Brief History of the Indonesian Language

In Indonesia, the Indonesian language is called Bahasa Indonesia, which means “the
language of Indonesia”. It has this name because it possesses the official status, under
the Constitution, of national language of the Republic of Indonesia. It serves as the
“language of unity”. So it has an important political as well as practical function,
providing a means of communication between all the various groups within the
country.

Bahasa Indonesia is a variety of the Malay language, that is, it is Malay which has been
adopted and adapted for a special purpose, namely to serve as the national language of
Indonesia.

From its beginning in the western part of the Archipelago, Malay became a trade
language, and as such was used by the first European, the Portuguese, who came in
search of spices in the 16th century, soon followed by the Dutch.

The early 20th century saw the rise of the nationalist movement in Indonesia and a
desire for independence from the Dutch colonial power. In 28 October 1928 a
declaration known as the Youth Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda) was made to recognize “one
homeland, Indonesia”, “one nation, Indonesia”, and “one language, Indonesian, as the
language of unity”. Therefore, it was in 1928 that Indonesian officially became the
national language. Indonesian was declared to have the position of the state language
on 18 August 1945 since the 1945 Constitution was ratified as the constitution of the
Republic of Indonesia: “The language of the state is Indonesian (1945 Constitution,
Chapter XV; Article 36).

However, as one would expect, we do find large numbers of loanwords in Indonesian

such as Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, English and Dutch besides the
original Indonesian vocabulary. Most of the newly-adopted words are terms in the field
of technology, politics, economics, sports and military matters. The Javanese
consequently has an important impact on the development of the lingua franca.

Words of foreign origin:

Sanskrit

kerja = work
warna = colour
percaya = to believe
merdeka = free, independent
warta = news
cerita = story
kepala = head
Arabic
wakil = deputy, representative
alamat = address
adat = custom
makmur = prosperous
masyhur = famous
rakyat = citizen, people
kabar = news
hak = right
akal = mind
umur = age
sehat = healthy
waktu = time
nasehat = advice

Dutch/English

dinas = service
kelas = class
tas = bag
lensa = lens
stasiun = station
buku = book
apotek = pharmacy
es = ice
es krim = ice cream
pompa = pump
kartu = card
lampu = lamp
bangku = bench

Portuguese/Spanish

mentega = butter
keju = cheese
bendera = flag
lemari = cupboard
gereja = church
kereta = carriage
nyonya = lady
sekolah = school
roda = wheel
French
arloji = watch
garasi = garage

Following is a list of a number of new Indonesian words, the meanings of which are easy
to recognize.
presiden impor lisensi
organisasi kritik konsul
republik universitas letnan
parlemen fakultas mayor
kongres aktif jendral
konferensi agresi plastik
inspektur imitasi provinsi
inspeksi inisiatif mobil
gubernur mesin kopor
teori famili listrik
propaganda televisi komisi
ekspor ekonomi fasilitas

Pronunciation

The Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia) is perhaps among the easiest to read and
write. There are several reasons for this:
 Unlike Arabic or Chinese, Indonesian is written in Roman characters.
 It has no word stress – all syllables are pronounced equally.
 Unlike Thai or Vietnamese, Indonesian is not a tonal language. Its basic
intonation is conventional: it uses a rising intonation for ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions
and a falling intonation for questions beginning with ‘who’,
‘where’,’when’,’how’,’why’, and statements, just as in English.

1.a is pronounced similar to the English a in rather.

adu compete
cari search
minta ask

2.b is pronounced similar to English b in big.

bawa bring
buah fruit
rebut grab

3.c is pronounced similar to the English ch in church but it is not aspirated.

cabut pull
coba try
pacar girl/boyfriend
4.d is pronounced similar to the English d in daddy.
datang come
pudar fade
duduk sit

5. e is sometimes pronounced similar to the English e in rest.

kakek grandfather
nenek grandmother
bebek duck

in some cases, e is pronounced similar to the English e in mend.

enak nice
merah red
sore noon

e is also pronounced similar to the English e in ago.

empat four
beri give
ritme rhythm

6. f is pronounced similar to the English f in father.

foto photo
manfaat benefit
huruf letter

7. g is pronounced similar to the English g in good.

garam salt
ragam variety

8. h is pronounced similar to the English h in hall.

hutan forest
jatah portion
hijau green

Sometimes h is not pronounced.

tahu know
tahun year

9. Generally i in an open syllable is pronounced similar to the English ee in three.

itu that
babi pig
teliti careful
In a closed final syllable, i is pronounced similar to the English i in sit.
batik batik
bangkit arise
culik steal

10. j is pronounced similar to the English j in July.

jumpa see
saja only
juga also

11. k is pronounced similar to the English k in kite.

kita we
makan eat
ombak wave

But at the end of word, k is also pronounced as a glottal stop.

bapak father
tidak no
lunak soft

12. l is pronounced similar to the English l in long.

lama old
malu shy
pudel poodle

13. m is pronounced similar to the English m in man.

makan eat
puma puma
tajam sharp

14. n is pronounced similar to the English n in next.

nona miss
tanda sign
hutan forest

15. o is usually pronounced similar to the English o in go.

toko store
roda wheel
olahraga sport
However, in certain cases the sound is pronounced similar to the English a in ball.
bonus extra
odol toothpaste
bodoh stupid
16. p is pronounced similar to the English p in stop.
putus break off
rapat meeting
mantap exactly

17. q is pronounced similar to the English q in quality.

Quran the Quran

18. r is pronounced similar to the English r in read.

ramai crowd
mari let’s
sukar difficult

19. s is pronounced similar to the English s in soft.

suara sound
rusa deer
keras hard

20. t is pronounced similar to the English t in put.

tulis write
cepat quick
rapat meeting

21. u is pronounced similar to the English oo in pool.

ubah change
baru new
susu milk

but in a closed final syllable it is sometimes pronounced similar to the English o in pull.
sahur early breakfast
rambut hair
lembur overtime (work)

22. v is pronounced similar to the English f in finish.

vakum vacuum
lava lava
visa visa

23. w is pronounced similar to the English w in why.

wilayah region
tawar bargain

24. x is pronounced similar to the English x in xylophone.

xenon xenon
 xenia xenia

25. y is pronounced similar to the English y in year.

yayasan foundation
sayang love
ayah father

26. z is pronounced similar to the English z in zero.

zaman era
zat substance

27. ng is pronounced similar to the English ng in long.

ngilu pain
ingat remember
tulang bone

28. ny is pronounced similar to the English n in new.

nyanyi sing
tanya ask

29. kh is pronounced like /ch/ in the Scottish ‘loch’

khawatir worry
mutakhir modern
tarikh year

30. sy is pronounced similar to the English sh in shoot.

syukur grace
masyarakat society

31. ai is pronounced as a dipthong similar to the English y in my.

ramai crowded
badai storm
santai relax
In between two consonants, ai is not a dipthong but two separate sounds.
lain other
main play
baik good
32. au is pronounced as a dipthong similar to the English ow in cow.
kemarau dry season
walau even though

In a closed syllable and some other words, au is two separate short sounds.
laut sea
maut death
 daun leaf

33. oi is pronounced as a dipthong similar to the English oy in boy.

koboi cowboy
amboi wow
sepoi breezy

Word Stress

The stress position in Indonesian is relatively fixed. The stress usually fall on
penultimate syllable, the syllable before last

bela defend
pembelaan defence
taman park

An ultimate syllable will be stressed when the penultimate syllable contain week vowel.

belah cut
bekerja work
empat four

UNIT I

IN THIS UNIT YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, SAY WHAT
NATIONALITY YOU ARE, AND WHAT JOB YOU HAVE. YOU WILL ALSO BE ABLE
TO TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE IN THE SAME WAY.

I. Dialogue A
 Introducing Oneself

Tati : Kenalkan, nama - Let me introduce myself.

saya Tati. Siapa My name is Tati
nama Anda? What is your name?
Tom White : Nama saya - My name is Tom White.
Tom White.
Tati : Anda orang - Are you British?
Inggris?
Tom White : Ya. Anda dari - Yes. Where are you
mana? from?
Tati : Saya dari - I am from Indonesia.
Indonesia.

II. Essential Words and expressions

Kenalkan, … = Let me introduce …

kenal = to know/to be acquainted
with
nama = name
siapa? [see-ya-pa] = who?
ya = yes
dari = from
mana = where
dari mana? = where … from?

Pronouns

saya [sa-ya] = I; my; me

dia [dee-ya] = he; his; him; she; her
Anda [an-da] = you; your

Countries/Nationalities

Inggris [eeng-grees] = Britain; Great Britain;

Indonesia [een-do-né-see-ya]
Amerika [A-mé-ree-ka]
Perancis [pe-ran-chees]
Jerman [jer-man]
Jepang [je-pang]
British
= Indonesia; Indonesian
= the U.S.A.; American
= France; French
= Germany; German
= Japan; Japanese
 Kanada [ka-na-da] = Canada; Canadian
Australia [os-tra-lee-a] = Australia; Australian
Orang [o-rang] = person
Orang Inggris = British person
Negeri [ne-ge-ree] = country

III. Exercises

1. Translate these sentences into English:

a. Nama saya Tom. c. Nama dia Jane.
b. Nama Anda Tati. d. Nama Anda Yanto.

2. Translate these sentences into Indonesian:

a. His name is John. c. My name is Nani.
b. Your name is Tom. d. Her name is Betty.

3. Make questions and provide the answers.

Contoh: Anda/Tati
X: Siapa nama Anda?
What is your name? / Who are you?
Y: Nama saya Tati.
My name is Tati.
a. dia/John c. dia/Jane
b. dia/Nani d. Anda/Betty

4. Contoh: dia/Amerika
Dia orang Amerika?
Is he American?
a. Anda/Perancis c. dia/Jepang
b. dia/Kanada d. Anda/Jerman

5. Translate these sentences into English:

Contoh: Saya dari Australia.
I am from Australia.
a. Dia dari Inggris. c. Dia dari Jepang.
b. Anda dari Amerika. d. Saya dari Kanada.

6. Contoh: Anda/Amerika
X: Anda dari mana?
Where are you from?
Y: Saya dari Amerika.
 I am from the U.S.A.
a. Anda/Jepang c. dia/Jerman
b. dia/Indonesia d. Anda/Australia

7. Translate these sentences into Indonesian:

Contoh: Let me introduce myself.
My name is Tom.
Kenalkan, nama saya Tom.

a. Let me introduce c. Let me introduce

myself. myself.
My name is Jane. My name is John.
b. Let me introduce d. Let me introduce
myself. myself.
My name is Betty. My name is Tati.

8. Contoh: Anda/Tom White

X: Anda kenal Tom White?
Do you know Tom White?
Y: Ya, saya kenal dia.
Yes, I do.
Do the same. Use dia in the answer.
a. Anda/Jane d. dia/John
b. dia/Tati e. Anda/Tom
c. Anda/Nani f. dia/Bill

IV. Dialogue B

Greetings/Introducing Someone

Tom White : Selamat sore, Tati. - Good afternoon, Tati.

Tati : Selamat sore, Tom. - Good afternoon, Tom.
Apa kabar? How are you?
Tom White : Kabar baik. - I’m fine.
Anda bagaimana? What about you?
Tati : Baik-baik saja. - Just fine.
Terima kasih - Thank you.
Tom White : Kenalkan, ini - Let me introduce
istri saya, Jane. my wife, Jane.
Tati : Tati - Hello, I’m Tati.

V. Essential Words and Expressions

 Greetings

pagi = morning (from 3 a.m. until 11 a.m.)

siang [see-yang] = from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
sore [so-re] = afternoon/evening (from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.)
malam = night (from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m.)
selamat malam = good evening/night
selamat … [se-la-mat] = good … (used to express good wishes)
apa? = what?
kabar = news
apa kabar? = how are you?
bagaimana? = how/what about?
baik [ba-ee?] = good
saja = only/just
baik-baik saja = just fine
terima kasih = thank you
[te-ree-ma] [ka-seeh]

Family Members/Friends

istri [ees-tree] = wife

suami [soo-wa-mee] = husband
bapak [ba-pa?] = father
ibu [ee-boo] = mother
anak [a-na?] = child
teman [te-man] = friend
pacar [pa-char] = girl/boyfriend
ini [ee-nee] = this

VI. Exercises

1. Translate these sentences into Indonesian:

a. Good morning, John. c. Good evening, Tati.
b. Good afternoon, Tom. d. Good night, Nani.

2. Contoh: Tom
X: Apa kabar, Tom?
How are you, Tom?
Y: Kabar baik/Baik-baik saja.
I’m fine/Just fine.
a. Ali d. Nita.
 b. Nani e. Tono.
c. Wati f. John.

3. Contoh: Tom/my friend

Tom teman saya.
Tom is my friend.

a. Jane/Tom’s wife d. Yanto/her boyfriend

b. Ali/my friend e. Bill/Mary’s husband
c. Nani/her child f. Susan/his mother

4. Contoh: suami Anda/Indonesia

X: Suami Anda dari mana?
Where is your husband from?
Y: Dari Indonesia.
From Indonesia.

a. ibu Anda/Australia d. bapak dia/Jepang

b. pacar Anda/Jerman e. suami Jane/Inggris
c. teman Anda/Amerika f. istri Bill/Perancis

5. Contoh: John/orang Amerika

X: John orang apa?
What is John’s nationality?
Y: Dia orang Amerika.
He is American.

Do the same. Use dia in the answer.

a. Mary/orang Inggris d. teman Anda/orang Perancis
b. suami dia/orang Kanada e. pacar Jane/orang Amerika
c. istri Tom/orang Jerman f. ibu dia/orang Australia
6. Contoh: my wife/Jane
Kenalkan, ini istri saya Jane.
Let me introduce my wife, Jane.

Do the same. Use Kenalkan, ini …

a. my husband/Tom d. my friend/Nani
b. my father/Bill e. my boyfriend/Ali
c. my child/Susan f. my mother/Betty

VII. Dialogue C
 Giving Information about Someone

Nani : Anda orang Inggris? - Are you British?

Bill : Bukan, saya orang Amerika. - No, I’m American.
Nani : Saya guru. Anda dokter? - I’m a teacher. Are you a
doctor?
Bill : Bukan, saya manajer. - No, I’m a manager.
Siapa orang itu? - Who’s he?
Nani : Dia Tono, murid saya. - He’s Tono, my student.

VIII. Essential Words and Expressions

Professions

guru [goo-roo] = teacher

murid [moo-reet] = student
karyawan [kar-ya-wan] = office worker/employee
manajer [ma-na-jer] = manager
sekretaris [se-kre-ta-rees] = secretary
dokter [dok-ter] = doctor
ahli [ah-lee] = expert
ahli ekonomi = economist
ahli keuangan [ke-oo-wa-ngan] = financial specialist
ahli pertanian [per-ta-nee-yan] = agriculturist
insinyur [een-see-nyoor] = engineer
pembantu [pem-ban-too] = housemaid
bukan [boo-kan] = no; not
itu [ee-too] = that; those

IX. Exercises

1. Translate these sentences into Indonesian:

Contoh: I am not Indonesian.
Saya bukan orang Indonesia.

a. I am not British. d. She is not Japanese

b. He is not American. e. I am not Australian.
c. You are not German. f. He is not Canadian.

2. Contoh: orang Indonesia /orang Australia

X: Anda orang Indonesia?
Are you Indonesian?
 Y: Bukan, saya orang Australia.
No, I am Australian.

a. orang Kanada/orang Perancis c. orang Jepang/orang Jerman

b. orang Amerika/orang Inggris d. orang Indonesia/orang Kanada

3. Translate these sentences into English:

a. Dia guru. e. Dia insinyur.
b. Dia murid. f. Dia ahli keuangan.
c. Saya manajer g. Saya ahli pertanian.
d. Anda ahli ekonomi. h. Anda karyawan.

4. Contoh: Anda/dokter/manajer
X: Anda dokter?
Are you a doctor?
Y: Bukan, saya manajer.
No, I’m a manager.

a. Dia/karyawan/murid d. Anda/insinyur/guru
b. Anda/sekretaris/manajer e. Anda/ahli pertanian/ahli ekonomi
c. Dia/ahli ekonomi/ahli keuangan f. Dia/pembantu/sekretaris

5. Contoh: Tom/insinyur
X: Siapa orang itu?
Who is he?
Y: Dia Tom, insinyur.
That’s Tom, an engineer.

Do the same. Use dia in the answer.

a. Nani/sekretaris d. Susan/karyawan
b. Tono/ahli keuangan e. Ali/bapak saya
c. John/ahli ekonomi f. Jane/teman saya

6. Translate these sentences into Indonesian:

a. What is your secretary’s name? d. What is that engineer’s name?

b. What is your husband’s name? e. What is that economist’ name?
c. What is your maid’s name? f. What is your wife’s name?

7. Contoh: istri dia

Anda kenal istri dia?
 Do you know his wife?
a. orang itu d. dia
b. ahli pertanian itu e. ahli keuangan itu
c. suami Jane f. insinyur itu

X. Listening Practice

Look at Narrative, then say whether these statements are True or False.

1. Tom White suami Jane.

2. Jane orang Inggris.
3. Tati ahli keuangan.
4. Tati pembantu Tom White.

XI. Survival Check

1. How would you greet a friend in the afternoon?

2. You’re at a friend’s house with your wife/husband.
How would you introduce your wife/husband to your friend?
3. How would you answer the question “Apa kabar?”
4. How would you tell someone that you are a manager?
5. How would you ask someone his name?
6. How would you ask someone where he/she is from?
7. How would you tell someone what you are not an engineer but an
economist?
8. How would you tell someone that Wati is not your wife, but your
secretary?

XII. Narrative

Look at Listening Practice

Tom White

Tom White orang Inggris, dan dia manajer. Dia ahli keuangan. Nama istri
dia, Jane, dan dia bukan orang Inggris. Dia dari Amerika. Jane kenal sekretaris Tom
White. Nama sekretaris Tom White, Tati. Dia orang Indonesia.

XIII. Cultural Notes

1). In Indonesian there are many ways of addressing people.

a).IBU (=BU) is used when addressing a woman to whom you owe respect because she
is older than you, or of higher status.
b).BAPAK (=PAK) is used when addressing a male to whom you owe respect because
he is older than you, or of higher status.
c).SAUDARA is used among adults when addressing those who are of similar age and
social level to oneself, but is not used when speaking to close friends. It may be
translated ‘Mr’ or ‘Miss”, ‘you/your’. Sometimes for female counterparts the word
SAUDARI is used instead.
d).NONA is used when addressing an unmarried woman until middle age. It is quite
formal and does not necessarily imply that she is of higher status.
e).NYONYA is used when addressing a married woman. It is formal and does not
necessarily imply that she is of higher status.
f).TUAN is used under the same conditions as NONA and NYONYA, but to a man.
g). ENGKAU and KAMU are used when addressing
i) children, juniors, pupils, and
ii) persons you know very well who are of the same age or younger.

2). The family (keluarga) is very important. It is the main part of our social context. We
should pay attention tp “who’s who”, especially someone’s parents, and note the order
of siblings – there are particular terms for them, kakak for elder sibling (regardless of
gender), and adik for younger sibling (again regardless of gender).

3). Examples of names of Indonesian female and male are:

Female
Ana, Asma, Dewi, Fatimah, Hartini,Hasnah, Ira, Irawati, Irma, Kartini, Marni, Minah,
Nurhayati, Ratna, Rohana, Santi, Suarni, Tini, Tuti

Male
Ali, Amat, Amin, Amran, Anwar, Asrul, Bambang, Burhan, Dahlan, Dogol, Dulah,
Hadi, Hamzah, Hanafi, Harun, Hasan, Hasyim, Idrus, Jamalus, Joyo, Kasim, Katamsi,
Muis, Mulyono, Mustafa, Nasution, Ruslan, Rustam, Sofyan, Sunaryo, Suparman,
Tobing, Udin, Usman, Wirno, Zainuddin

XIV. Grammatical Notes

1. Most adjectives in Indonesian when used in an attributive person – i.e.

with a noun – go after the noun. A pronoun, or a noun can also be used to
qualify a noun.

nama saya - my name

orang Inggris - a British person
istri dia - his wife
2. The order of words in Indonesian affirmative sentences is like that of
English: Subject (S) – Predicate (P)

Dia orang Amerika. (He/she is American.)

(S) (P)

Saya pergi ke kantor. (I go to the office.)

(S) (P)

Saya bukan orang Indonesia. (I am not Indonesian.)

(S) (P)

3. In spoken Indonesian, the linking verbs corresponding to the English be,

am, is, are, was, were are not used.

Nama saya Tom. (My name is Tom.)

Saya dari Indonesia. (I am from Indonesia.)

4. Questions which require the answer Yes or No, are often formed in the
same way as affirmative sentences, but with rising intonation.

Anda orang Inggris? (Are you British?)

5. The word Siapa is a question word which is used to ask about a person or
a person’s name.

Siapa dia? (Who is he/she?)

Siapa nama suami Anda? (What is your husband’s name?)

Note that siapa can also occur at the end of a question:

Dia siapa?
Nama suami Anda siapa?

6. The question word dari mana can go either in the initial or in the final
position.

Anda dari mana? (Where are you from?)

Dari mana Anda?

7. The word apa is a question word which is generally used to ask about
things/matters.
 Anda makan apa? (What are you eating?)
Apa kebangsaan Anda? (What is your nationality?)

8. The word Anda means you in English. This word is rather formal. There
are other words which are commonly used, e.g. Bapak, Ibu, Tuan,
Nyonya, Kamu, Mas, and Mbak.