Now I'm here as an Indonesian to be your little guide (if you are excited of our country, of course) in learning Indonesian language. But before it, let me tell you some things about Indonesia. Indonesia is a very large republic in Southeast Asia. Bordered with Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and also Papua New Guinea. Indonesia is the founder of ASEAN and also the third largest country in Asia-Pacific after the People's Republic of China and Australia. Indonesia consists of more than 18.000 islands inside, make it the largest archipelago state in the world defeated Japan, Philippines, Maldives, Denmark, and any other Oceanian states. Indonesia has about 225 millions people, make it number forth in the world by population just after China, India, and the United States. Muslim contributes 88%, make it as the country with highest Muslim population in the world, and the rest are Christian, Catholic, Hindu, and Buddha.
Learning Indonesian language is quiet simple. Indonesian language is derivated from Malay, so it's nearly same with official neighbouring state's language such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. Indonesian language also used with the Indonesian immigrants in Taiwan, Hongkong, and Saudi Arabia, make it one of the most used language in the world. So, let's check it all :)
Lesson 1 : Spelling
Indonesian literature is using Latin fonetic as official language. Every provinces have their own traditional writing, but not state officials. In Indonesia, just like in English, have 26 alphabets with a little different pronunciation. The alphabets are :
a = pronunced as 'a'. Just open your mouth and said 'a' like you say 'aha!'. So delete 'ha' and just say it 'a'
b = pronunced as 'be'. In Indonesia, 'b' isn't pronunced like in English 'be' or 'bee'. 'Be' in Indonesia is like when you say 'BElgium' or 'BEnefit'. So pronunce it like 'Be' from word 'Belgium'.
c = pronunced as 'ce'. 'Ce' isn't pronunced like 'si' in English. In our country, 'ce' is pronunced as 'ce' from word 'Czech'. You just need to delete 'ch' behind and just said 'Cze'. Difficult? Just like you say 'che' from word 'cherry'.
d = pronunced as 'de'. 'De' is pronunced like 'de' from word 'DEvelopment', or 'DEploy', or 'DEmon'. DON'T pronunce it like 'de' from 'DEvil' or 'DEgree'. It's NOT 'di'.
e = pronunced as 'e' from word 'Enlightment', 'Entertainment', or 'Emergency'. DON'T pronunce it like 'e' from word 'E-mail' or 'Except'.
f = pronunced as 'ef' just like you say 'EFflata' or 'EFficient'. DON'T say it like 'ef' from 'EFfort'.
g = pronunced as 'ge' and NOT 'ji' like English. Like when you say 'ge' from 'Gap' or 'Guest' or 'Guess'.
h = pronunced as 'ha' and NOT 'aitch' in English. Simple like 'ha' from 'aHA!'
i = pronunced just like word "E" in English. Just like 'i' from word 'Implication' or 'Infected'.
j = pronunced as 'je' like word 'JEremy' or 'JErusalem'.
k = pronunced as 'ka' and NOT 'kei' in English. Maybe in English, it's pronunced just like 'ca' from word 'SabreniCA' or 'CAlcium'.
l = pronunced as 'el'. Like 'ELiminated'.
m = pronunced as 'em' like 'EMpire' or 'EMployee'.
n = pronunced as 'en' from 'ENtire'. Or if you confused, just remember word 'and'.
o = pronunced just as 'o' and not 'ou'. Like 'Ostrich' or 'Old'.
p = pronunced as 'pe' and NOT 'phi'. Do you like football? Yeah, it's pronunced like 'pe' from 'PEnalty'.
q = pronunced as 'khi' OR 'kyu'. Q is including to the letter which is used sparingly in Indonesia.
r = pronunced as 'er' and NOT 'are' in English. Just say it as 'er' from word 'ERror'. DON'T say it as 'er' from word 'ERaser'. And also DON'T say it like 'Air', because it's just 'er' and NOT 'eir'.
s = pronunced as 'es'. Just like 'es' from 'ESper'.
t = pronunced as 'te' and NOT 'tee' in English pronunciation. In Indonesia, the pronunciation of letter 't' is without 'h'. So DON'T say it like 'Thee' because it'll be heard too over. Just like 'te' from 'TEquila'.
u = pronunced as 'u' and NOT 'you'. You'll wrong if you pronunce letter 'u' with pronunciation like 'Unite' or 'Universal' or 'University'. In Indonesia, letter 'u' is pronunced as 'u' from 'Ultimate' or 'Ultra'.
v = pronunced as 've' and NOT 'vi' OR 'vee' in English pronunciation. Do you have a friend named Veronica? Or have you ever visited Verona in Italy where Juliette was born? Yeah, letter 'v' in Indonesia is pronunced as 've' for 'VEronica' and 'VErona'.
w = pronunced as 'we'. 'We' in here isn't pronunced like plural subject 'we' in English. In Indonesia, letter 'w' is pronunced as 'WEllington', the capital of New Zealand.
x = letter 'x' is the most sparing letter in Indonesia. It's pronunced as 'ex' for 'EXtra' or 'EXit'. DON'T say it as 'ex' like in word 'EXam' or 'EXample'.
y = is pronunced as 'ye' and NOT 'wai'. Just like 'YEllow' or 'YEs'.
z = is the last alphabet in Indonesia. Z is pronunced as 'zet'.
In Indonesia, we also have two transitional spelling, they are 'ng' and 'ny'.
ng = is oftenly used by the Indonesians. It's pronunced as 'eng'. DON'T say it like 'eng' for 'ENGlish'. Say it like 'ng' in 'SpriNG' or 'MorniNG'. Transitional spelling like 'ng' is very often placed in the beginning of word. Maybe it's used but just for teenager's life.
ny = is also often to be used. It's pronunced as 'ny (read : en with your tongue placed in your palate)'. Just remember about 'KeNYa', a country in Eastern Africa. It's like 'ny' for 'KeNYa'.
EXERCISE (Indonesian : LATIHAN) :)
After you know 26 alphabets of Indonesia, now you should take this little exercise just to know how far you understand this language. Don't worry, it's not difficult. It's only to practise your pronunciation. Well, let's start it now. The answer will be given below the problem list. But, please don't cheating :)
Pronunce the words below!
1. Latihan (exercise) 11. Siang (afternoon)
2. Kamu (you) 12. Sore (evening)
3. Aku (me) 13. Pagi (morning)
4. Saya (I) 14. Halo (hello)
5. Anda (you) 15. Apa (what)
6. Kami (we) 16. Baik (good/well)
7. Mereka (they) 17. Iya/Ya (yes/yeah)
8. Dia (he/she) 18. Kabar (news)
9. Kalian (you) 19. Buruk (bad)
10. Malam (evening/night) 20. Tidak (no/not)
Jawaban (Answer) :
1. Latihan
La-ti-han (La + tea + han)
note : tea is pronunced as 'tee'.
2. Kamu
Ka-mu (Ka + moo)
note : moo is pronunced as 'mu'.
3. Aku
A-ku (A + ku)
4. Saya
Sa-ya (Sa + ya)
5. Anda
An-da (Un + da)
6. Kamu
Ka-mi (Ka + me)
7. Mereka
Me-re-ka (Me + re + ka)
note : 're' in here is pronunced 're' like 'race', and NOT like 'REpeat' or 'REverse' or 'REbuild'.
8. Dia
Di + a (the + a)
note : 'the' above means word 'the' when meet vocal letter. Like 'the umbrella' or 'the ambulance'.
9. Kalian
Ka-li-an (Ka + lee + un)
note : lee is pronunced as 'li'.
10. Malam
Ma-lam (Ma + lum)
note : lum is pronunced as 'lum'.
11. Siang
Si-ang (See + ang)
note : See is pronunced as 'si' or letter 'c' in English.
12. Sore
So-re (so + re)
note : so is read 'so' for 'so what', 'so on', etc. And 're' is same like in number 7.
13. Pagi
Pa-gi (pa + gee)
14. Halo
Ha-lo (Ha + lo)
15. Apa
A-pa (A + pa)
16. Baik
Ba-ik (Ba + ik)
17a. Iya
I-ya (I + ya)
note : 'I' isn't pronunced as 'ai', but just simple 'i' or same as you say letter 'e' in English.
17b. Ya
Ya (ya)
18. Kabar
Ka-bar (Ka + bar)
note : pronounce 'bar' like 'bar' in English.
19. Buruk
Bu-ruk (Boo + ruk)
note : you must pronounce 'boo' as 'bu', like when you want to frighten someone. And 'ruk' is pronunced like you wanna say 'destRUCT'. But delete letter 't' behind and just say 'ruc'.
20. Tidak
Ti-dak (tea + duck)
note : tea is pronunced like in number 1, and 'duck' is pronunced as simple 'duck' in English.
Okay guys, that's enough for today. Visit newlandembassy.blogspot.com to continue read my article about Indonesia and whole the world. Next time, I'll publish the second lesson of Indonesian language. Keep in spirit, and see ya all !! :D