Bahasa Indonesia for travelers guide in simple expressions
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BAHASA INDONESIA
Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian Language has the root of Malay language
which dialect is most widely spoken on the archipelagou of Indonesia..It has been
largely due to the trade among the archipelago, Arab, China and India They
needed a simple words and sentences in communicating with local producers in field
of bying, selling and payment terminlogies. Even the Dutch at the beginning had
to understand a simple Malay sentences to communicate with the local people. As
he same parent with the Malay, it was easy
for Indonesian ethnic groups to learn the language, although some of the ethnic
group has further variation in pattern and ciction. Bahasa Indonesia has become
an active communication means among the learnt people during the strugle for independence
which lead an oath among the ethnic representative that they would use Bahasa
Indonesia as the national language. This is even known as " Sumpah Pemuda
" or youth oath declared on 28 October 1920.
Grammatically bahasa Indonesia is simple does not introduces pattern reflecting
time, word flextion relating to subject, object, location and others. Basically
all events are expressed with the same pattern and the same words. Only to indicated
time it uses word of time such as yesterday, tomorrow, 2 minutes ago and others.
To indic ate plurality just put word " banyak or sedikit " or appoint fixed number
for definit plurality. Basically to express pattern and flextion, simply used
independence words arranged in the sentences. As a result of lack of pattern and
flextion, the languages introduces many morphemes. The morpheme has various meaning
according to the infinitive word which it is conjugated with. This small writing
is aimed to assist reader to get light idea to the basic concept of the grammar
which is expected to be understood by those who never heard about bahasa Indonesia
Social Aspect of Bahasa Indonesia
Unlike Balinese of Javanese, bahasa Indonesia reflects egalitarian society. Polite
and impolite are expressed at the level of small diction of personal pronounce,
mimic and gesture at the lvel of diction it is alsmost inexist the world of humiliation,
curses or respect that symbolize the action, existence or thinking of others.
A small collection of words relating to this social status can only be found among
personal pronouce, such as kamu ( you ) is considered egalitair opposed to "
anda " ( your respectable ), aku ( I ) more colloquial as opposed to "
saya " ( I ) more humble, dia ( she/he) is more colloquial compared to "
belau " ( she/he/they ) which are considered more respectable. At no time
the children or younger people address parents or older people by " kamu
", instead they will be called by their aliases. In case one has to address
older people or unknown people with his/her name one will put " Pak "
to man and " Ibu" for woman. Pak is abreviation of Bapak means litterally
father and Ibu means mother. In formal communication both tittles are used as
respectable word to address man or women. Here is the speaker of Bahasa Indonesia
must be very careful.
Common Mistake
Foreign speakers of Bahasa Indonesia still have the difficulty in understanding
the use of transitive / intransitive verbs, and subfix / ---i /. More detail nuances
on both these aspects will be discussed at each part. The most important here
is to give early clue that here is the foreign speaker have to be more careful.
There is no grammatical rule to explain the deep nuances except speaker has to
train the situation by comprehensive practice or study considerable contexts of
the verbs in various sentences.
Class Formation or Derivatives
As other languages, bahasa Indonesia also intruduces forms such as infinitive,
verb, noun, ajective, and pronounce. Almost all words except morphemes can be
transformed into each class with the help of morphemes. Morpheme is the most productive
language elements in bahasa Indonesia both in writing and spoken. Intensive study
of class formation by morpheme can be said a fifty percent success in studying
bahasa Indonesia
Sentence Construction
As other language bahasa Indonesia has the structure of :
Subject + Predicate + Object ( for positive statement )
Object + Pridicate + Subject ( for passive statement )
Ajective predicate following the law of " described - description " in
contrary with English. For example :
# Ini tas merah ( ini = this, tas = bag, merah = red )----- This is red bag
# Ini tas merah besar mahal ( besar = big, mahal = expensive )
-- This is red big expensive bag
The position of each ajective can be interchanged, not nacessarily like the sample.
The sentence can be constructed by infinitive and simple words, provided
correct preposition can be put in context :
# Saya pergi ke pasar beli ikan (Saya = I, pergi = go, ke = to ( prep
), pasar = market, beli = buy, ikan = fish )
# I go to the market to buy fish.
Compared the pattern:
Bahasa Indonesia
English
Saya pergi ke pasar beli ikan
Saya, tadi1 pergi ke pasar beli ikan
I go to the market to buy fish
I went to the market to buy fish
Saya akan2 pergi ke pasar beli ikan
I am going to the market to buy fish soon
I plan to go to the market to buy fish
I will go to the market to buy fish
I am going to go to the market to buy fish
I am to go to the market to buy fish
I shall go to the market to buy fish
Saya
tadi jam3 2 sudah4 pergi ke pasar beli ikan
Saya besok5 jam 2 sudah pergi ke pasar beli ikan
Kemarin6 saya jam 2 sudah pergi ke pasar beli ikan
Saya sedang7 pergi ke pasar beli ikan
Dia ke pasar beli ikan
I had departed
to the market at 2 o'clock to bhuy fish
Tomorrow at 2 o'clock I will have departed to the market ...
Yesterday at 2 o'clock I would have departed to the market ....
I am going to the market to buy fish
he/she goes to the market to buy fish
1) tadi = just now, 2) akan = will, shall, 3) jam = time, 4) sudah = already, 5) besok = tomorrow,
6) kemarin = yesterday, 7) sedang = in progress.
Please note that whatever the subject it is applicable for the sentences without changes of verbs.
Complemental Subject / Object
Personal : him, her, them, are change with "dia, or mereka " for example:
# Wayan panggil dia = Wayan calls him/her/them
If between speakers already know the object or subject in discussion and
the context is clar, dia and mereka replaceable by / -- nya /, but verb
must be modified into derivative form.
# Wayan memanggilnya ( see formation by morpheme / -- nya /
# Wayan pergi bersama dia = Wayan goes with him/her
# Wayan pergi bersamanya = Wayan goes with him/her
Impersonal " It " This is not known, both in the position of subject and object replaceable by / -- nya /
# Wayan potong kayu = Wayan cuts wood
# Wayan potong kayu dan membakarnya = Wayan cut wood and burnt
it ( me + bakar = to burn, dan = and )
Dgree of Comparison
The comparative, and superlative construction in bahasa Indonesia is expressed in words such as lebih = more,
kurang = less, sama = comparative ( as ---- as ), and paling = the most or utmost.
# Wayan dan Made sama tinggi = Wayan is as high as Made
# Wayan lebih tinggi dari Made = Wayan is higher then Made
# Nyoman paling tinggi = Nyoman is the highest
All ajective in bahasa Indonesia can be expressed with
this pattern without any changes of ajective form.
Auxiliary Words
Indonesian language does not indtroduce auxiliary, but it can translate with more or less the same reference
as English :
* To be : is basically translated as " adalah " an intransitive word also productively used in exchange of
predicate, and it can be omitted simply without changing the meaning of the sentence:
# Dia adalah guru = he is teacher
# Dia guru = he is teacher
# Mereka adalah guru dulu = They were teahcers
# Mereka guru dulu = They were teachers
* Can, Able are epressed with " bisa, boleh, menjadi ". Bisa and menjadi express potency, and boleh express
persmission and agreement.
# Dia bisa kerja = he can work
# Ini bisa jual = This can sell
# Harga bisa mahal = Price become expensive. See more with the formation of / di --- /
Morphemic Formation
Indonesian language introduces many morphemes that form the words into derivatives having different meaning
according to the maning of the infinitive. With derivative the sentence constructure will be more refine
and eloquant both in writing and spoken. Bahasa Indonesia introduce many morphemes :
Prefixes : me---, ber---, ke--- , ter---, di---, pe---, per---, pra---
Subfixes : ---kan, ---an, ---i, ---nya /me---/ forms transitive and intransitive verbs
# words starting with /m/ does not got nazalitation but much need subfix /---kan/---i/ as combination except such as :
me + makan ---> memakan = eat
me + minum ---> meminum = drink
# words starting with /s/, the /s/ changed into /ny/:
me + sapu ----> menyapu = sweeping
me + serah ----> menyerah = surrender
# words starting with /t/, the /t/ changed into /n/ :
me + tebang ----> menebang = cutting
me + tendang ----> menendang = kick
# words starting with /d/, /c/ got /n/ before it:
me + dendang -----> mendendang = singing
me + dera ----> mendera = hit
me + cekal ---> mencekal = ban
# words starting with /k/, the /k/ changed into /ng/:
me + ketuk ----> mengetuk = knock
me + kejar ----> mengejar = run after
# words starting with /h/ got /ng/ before it :
me + hirup ---> menghirup = respire
me + hibah ----> menghibah = transfer
Some examples
Wayan menyapu halaman rumah = Wayan sweeps the house floor
Made menabur bunga = Made is spreading flower petals
Myoman mendera anjing = Nyoman hit the dog
Ketut mengerat padi = Ketut tie rice
Dia menghibur teman = she entertains friend /ber---/ form intransitive verbs ber + nounce means have ( own ):
ber + uang ---> beruang = have money
ber + adab ---> beradab = have culture ( civilized )
ber + tanggal ---> bertanggal = have date ber + verb form intransitive verb:
ber + sua ---> bersua = meeting
ber + gema ---> bergema = echoing
ber = deru ---> berderu = noisy
Phoneme does not get nazalization or changes after conjugated with infinitive except:
ber + ajar ---> belajar = learning
ber + kerja ---> bekerja = working
For beginner it is dangerous to use this prefix since it is not all words can be fixed with this morpheme, and if miss-fixed will result a real funny word, especially with verbs. Unfortunately
there is no rule which is to be fixed and which is not. Only dictionary can tell lerner.
# ber + repeated word form adverb
ber + angan-angan ---> berangan-angan = being obsessed
ber + api-api ---> berapi-api = with anthusiastically
ber + senang-senang ---> bersenang-senang = joyfully
ber + angsur-angsur ---> berangsur-angsur = gradually /ke --- / forms passive verb and superlative composition
# /ter --- / + ajective forms superlative comparison
ter + kuat ---> terkuat = the strongest
ter + kecil ----> terkecil = the smallest
ter + tinggi ---> tertinggi = the highest
# / ter --- / verb meanin unintensional action
ter + injak ----> terinjak = unintensionally stepped
ter + antuk ----> terantuk = unintensionally collided
# / ter ---- / + verb forms passive
ter + motivasi ----> termotivasi = motivated
ter + kejar ---> terkejar = caught up
ter + sapu ----> tersapu = swept / di --- / + verb forms passive
Some words combination with / ---i / but it is no rule to which verb it is nacessary to be combined, can only be lerant by studying more context
in sentences. Please do not combine them without knowing a clear context as it can mean various meanings.
di + pukul ---> dipukul = hit
di + tulis ----> ditulis = written
di + angkut ---> diangkut = transported
di + makan ---> dimakan = eaten
See pukul and tulis, dipukul or dipukuli need preposition " oleh ( by ) ". Example : Anjing dipukul/dipukuli oleh
Ketut ( the dog is bitten by Ketut _. But ditulis and ditulisi refer different actions. Ditulis means written, such as the
article is written by Made. Ditulisi is a passive word put more stress on the means or material which is written. For example :
Kerta itu ditulisi huruf Bali ( That paper is scratched with Balinese alphabet ). Also using / ---i / must be
carefull since if it is miss-conjugated it will form a very funny word in the ears of Indonesian. /pe --- / forms actor and noun
# pe + verb form actor
pe + kerja ---> pekerja = worker / labour
pe + lancong ----> pelancong = traveler
# pe + verb + an form noun
pe + kerja + an ----> pekerjaan = work / assignment
pe + lancong + an ---> pelancongan = travel / per --- / in combination with subfix / --- an / or / --- kan / forms noun of action ( gerund )
# per + verb + kan forms noun
per + baik + an ---> perbaikan = renovation
per + juang + an ---> perjuangan = strugle ( noun of transitive action )
per + juang + kan ----> perjuangkan = strugle ( imperative )
# per + verb + an forms noun from intransitive verb
per + seteru + an ---> perseteruan = conflict
per + kembang + an ----> perkembangan = development
per + selisih + an ---> perselisihan = conflict
/ --- i / + verb forms passive or refer to the direct object
The use of this subfix must be very selective and must be reconsidered to the real compositition
which is already well known to avoid funny expression in the ears of Indonesian
# derivative + -- i forms transitive
me + saing + i ---> menyaingi = to compete
me + perang + i ---> memerangi = to attack / di --- / + verb forms passive, but some words need combination with / --- i /
di + ambil ---> diambil = taken
di + angkut ---> diangkut = transported
di + duduk + i ---> diduduki = seated/colonized
di + duduk + kan ---> didudukkan = seated/established
di + kabar + i ---> dikabari = informed
di + kabar + kan ---> dikabarkan = informed
The difference can be seen as follows:
Wayan didudukan di atas kursi = Wayan is seated on the chair
Kursi diduduki oleh Wayan = The chair is seated by Wayan / --- nya / forms noun of possesive or process or quality, verb must be derivative
# Ajective + nya forms possesive
tinggi + nya ---> tingginya = its height
besar + nya ---> besarnya = its grandeur
merah + nya ---> merahnya = its redness
# Verb derivative + nya forms process or quality
pe + kerja + an + nya ---> pekerjaannya = his/her/their work
pe + kerja + an + nya ---> pengerjaannya = process / quality of his/her work
pe + atur + an + nya ---> peraturannya = its rules
Example :
Pengerjaanya bagus = its work is good
Peraturannya ketat = its rule is rigid Multiple Combination In the formation of verb into derivative Indonesian introduces multiple phomeme combination.
This formation is considered creating beautiful language to hear and read. This is indeed can not be simply expalined in term of
grammatical rule as this is developped very personally and has given public aknowledgement by the Indonesian
speaking society. As a result not all morphemes can be combined imitating already well known combination. Just for
some exammples are given as follows:
pe + periksa + an + nya ----> pemeriksaannya = the process of checking
me + ke + depan + kan + nya ---> mengedepankannya = propose or bring forward
me + per + tinggi + kan + nya ---> mempertinggikannya = the action of making high
me + per + dengar + kan + nya ---> memperdengarkannya = announce openly or make presentation Question Words
Siapa = who, apa = what, mana = which, dimana = where, kenapa = why, kapan = when
On use spoken or written often subfixed with /--- kah / to give more empahsize
The difference from English is question about name. Indonesian uses who while English uses what.
Siapa itu ? = who is that has the same meaning with siapakah itu?
Siapa nama anda ?= What is your name ?
