Bahasa Indonesian - as simple as language gets
To have the people of 17, 000 islands with over 500 languages and often no formal education communicating, requires a pretty simple official language. Bahasa Indonesian is certainly that.
The vocabulary is of usually quite short words that seem to stick in my head much easier than any other language I've attempted. Some word and phrase sounds make me chuckle, like, "laba laba" - spider and "Dimana lumba lumba?" - Where are the dolphins? (very important for the Bali to Lombok ferry crossing). Others are quite poetic, e.g. "matahari" - sun (literally eye of the day). "Makan angin" - eating the breeze (I'm just strolling) - usually stops the hassler's persistent, "You need transport?" or, "Just look look [in my shop]". "P'lan p'lan j'lan j'lan" - walk slowly - was put to good use on our Komodo dragon hunting day.
Indonesian grammar is incredibly simple, with no tenses (adding yesterday or tomorrow to say I go indicates time), no gender, be verb ("saya lapar" - I hungry, "anda gila" - you crazy) or plurals. Making plurals or strong emphasis for a word is done simply by repeating it:
kopi - coffee, kopi kopi - 2 coffees
anak - child, anak anak - children
bagus - brilliant, bagus bagus - marvellous!
tidak - no, tidak tidak - NO!
sama sama or sama dua - you're very welcome (lit. "you're welcome twice") .
Some nouns are constructed from related verbs by adding small suffixes:
Makan - to eat, makanan - food (eat thing)
Minum - to drink, minumin - a drink.
To curse, there are some great expletives, including:
"Anjing!" - dog!
"Celaka!" - misfortune!
"Setan!" - Satan!
Can you imagine stepping in dog turd on a British street and yelling, "MISFORTUNE! DOG!"?
As well as the pleasantries, I think some stern or slightly antagonistic phrases need to be learnt in any new language, chiefly to prevent getting ripped off or being misinformed so as to hand over your money. With the 300% inflation of all prices for being Western, an indignant "mahal" - expensive leads the bargaining towards a more favourable value. When the quoted time for an event is too short to really happen, or excuses for super-inflated prices are pouring out, "pembohong" - liar brings the garbage-talker a step back towards reality. In obvious scam situations, "Gamoo bohong" is the ultimate insult, suggesting not only are you a liar, but one at the scum end of the social pile. Unfortunately, this was the phrase I used most frequently on Lombok island, see later blog site 'Louder than bombs'.
When I met up with Rob in Bali he greeted me with, "Hiya mate. Rambut anda chantik"- your hair is beautiful. What a useless expression! I thought. Not 15 hours later he'd cheekily put it to good use, yelling it to a young chap who'd sat down outside the warung (roadside food shack) just to stare at us, and who'd obviously dyed his hair himself without a mirror. Badly. Gary Glitter style.
Now we've both got a bit cocky with our use of the local lingo. To confuse the street hawkers with their ubiquitous , "Where are you going?" or, "Where is your wife", we reply, "Saya lupa" - I forgot. To return the cheekiness of nosey locals, we (only dare in Bali) shout, "Anda Chantik!" - You're beautiful! at cafe girls, old women forcing us to buy their pencils and bananas, and the wife of the hassling motorbike renter. "Sudah punya pacar?" - Do you have a boyfriend?, gets giggles from the ultra-friendly (ultra-beautiful) Balinese lasses.
I've not come across any confusing synonyms yet, the nearest being "[Gunung] berapi" - volcano, with "berapa?"- how much?: "Gunung berapa?" is asking how much the fire mountain is for sale for - a considerable amount I imagine as many of Indonesia's volcanoes are +3000m tall and active. Best of all though, Bahasa Indonesian is practically the same language as Bahasa Malaysian, useful as Malaysia is my destination for recuperation and battery charging before Cambodia....
The vocabulary is of usually quite short words that seem to stick in my head much easier than any other language I've attempted. Some word and phrase sounds make me chuckle, like, "laba laba" - spider and "Dimana lumba lumba?" - Where are the dolphins? (very important for the Bali to Lombok ferry crossing). Others are quite poetic, e.g. "matahari" - sun (literally eye of the day). "Makan angin" - eating the breeze (I'm just strolling) - usually stops the hassler's persistent, "You need transport?" or, "Just look look [in my shop]". "P'lan p'lan j'lan j'lan" - walk slowly - was put to good use on our Komodo dragon hunting day.
Indonesian grammar is incredibly simple, with no tenses (adding yesterday or tomorrow to say I go indicates time), no gender, be verb ("saya lapar" - I hungry, "anda gila" - you crazy) or plurals. Making plurals or strong emphasis for a word is done simply by repeating it:
kopi - coffee, kopi kopi - 2 coffees
anak - child, anak anak - children
bagus - brilliant, bagus bagus - marvellous!
tidak - no, tidak tidak - NO!
sama sama or sama dua - you're very welcome (lit. "you're welcome twice") .
Some nouns are constructed from related verbs by adding small suffixes:
Makan - to eat, makanan - food (eat thing)
Minum - to drink, minumin - a drink.
To curse, there are some great expletives, including:
"Anjing!" - dog!
"Celaka!" - misfortune!
"Setan!" - Satan!
Can you imagine stepping in dog turd on a British street and yelling, "MISFORTUNE! DOG!"?
As well as the pleasantries, I think some stern or slightly antagonistic phrases need to be learnt in any new language, chiefly to prevent getting ripped off or being misinformed so as to hand over your money. With the 300% inflation of all prices for being Western, an indignant "mahal" - expensive leads the bargaining towards a more favourable value. When the quoted time for an event is too short to really happen, or excuses for super-inflated prices are pouring out, "pembohong" - liar brings the garbage-talker a step back towards reality. In obvious scam situations, "Gamoo bohong" is the ultimate insult, suggesting not only are you a liar, but one at the scum end of the social pile. Unfortunately, this was the phrase I used most frequently on Lombok island, see later blog site 'Louder than bombs'.
When I met up with Rob in Bali he greeted me with, "Hiya mate. Rambut anda chantik"- your hair is beautiful. What a useless expression! I thought. Not 15 hours later he'd cheekily put it to good use, yelling it to a young chap who'd sat down outside the warung (roadside food shack) just to stare at us, and who'd obviously dyed his hair himself without a mirror. Badly. Gary Glitter style.
Now we've both got a bit cocky with our use of the local lingo. To confuse the street hawkers with their ubiquitous , "Where are you going?" or, "Where is your wife", we reply, "Saya lupa" - I forgot. To return the cheekiness of nosey locals, we (only dare in Bali) shout, "Anda Chantik!" - You're beautiful! at cafe girls, old women forcing us to buy their pencils and bananas, and the wife of the hassling motorbike renter. "Sudah punya pacar?" - Do you have a boyfriend?, gets giggles from the ultra-friendly (ultra-beautiful) Balinese lasses.
I've not come across any confusing synonyms yet, the nearest being "[Gunung] berapi" - volcano, with "berapa?"- how much?: "Gunung berapa?" is asking how much the fire mountain is for sale for - a considerable amount I imagine as many of Indonesia's volcanoes are +3000m tall and active. Best of all though, Bahasa Indonesian is practically the same language as Bahasa Malaysian, useful as Malaysia is my destination for recuperation and battery charging before Cambodia....
posted by Graham, Manchester at 11:54 am
<< Home