yang berbeda secara budaya. [budaya: culture]
She often mixes with people who are culturally different.
