The sole official language is Indonesian, known as Bahasa Indonesia. It's based on the dialect of Malay spoken in the Riau Islands and Malay speakers will pick it up very quickly, the main differences being in loanwords — Indonesian borrowed from Dutch, while Malay's loans are mostly from English.
Written phonetically with the Latin alphabet and with a fairly logical grammar, Indonesian is generally regarded as one of the easiest languages to learn, and A.M. Almatsier's The Easy Way to Master the Indonesian Language, a 200 page small paperback, is an excellent starting point. It can be found in any Indonesian bookstore for less than 3 dollars.
The language went through a series of spelling reforms in the 1950s and 60s to smoothe over differences with Malay and expunge its Dutch roots. Although the reforms are long complete, you may still see old signs with dj for j, j for y, or oe for u.
Many educated Indonesians understand and are able to speak English. While Indonesian is the lingua franca throughout the archipelago, there are thousands of local languages as well, and if you really get off the beaten track you may have to learn them as well.
Saying
GREETING
|
| English |
Indonesia |
How do you do?
Good morning
Good afternoon
Goodbye
Bon voyage
Fine
Welcome |
Apa kabar?
Selamat pagi
Selamat siang
Selamat tinggal
Selamat jalan
Baik
Selamat datang |
PRONOUNS & TITLE
|
|
| English |
Indonesia |
I
You
We
He / She
They
Mr.
Miss
Mrs.
|
Saya
Anda , Kamu
Kita / Kami
Dia
Mereka
Bapak
Cik
Ibu
|
QUESTIONS
|
|
English
Can you help me?
How do I get there?
How far?
How long will it take?
How much (price)?
What is this/that?
What is your name?
When?
Where?
Why?
|
Indonesia
Bolehkah tolong saya?
Bagaimana untuk kesana?
Berapa jauh?
Berapa lama?
Berapa harganya?
Apa ini / itu?
Apa nama anda?
Kapan?
Di mana?
Kenapa? Mengapa? |
DIRECTIONS
|
|
English
Go up
Go down
Turn
Right
Left
Front
Behind
North
South
East
West
Up
Down |
Indonesia
Naik
Turun
Belok
Kanan
Kiri
Depan
Belakang
Utara
Selatan
Timur
Barat
Atas
Bawah |
USEFULL WORDS & EXPRESSIONS
|
English
A little
A lot
Beach
Beef
Chicken
Cold
Crab
Drink
Do not have
Eat
Excuse me
Exit
Female
Fish
Fruit
Have
Hot
I am sorry
Male
Meat
Money
Mutton
No
Please
Pork
Prawn
Salt
Shop
Sugar
Thank you
Toilet / WC
Trishaw
Wait
Want
Water
Yes
|
Indonesia
Sedikit
Banyak
Pantai
Daging sapi
Ayam
Sejuk
Kepiting
Minum
Tidak ada
Makan
Maafkan saya
Keluar
Perempuan / Wanita
Ikan
Buah
Ada
Panas
Saya minta maaf
Pria / Laki-laki
Daging
Duit / Uang
Daging kambing
Tidak
Tolong / Silahkan
Daging babi
Udang
Garam
Toko
Gula
Terima kasih
Kamar Kecil
Becak
Tunggu
Ingin / Mau
Air
Ya |
|
