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I have yet to encounter a structured, functional approach to learning Bahasa Indonesia [Note from SEASite:  The text used in NIU's Indonesian classes, Bahasa Tetanggaku by Ian J. White (Longman: Melbourne, Australia), is "a notional-functional course" in Indonesian;  another well-known text is Beginning Indonesian through Self-Instruction by John U. Wolff (SEAP, Cornell University: Ithaca, NY)] . Phrase books confront the linguistic novice with a barrage of special purpose phrases ("Is the play a comedy or a tragedy?"). They are often badly organized into social situations (going to the market, at customs) where you are likely to have neither the time nor the inclination to be fumbling around with a silly little phrase book even if you did bring it with you, which is highly improbable. With these books, you can either memorize several hundred phrases that may or may not have an application. Or you can keep the book in your pocket and hope that your fingers are fast enough to find the phrase for "turn left here" before the taxi takes you completely out of town in a straight line.

 

Grammar books and dictionaries, although fine for a long-term study of the language, are even more of a hindrance in taxis and at the supermarket checkout. Language tapes also have their place in learning to communicate but this approach requires time and effort to achieve practical results.

 

What is required for the short-term visitor and even for the newly arrived longer-term expatriates is a list of common, useful and necessary words and phrases grouped into bite-sized quantities so the most important ones can be learned and used first.

 

The most useful phrase book I have found is Indonesian Words and Phrases by the American Women's Association. It provides some very important basic concepts and I recommend it highly but no one wants to memorize an entire book the first day in a new country. The following lists of words, organized by day, should help you to get through your first week while you are making plans for more extensive language training.

 

Optional words in the following vocabulary tables are provided in square brackets and correspond between columns (for example, [pagi | siang | sore | malam] = [morning | day | afternoon | evening]; pagi is morning, etc.). Fill-in-the-blank words (...) may be substituted from any handy phrase book.

 

The appendices include a guide to pronunciation, help with finding words in the dictionary and a short essential word list.

 


Day 1. Being Polite

 

 

 

Vocabulary Day 1.

Selamat [pagi | siang | sore | malam].

Good [morning | day | afternoon | evening].

Terima kasih.

Thank-you.

Ya.

Yes. (often means no)

Tidak.

No.

Apa kabar?

How are you? What's new?

Baik, dan [Bapak | Ibu]?

Fine, and you? (to man | woman)

Saya tidak bisa bahasa Indonesia.

I don't speak Indonesian. (This will be painfully obvious to any Indonesian, but it's a polite way to fill in those awkward moments.)

Selamat [jalan | tinggal].

Good-bye. (to person leaving | to person staying)

Kembali.

You're welcome.

Silakan[ duduk | masuk].

Please [sit down | come in].

 

The first priority in Indonesia, believe it or not, is being polite. Not getting the job done, getting to where you are going or getting the correct change. The general wisdom that even a few polite words will return much appreciation is usually true. On the other hand, unkind or loud words in any language will instantly turn you into an invisible being. 

Any conversation beyond the vocabulary here assumes that you know more about the language than you actually do. This may put you on the receiving end of a long monologue to which you are expected to nod and make the occasional non-committal response.

 

 

 


Day 2. The Taxi

 

 

 

Vocabulary Day 2.

Ke [kiri | kanan].

To the [left | right].

[terus | lurus]

straight ahead.

[Rumah | Gedung | Jalan] [ini | itu].

[This | That] [house | building | street].

Ke mana?

Where are you going? (Also a common polite greeting.)

Saya mau ke Amerika

I am going to United States

Saya tidak tahu.

I don't know. (This will likely be obvious to the driver but may encourage him to find directions elsewhere.)

Di [sini | sana].

[Here | There]. (Not really useful, but it's something to say while you're pointing at the house.)

Kiri, kanan?

Left or right? (Drivers often ask this when approaching a street they assured you they grew up on.)

[Berhenti! | Stop!]

Stop! (Often necessary)

Salah.

Wrong.

Saya mau pulang.

I want to go home.

 

By your second day, still fuzzy with jet-lag, your employers expect you to at least show up at the office to meet a few people. If you're not here to work, by now you should be bored enough with the hotel facilities (even if it is the Borobudur) to want to see a little of the town. The most effective way of getting around town is in the back of a shiny Mercedes with an English-speaking, hard-nosed, Jakarta-born driver. If you don't happen to have both of these handy, flag down the nearest taxi after you have memorized the accompanying vocabulary. 

Street names and addresses are rarely sufficient to get you where you are going in Jakarta unless you are going to a very well known building, hotel or shopping center. Remember to learn the local pronunciation of your hotel or street, you may need it to get back home. Many place and street names are derived from English or other languages, but sometimes they are not pronounced as you would expect. For example, the "Hotel Orchid" is pronounced Ortchid and "Golf" usually has two syllables (Gol-ef). 

The best way of giving directions in a taxi is to mention the neighborhood (Kebayoran Baru, Blok M, Jalan Thamrin, Kemang, Pondok Indah etc.) and the street. If there are any tricky turns before you get there, you may want to mention that, too. Don't fall asleep on the ride. Lacking specific instructions, drivers often take you in circles.

 

 

 


Day 3. More Politeness

 

 

 

On your third day, you are beginning to get used to the new time-zone, the smells and the food. This is about the time that you realize you're not in Kansas any more and you left Toto back home. 

Indonesians are very good at helping you get over culture shock. They like to chat and find out about people and to tell you about themselves. 

You will be stopped on the street and asked your age, name and address. Don't take it too seriously and you don't have to give a straight answer. These are simply polite questions, to answer "Where are you going?", "Over there.", "Ke sana" is good enough.

 

Vocabulary Day 3.

Dari mana?

Where are you from? (For some reason, Indonesians are very good at spotting foreigners.)

Saya dari Amerika.

I am from United States.

Sudah lama di [Indonesia | sini]?

Have you been [in Indonesia | here] very long? (Again, a polite question, but you are really being asked how long you have been here.)

Saya sudah dua [hari | minggu] di [Indonesia | sini].

I have been [in Indonesia | here] for two [days | weeks] already.

Sudah kawin?

Are you already married? (Another polite question, not often a pick-up line.)

Sudah punya anak?

Do you have any children? (a popular topic)

[Sudah | Belum].

[Already | Not yet].

Di mana dompetku ?

Where is my wallet ?

Berapa umurnya?

How old are you? (Another common, polite question.)

Tinggal dimana?

Where do you live?

 

 

 

 

 

 


Day 4. Numbers

 

 

 

Numbers are handy to know, but most often prices are written on paper or shown on a cash-register or on a calculator. On your fourth day you are not ready to bargain for antiques on Jalan Surabaya! 

When spoken, prices are usually in thousands and hundreds (for example Rp. 10,500 is ten thousand, five hundred). Understanding numbers when spoken takes some practice. Another perplexity is that when discussing prices, often the units are omitted. If a figurine is quoted to you as "Enam (six)" and you don't know for certain whether they are talking about six thousand or six million, you probably shouldn't be shopping there. 

The basic one-to-nine numbers are handy for spelling out addresses and giving shoe sizes. These are usually spelled out as in 147 (satu-empat-tujuh for one-four-seven). Don't worry about the hundreds and thousands, it's only your fourth day. 

An Australian mate of ours managed to successfully bargain for goods in Bali using only the numbers from one to five. This approach is not recommended.

Vocabulary Day 4.

[nol | kosong]

zero

satu

one

dua

two

tiga

three

empat

four

lima

five

enam

six

tujuh

seven

delapan

eight

sembilan

nine

sepuluh

ten

sebelas, duabelastigabelas, ...

eleven, twelve, thirteen, ...

dua puluh, tiga puluh, ...

twenty, thirty, ...

dua puluh lima

twenty five

seratus, dua ratus, ...

one hundred, two hundred, ...

seribu, dua ribu, ...

one thousand, two thousand...

sejuta, dua juta, ...

one million, two million, ...

... setengah

... and a half

 

 

 

 

 


Day 5. Simple Sentences

 

 

 

For the next three days, you should build a vocabulary that is important to your daily existence. If you spend a lot of time in restaurants, learn the names of food. If you like shopping for local handicrafts, learn their names and substitute into the sentences here. 

Learn at least five new nouns and five new verbs that are useful to you. These phrases aren't guaranteed get you a better room at the Wisma Delima, for that you need a teacher or more time with a phrase book. These phrases, though will ensure that you won't go hungry on your fifth day. 

Before heading out for the day, memorize a couple of new words you will need to know for the day's activities. Write them down and give youself a quiz. Bring the paper you wrote them down on. 

You should have noticed by now that many foreign, especially English, words are commonly used by Indonesians: hotel, taxi, film, bank, photocopy, photo, beer, restaurant, McDonald's and toilet will likely be understood. Be on the lookout for these words in advertisements and other signs. It's an easy way to add to your vocabulary. A more extensive list of these similar words is provided on the next page.

Vocabulary Day 5.

Saya mau ...(insert noun or verb, for example: Saya mau kue. Saya mau minum.)

I want ... (noun | "to" verb) for example, I want cookies. I want to drink.

Saya minta (kopi)

I would like some |coffee| (noun | "to" verb)

Ada (rokok) ?

Do you have any cigarettes (noun)?

Di mana saya bisa beli (baju) ?(insert noun)

Where can I buy shirt (noun)?

Saya suka (buku ini).(insert noun or verb)

I like (this book) (noun or verb).

Saya mau beli (sepatu). (insert noun)

I want to buy shoes (noun)

Berapa [ini | itu]?

How much is [this | that]?

Berapa?

How [much | many]?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Day 6. Asking Questions

 

 

 

You can learn words much faster if you make use of the 190 million eager and willing bahasa Indonesia teachers at your disposal. Finding out the word for "shoe" is a lot easier than more abstract concepts such as "good" and "evil" but at this stage you are still trying to become functional. 

Learn five more useful nouns and five more verbs from a reliable phrase book, dictionary, or the word lists in the Appendix. 

You should be at the stage now where you can teach someone a little English. Try it!

Vocabulary Day 6

Apa [ini | itu]?

What is [this | that]?

Apa (horse)   dalam bahasa Indonesia?(substitute English word, which is handy only if the person to whom you are speaking knows more English than you know Indonesian.)

What is (horse) in Indonesian?

Inggeris

[English | England]

 

 

The words in the following table are similar in both English and bahasa Indonesia. They may not be the most precise pronunciation and spelling but they will be understood by most people.

 

 

 


 

Similar Words in Both Languages

 

 

 

airport

apple

athlete

baby

baggage

bank

bar

beer

bell

bottle

bus

camera

cashier

cassette

cherry

chocolate

Coca-cola

coffee

coin

computer

consultant

deoderant

diskette

doctor

donut

dry cleaning

electricity

film

football

glass

guitar

hamburger

hello

ice

ice cream

kilometer

kiosk

mall

massage

meter

monument

museum

music

number

office

OK

oven

paper clip

pen

pencil

pension

photo

photocopy

pizza

police

radio

restaurant

roast beef

salad

same

school

sex

shopping

staple

steak

stop

stop

strawberry

supermarket

taxi

tea

telephone

tennis

ticket

to park

toilet

TV

university

video

 

 

 

 

 

 


Day 7. Leftovers

 

 

 

On your day of rest, you can learn some more handy words and phrases that don't fit into any of the other categories. 

If you can keep up with the pace, within one week you will be more functional than the average expat is after two months of slaving over phrase and grammar books. Have fun and don't forget to practice.

 

 

Vocabulary Day 7

Tidak apa-apa.

It doesn't matter. (Literally means "nothing". Handy when someone is apologizing profusely.)

Maaf.

I am sorry. (If you want to apologize profusely.)

Permisi.

Excuse me. (To get someone to move out of the way or to get someone's attention.)

Hati-hati!

Careful

Awas!

Watch out!

[Jam | pukul] berapa?

[What time is it? | At what time?]

[Jam | Pukul] dua

[At (two) o'clock. | It is (two) o'clock] (insert number)

Tolong, bawa (teh).

Please bring me the (tea) (insert noun).

Satu lagi.

One more. (works well for beers.)

Tambah lagi?

Do you want more?

Habis.

Finished.

Minta bon.

Bill, please.

 

 

 

 


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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