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Appendix: Guide to Pronunciation.

 

It's not very difficult to pronounce bahasa Indonesia in a way that it's understood by even those who never come into contact with foreigners. Remember to keep it simple. Certain sounds we use in English and European languages do not occur in Indonesian at all. Unfortunately, those of us who have grappled with French, Spanish and German are often tempted to pronounce the word as it may sound in another language. For example, selamat datang ("welcome") does not rhyme with the well-known orange-like juice that accompanied astronauts into space. It also is pronounced with only about four discernible syllables, not five.

 

With this simple guide, the novice speaker of Indonesian should be able to avoid most of the traps of basic communication.

 

RULES

 

Most letters have only one pronunciation thereby avoiding the problems of English in which we are forced to memorize when an "a" is long (fall), short (fat), or some other manifestation (fate). That's one reason the bahasa Indonesia approximations to foreign words often appear strange at first sight--"bureau" becomes biro--but then you realize the Indonesian spelling is much more logical.

 

The only letter that has two distinct pronounciations is "e". Usually it is pronounced as an "uh" sound, like "a" in "sofa". Sometimes it takes on an "ay" sound like "a" in "make". Common words using the "ay" sound are besok (tomorrow), merah (red) and restoran. Sometimes, the "e" is hardly pronounced (selamat becomes slamat).

 

One of the main pitfalls in pronunciation is the use of the letter "c" in bahasa Indonesia. The letter "c" is always pronounced as "ch" in "check". Another hazard is that "ngg" is a very different sound from "ng". See the Pronunciation Guide below for more details.

 

There is a slightly accented syllable that is either the last or next to last depending upon which book you believe. In my experience, Jakartans try to put the emphasis on the last syllable. For example, asking for em-ping' will likely get you a bowl of crispy chips. Asking, on the other hand, for em'-ping will get you a blank stare. When in doubt, try to pronounce the word monotonically--no emphasis is better than a wrong one.

 

A "k" at the end of a word is pronounced as a glottal stop and if you don't know what that is, you're better off ignoring the terminating "k" altogether. The honorific Pak ("Mister" or "Father") sounds altogether unpleasant when pronounced like "pack", "pock", or the Bonanza standard "Pa". In actual fact, it's more like the sound you make when trying to blow a floating feather in someone else's direction.

 

A double "a" as in maaf ("excuse me") is pronounced with a slight glottal stop between the vowels. You can get away with a slight pause (like ma af) but never simply maf.

 

In bahasa Indonesia, some consonants ("b", "p", "t", "d", "v") have much softer sounds. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between "b" and "d", "p" and "t", etc.

 

 

 

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

 

Vowels

 

Spelling

Example

Description

a

apa

always a long a as in "father" (never "bad"or "bang")

e

bécak

like a in "make"

e

ke,empat

like a in "sofa"

i

pagi,itu

like ee in "see" but shorter (never like "hit" or "hike")

o

kopi

like aw in "law", but shorter

u

susu

like oo in "food", but shorter

 

Diphthongs

 

Spelling

Example

Description

ai

pandai

somewhere between "pay" and "pie"

au

tembakau

like ow in "now"

oi

amboi

like oy in "boy"

oe

Soeharto

old spelling, still used in names, pronounced as oo in "food"

ua

uang

like "wa" in "Walla-walla, Washington"

 

Consonants (the easy part)

 

Spelling

Example

Description

b

bawah

same as b in "bungle" but spoken more softly. At the end of a word may be more of a soft p.

c

bicara

similar to ch in "church"

d

duduk

like d in "bed". At the end of a word may sound more like a soft t

dj

djarum

old spelling still used in names, pronounced like j in "jump"

f

foto

like f in "fan"

g

garpu

like g in "dog"

h

hari

similar to h in "hope"

j

jalan

like j in "jump"

j

djaja

old spelling still used in names, like y in "yard"; look for other old spelling clues in the name (like oe, dj)

k

kabar

like k in "kite" when not at the end of a word. At the end of a word, pronounced like a soft g or glottal stop.

kh

akhir

like clearing your throat or German "ach"

l

lima

similar to l in "like"

m

minta

like m in "main"

n

nama

like n in "noon"

ny

nyamuk

like ny in "canyon"

ng

dengan

like ng in "singer" (not "finger", that requires ngg)

ngg

tunggu

like ng in "finger" (not "singer")

p

pukul

similar to p in "pool" but without the puff of air

q

      

is not used much in Indonesian words but does come up in Arabic words used in Indonesia (for example, Istiqlal). When it occurs, qu is pronounced as qu in "queen".

r

kiri

like a softly trilled Scottish or German r. Never a hard American, Australian or Canadian r.

s

selamat

similar to s in "seven"

t

tujuh

like t in "let" but without the plosive quality (it's sometimes difficult to differentiate between spoken t, p and d)

tj

Tjoakroaminoto

old spelling still used in names, pronounced like ch in "church"

v

visa

rarely used, like v in "visa" but softer

w

awas

between w in "wane" and v in "vane"

x

       

not used. In foreign words, often replaced with ks as in taksi.

y

yang

like y in you

z

zat

like z in "zone", often replaced with, and pronounced like s

 

 

 

Guide to Pronunciation of Indonesian

 

You will need to LISTEN (to your teacher, and to the tapes when available) to really pronounce Indonesian correctly, but the following guide will give you a rough idea how to sound words out. Unlike English, Indonesian is relatively consistent in matching sounds to spellings, but there are some exceptions to this, and there are several sounds that are tricky for English- speakers.

 

Vowels

 

a like a in father

datang, nama

elike u in but  OR*

selamat, senang

ebetween the e in let and the a in late

es, sore

i like ee in feet

pagi, siang

o between the aw in saw and the oe in toe

kopi, orang

u like oo in boot

buku, duduk**

ai like ie in tie

baik, sampai***

au like ow in how

mau, saudara****

 

*NOTE: There is no rule to know which way to pronounce e in a particular word without hearing it first; your teacher will give you the correct pronunciation as you go along.

 

**the u in the second syllable of duduk sounds more like the oo in book)

 

***the ai in sampai is often pronounced ay as in day, especially in Java

 

****the au in saudara is often pronounced oe as in toe)

 

In other cases where two vowels are not separated by a consonant, just put the two vowel sounds together: siapa = si apa, etc. When a vowel is repeated, put a glottal stop (= the catch in your throat when you say "uh-oh!") between the vowels: maaf = ma-af.

 

Consonants:

 

I. Consonants pronounced very much as in English:

 

b as in bed

bahasa, mobil

d as in dad

duduk, saudara

f as in feel

foto, maaf

g as in good

guru, pagi NEVER as in giant

l as in lap

lagi, selamat

m as in man

malam, selamat

n as in nap

Natal, tahun ALSO SEE ng, ny, below

s as in see

siang, kelas NEVER as in boys

w as in well

wayang, kawan NEVER as in where

y as in yell

yang, Yogyakarta

 

II. Consonants pronounced somewhat differently than in English:

 

j like the dy in Goodyear

jumpa, saja

k like the k in skate

kopi, es krim*

p like the p in spot

pagi, apa*

t like the t in stop

tas, itu*

 

*k, p, and t DO NOT have the puff of air they have in such English words as kill, put, and tap.

 

**NOTE: When k comes at the END of a word, the sound is cut off sharply (like the glottal stop mentioned above): baik, becak

 

ng like the ng in singer

mengerti, senang

 

**NOTE: ng alone does NOT have the "hard" g, as in finger, which is always written as ngg in Indonesian: tinggal, penggaris

 

ny like the ny in canyon

banyak, artinya

 

Both ng and ny can be found at the BEGINNINGS of words: ngopi, Nyonya

 

sy like the s y in close your book, close to the sh in show.

syukur, asyik

 


III. Consonants presenting special problems:

 

c like the t y in get your feet off the table!, close to the c in cello or the ch in chat, NEVER like the c in cat

cinta, becak

h as in house, but it can also appear at the ENDS of words:

hari, bahasa, sekolah

r like the tt in butter or gotta. It is usually a tap of the tongue behind the teeth, though it sometimes is more of a trill (like the rr in Spanish arriba, especially at the ends of words

rumah, saudara, kabar

 

The letters q, v, x, z are very rare in Indonesian, and are mostly found in words borrowed from English, Dutch or Arabic.

 

q similar to English k

Qur'an

v similar to English v or f

veto, Vitri

x like English x

xerox

z like English z or j

zebra, zaman

 

Here is how you pronounce the alphabet in Indonesian:

 

a = ah

b = bay

c = chay

d = day

e = ay

f = ef

g = gay

h = ha

i = ee

j = jay

k = kah

l = el

m = em

n = en

o = oh

p = pay

q = key

r = air

s = es

t = tay

u = oo

v = fay

w = way

x = eks

y = yay

z = zet

 

 

 

 

 

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