MALAYSIA VS INDONESIA
Diponegoro University Rejects Student Applications For 2009/2010 Academic Year Following Pendet Dance Controversy (Jakarta Post)
Which Is Better, Learning Maths and Science in Bahasa Malaysia or in English? (Lim Kit Siang)
Malaysia Denies It Has Plan To Censor Internet
BAHASA CHATROOMS
17 Tahun -- Indonesian Chatroom
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES & WEBLOGS
Kamus Dialek Papua
KBBI Online (Indonesian Dictionary)
BAHASA STUDY RESOURCES
++Collins Malay Gem Dictionary++
++Bahasa Indonesia -- Book++
++Indonesian Phrase Book and Dictionary++
AUSTRONESIAN
Bahasa Malaysia & Indonesia
MALAY IS THE LINGUA FRANCA OF THE MALAY WORLD AND THE NATIIONAL LANGUAGES OF BOTH MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA (where it is known as Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia, respectively.) It has often been called one of the easiest languages in the world to learn, which I think is deserved. There are many factors which conspire to make Malay so easy, for example the (mostly) phonetic spelling and uncomplicated grammar. It is written in the Roman alphabet, which makes it easy for us Westerners to pick it up. There are no articles, which makes sense, since it is Topic-Prominent. To make tnous plural, you simply double the noun: bahasa-bahasa means languages. How cool is that? Bahasa Indonesia lacks complicated verbal tenses. That said, as with other Asian languages, there is a big difference between formal and informal words. Nonetheless, once you've got the words and a basic understanding of the grammar, you can speak the language as fluently as is possible for a foreigner. To say something like, 'I want to go and climb that mountain tomorrow,' you say, 'I like climb that mountain tomorrow,' or to say, 'Can I please have a cup of sweet tea,' you say 'Please sweet tea'. It's very easy. Now, let us explore the intricacies of Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia more closely, with a focus on learning traveller phrases and vocabulary: I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WHAT FOLLOWS IS NOT A SCHOLARLY OR LINGUISTICALLY DETAILED APPRAISAL OF THE BAHASA LANGUAGES OF INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA. It is just my personal observation, based on textbooks that I have read, courses on Duo Lingo, and my previous visits to the so-called "Malay world". (Without European colonialism, a poster on Asia Finest Forums pointed out, probably Maritime Southeast Asia (Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei-Philippines) would composed of 30 something kingdoms and countries similar to small Carribean countries. All of them speaking variants of Bahasa.) Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia have long been considered two of the easiest languages in the world to learn, especially in the initial phases. This site is intended to provide basic Bahasa skills that you can use in daily conversation, during your travels in Indonesia and Malaysia. Don"t be shy about speaking Bahasa -- just jump in and do it, the results will surprise you. The so-called Malay peoples are very friendly and you will never be lacking in finding someone to talk to, so long as you are open enough in nature. Anyway, here is a list of basic expressions and vocab you can use, gleened from my experiences (including TV viewing at a room at the Malaya Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, where I stayed in late April 2005. Specifically they were the Bahasa subtitles of the crappy B-grade Amercian movies that I watched there. Not much of a glorious source for my Bahasa material, I know, but I kind of feel like they represent the real Bahasa that the real people of Indonesia and Malaysia love. There is no culture like popular culture!)
So here is my glossary, gleaned from the depths of Malay TV, walking the streets, and browsing Bahasa textbooks in air-conditioned Malaysian and Indonesia bookshops:
Selamat pagi .......... Good morning.
Selamat siang .......... Good day.
Selamat sore .......... Good afternoon.
Selamat malam .......... Good evening, good night.
Selamat tidur .......... Sweet dreams.
Selamat jalan .......... Good bye (literally "safe road").
Selamat datang .......... Welcome.
Selamat datang ke Kuala Lumpur .......... Welcome to Kuala Lumpur.
Apa kabar? .......... How are you (lit. What's new?)
Apa baru? .......... What's new? (Malaysia).
Siapa kamu .......... Who are you?
Silakan .......... Please.
Terima kasih .......... Thank you.
Sampai bertemu lagi .......... See you later.
Maaf .......... Sorry, pardon me.
Saya tidak mengerti .......... I don't understand.
Apa saudara dapat bicara Bahasa Inggeris? .......... Can you speak English?
Asal saya dari * .......... I'm from *.
Dari mana asal saudara? .......... Where are you from?
Di mana saudara tinggal? .......... Where do you live?
Baik, terima kasih .......... I'm fine, thank you.
Apa-apa .......... Okay, all right.
Kamu dak apa-apa? .......... Are you okay? (Malaysia)
Saya .......... I (formal), me, my.
Aku .......... I (informal), me, my.
Kamu .......... You (formal), your.
Awak .......... You (informal, in Malaysia).
Kita .......... We, our, us (inclusive).
Kami .......... We, our, us (exclusive)
Mereka .......... They, them, their.
Sama .......... The same.
Anjing .......... Dog.
Anjingku .......... My dog.
Ayam .......... Chicken.
Ayammu .......... Your chicken.
Kucing .......... Cat.
Sotong .......... Squid.
Ular .......... Snake.
Pesta .......... Festival
Di sini .......... Here.
Aku di sini .......... I am here.
Gunung .......... Mountain.
Gunung ini .......... This mountain.
Gunung itu .......... That mountain.
Kampung .......... Village.
Kebun .......... Garden.
Kota .......... Town, city.
Pulau .......... Island.
Jepang .......... Japan.
Kepulauan .......... Archipelago.
Kepulauan Melayu .......... Malay Archipelago.
Negeri .......... Country, nation.
Sungai .......... River.
Jalan .......... Road.
Kereta .......... Train.
Sepeda motor .......... Motorcycle.
1 .......... Satu.
2 .......... Dua.
3 .......... Tiga.
4 .......... Empat (pronounced like ǝmpat or "uhmpat").
5 .......... Lima.
6 .......... Enam (ǝnam).
7 .......... Tujuh.
8 .......... Delapan.
9 .......... Sembilan.
10 .......... Sepuluh.
11 .......... Sebelas.
12 .......... Dua belas.
20 .......... Dua puluh.
21 .......... Dua puluh satu.
30 .......... Tiga puluh.
100 .......... Seratus.
1000 .......... Seribu.
1/2 .......... Setengah.
Hari Senen .......... Monday.
Hari Selasa .......... Tuesday.
Wednesday .......... Hari abu.
Thursday .......... Hari Kamis.
Friday .......... Hari Jum'at.
Saturday .......... Hari Sabtu.
Sunday .......... Hari Minggu.
Kapan? .......... When?
Jam berapa? .......... What time?
Pada jam satu .......... At 1 o'clock.
Hari ini .......... Today.
Besok .......... Tomorrow.
Kemarin .......... Yesterday.
Berapa lama? .......... How long?
Sekarang .......... Now.
Nanti .......... Shortly, soon.
Jam .......... Hour.
Buka 24 Jam .......... Open 24 hours (eg 7-11).
Menit .......... Minute.
Minggu .......... Week.
Bulan .......... Month.
Tahun .......... Year.
Usia .......... Age (formal).
Umur .......... Age (informal).
Berapa umur kamu? .......... How old are you?
Umur saya dua puluh tahun .......... I am 20 years old.
Pada tahun 1293 .......... In the year 1293.
Hitam .......... Black.
Merah .......... Red.
Putih .......... White.
Kucing itu hitam dan putih .......... That cat is black and white.
Kucing hitam dan putih itu .......... That black and white cat.
Bagus .......... Good (can also use in Indonesia.)
Besar .......... Big.
Kecil .......... Small.
Najis .......... Impure (in Islam).
Pedas .......... Spicy.
Akan .......... Will (for Future Tense!)
Baca .......... Read.
Cinta .......... Love.
Boleh .......... Can.
Buka .......... Open.
Duduk .......... Sit.
Duduk-duduk .......... Just sitting around.
Nonton .......... Watch.
Makan .......... Eat.
Makan-makan .......... Let's go eat!
Minum .......... Drink.
Pergi .......... Go.
Punya .......... Have.
Ini punya kamu .......... This is yours.
Suka .......... Like.
Tidur .......... Sleep.
Sudah .......... Already.
Sudah makan .......... Already eaten.
Tak .......... No (Indonesia use "tidak").
Di mana-mana .......... It could be anywhere.
Dia pergi ke mana? .......... Where did he go?
Ini untuk awak .......... This came for you.
Pergi! .......... Go!
Pergilah! .......... Okay, go!
Duduklah! .......... Okay, sit down!
Minumlah! .......... Okay, drink!
Baiklah! .......... It's okay!
Canlah .......... You can!
Boleh .......... Be allowed (Indonesia also okay.)
Tak boleh .......... No, you are not allowed (eg, to kiss me).
Pergi buka pintu .......... Go open the door.
Tidak ada apa-apa .......... No problem, everything okay.
Saya juga! .......... Me too!
Saya di sini! .......... I'm here!
Tuan juga! .......... You too!
Ini sedap .......... This is delicious.
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