Feature photo: boyke bader Photo: Brian Giesen
“Learn Indonesian? What for? The only words you need to know are terus, berhenti and putar balik. Continue, stop, and turn around,” said my expat colleagues between snickers and high fives. “You know, for the taxi drivers.”
I could have lived in the expat bubble by eating in restaurants, hiring an English-speaking maid and hanging out with ‘my’ kind, but I wanted to be able to eat at roadside stalls and order without pointing. I wanted to have conversations with taxi drivers beyond “continue, stop, turn around.” I wanted to understand the jokes my Indonesian colleagues forwarded to each other, and I wanted to be able to speak to a certain cute girl in customer service.
When I first went to Indonesia in mid 2005, I had not expected to need (far less to want) to learn the local language. Like many Indians, I had been brought up to believe that all “educated” people speak English. The only other country I had visited previously was Malaysia, where English enjoys a similar status.
It was hard for me to imagine someone with a university education unable to speak English and to not be ashamed of the fact. I was surprised to walk into fancy restaurants and top hotels and to not be addressed in English. This reduced status of English was new and fascinating; my understanding of the world had taken a severe wallop.
I bought a couple of Bahasa books and found some online vocabulary and grammar exercises. My first goal was to learn the numbers, ask the cost of things, understand the response and pay the right amount.
Photo: boyke bader
I met this goal quickly, and I thought, “This language is easy! There are no verb tenses, no strict rules on word order and not even plurals.” In most cases you just repeat the word and it becomes a plural. Slowly I learned enough to try and talk about inane stuff with my co-workers, and avoid ordering genteng (roof tiles) instead of kentang (potatoes) at a restaurant.
I was arrogant and (probably) insufferable, and thought myself better than my expat colleagues for making an effort. I boasted about having “learned” the language in two months. I would pre-plan conversations and prepare sentences beforehand to show off my Bahasa skills. Things went fine for a while, but pre-planned conversations can only go so far. Indonesians have no qualms bursting out in laughter when a foreigner makes a mistake in Bahasa. I reached a point where I could communicate in many everyday situations, but I couldn’t make out a single word when people spoke to each other in Indonesian.
The truth became clear to me when one day, after I had had enough of the laughter and bit back, one of my local friends quipped, “I’m sorry, but you sound too much like an airport announcement.”
“Or a newsreader,” another chimed in.
I had always assumed that I couldn’t understand Indonesians because they spoke faster when speaking to each other, but that was not the case. A German intern who had moved to Indonesia after four semesters of studying the language back home explained to me that difference between textbook Indonesian and colloquial Indonesian is massive.
Speakers add suffixes, drop suffixes, and use words not found in a dictionary. Words are often shortened, sudah becomes udah or even just dah, and the word lagi is used in a hundred different contexts. Anda, kamu, lu, bapak, ibu, mas, mbak, saudara and kau are all different forms of the pronoun “you,” yet while anda is supposed to be acceptable in all situations you will rarely hear it spoken between two Indonesians in an everyday conversation.
Indonesian turned out to be a lot more complicated than I originally thought.
I gave up on my language study books and started reading Indonesian blogs, tuned in to the trendy FM stations and filled my MP3 player with Indonesian songs. While I couldn’t tear myself away from my favorite English TV shows, I started watching Indonesian shows every now and then. I wasn’t making any tangible progress, but I felt I was doing my best to “immerse” myself.
Photo: jensen_chua
Things started changing when one of my colleagues invited me to be the fourth player in a doubles tennis match. He was the quiet guy at work and I never expected to have much contact with him out of the office, but he turned out to be a very knowledgeable and encouraging guy with the patience of a mountain and opinions on everything. He was also like a human auto-complete. While I struggled for the right word, he’d come up with suggestions that sometimes fit, and sometimes led me to form ridiculous sentences that sounded correct but ended up meaning something I hadn’t even remotely intended. Either way, I was learning.
Earlier the same month I was introduced to a law student who had no patience for English. We got along immediately, but communication between us was painfully slow and full of misunderstandings. Nevertheless, I was determined to communicate in Bahasa. Sometimes I’d have to break off mid-sentence to look up a word in a dictionary. Progress was rapid, though and within a few weeks I needed the dictionary less frequently during our conversations.
By using the language with friends and colleagues, I was making rapid progress, and after a while I didn’t even realize how far I had come. One day I went over to a friend’s place and a show called “Empat Mata” (Four Eyes) was on. I was able to understand a lot, and I even got some of the jokes.
By 2007, life had settled into a routine and I was itching for more. I wanted to expand my social circle and learn something new. I searched for a class that was close to home and had convenient timings. I found a French class. I was quite confident in Indonesian, but learning a new language through one that I had just learned seemed a bit intimidating. Feeling both nervousness and excitement, I signed up. It would be the ultimate test!
When I walked into the institute the evening of the first class, my would-be classmates were all gathered in the café outside the classroom, getting to know each other. There was one other foreigner, an Italian who worked for the UN and wanted to prepare for his next assignment in Geneva. We were all talking in Indonesian, and he was mentioning how impressed he was with Jakarta’s skyline. The word for skyline, however, escaped him, and he looked around for help. None was forthcoming.
“Garis langit?” I offered hesitantly, making a literal translation.
“Ohhh garis langit,” the group nodded.
I beamed. I knew then that I would get by.
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21 Comments... join the discussion!
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Hi Lovina,
Exactly! Especially the “Bahasa Gaul”, the slang. It was tough to learn but immensely rewarding, as it opened up communication channels everywhere!
Terimakasih, tapi sayangnya saya sudah tinggalkan Nusantaraku tercinta
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I’m learning Indonesia now during a month-long stay. One of the best ways to practice is to talk to pretty women on the street. Not with any intentions, but just to chat. I point at their clothes and ask the to teach me the names of colours. I ask about their studies or work or family. They love the attention and giggle at everything you say. It’s both educational and charming.
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Hey Roberto, I wouldn’t have put talking to pretty women under the “educational” category. Makes it sound like work!
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But Animesh, don’t you know that work can sometimes be fun? Adorably, charmingly, seductively fun?
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Learning Indonesian is great fun. I knew I had suddenly absorbed enough once I started dreaming in Indonesian! Mind you I have so much more study to do and always long for my time in Indonesia so I can be immersed in it and learn more. Thanks fir sharing your story.
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Strangely enough, even though everyone says that dreaming is the litmus test, I don’t really know what language I dream in, as I forget everything immediately after waking up!
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“I had been brought up to believe that all “educated” people speak English.”
I still remember the first time I realized this argument didn’t hold. It came fairly late and made me feel incredibly stupid.
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I loved that line as well since the attitude is very similar in Pakistan, and I was glad I spent my first year abroad living in Morocco, a country where English does not have that privileged status and is only spoken by a small minority. It must have been terribly humbling to realize the ’superiority of English’ worldview is not held on to in all other countries!
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Knowing the English thing is like swallowing the red pill from the Matrix. Once you realise that, life is never the same again, and somehow you can never fully connect with people who are still living the “one language fits all” illusion.
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I feel proud to be Indonesian. I hope more and more foreigners are willing to learn bahasa Indonesia and to mingle with common Indonesian rather than staying in their comfort zone.
Terima kasih sudah belajar Bahasa Indonesia dan mencintai negeri saya.
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Hey Anita,
My thoughts exactly, I hope someone will be inspired to learn Indonesian after reading this!↵ -
Now you need to write one for your Spanish skills !!
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Tarun,
I thought about it, but people would just think I’m showing off
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Anita, you should be proud. And you should hope that most Indonesians go on not speaking English. The rewards for those who make an effort to learn the language are immeasurable.
What wonderful, kind, warm, generous people you are.
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Ah yes, bahasa gaul is the most tough. If you live in Jakarta like me, or Bandung, you’ll hear everyone’s talkin that way. Some people even made bahasa gaul dictionary
) Ayo datang lagi ke Indonesia, banyak yang baru disini
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i’ll give you example in the use of formal indonesian language and the slank one.
english:
me and each and every indonesian people are honored that you spent time on your interest in learning indonesian language, we really do honored.next time you come here, you should drop me an email so we can meet up and i’ll take you to various locations, especially in jakarta, show you the whole other side, untouched by foreigners, and mixed with all other indonesian people and show you more friendship and more slank used in indonesian daily conversations.
and in terms, you could teach me spanish language, i’m a fan of learning foreign languages, i could speak in indonesia, english, mandarin, japanese, learning korean at this moment, and if you’re to come here again, learning spanish then.
formal indonesian :
saya dan seluruh rakyat indonesia merasa terhormat anda telah menghabiskan waktu dari ketertarikan anda dalam mempelajari bahasa indonesia. kami benar-benar merasa terhormat.lain kali anda datang lagi, anda boleh mengirimkan saya email hinga kita dapat bertemu, dan saya akan mengajak anda ke berbagai tempat, terutama di jakarta, menunjukan sis lain, tidak tersentuh oleh orang asing, dan berbaur dengan semua orang indonesia, dan menunjukan anda lebih banyak persahabatan dan bahasa pergaulan yang digunakan dalam percakapan sehari-hari orang indonesia.
sebagai gantinya, anda dapat mengajari saya bahasa spanyol, saya penggemar belajar bahasa asing, saya bisa bicara dalam bahasa indonesia, inggris, mandarin, jepang, dan sedang mempelajari bahasa korea, dan bila anda datang lagi kesini, saya akan mempelajar bahasa spanyol nanti
slank indonesia :
gw dan semua orang indo merasa terhormat u uda mau lewatin waktu disini dan minat belajar bahasa indo, kami bener2 terhormat.nanti kalo dateng lagi, u kirim gw email, dan kita ketemu, gw ajak u ke tempat2 lain, terutama di jakarta, kasih liat sisi yang berbeda, yang belon ada orang bule nya, dan bergaul sama semua orang indo dan kasih u liat lebih banyak persahabatan dan bahasa gaul yang dipakai di percakapan sehari2.
gantinya, u ajarin gw bahasa spanyol, gw hobi belajar bahasa asing, gw bisa ngomong indonesia, inggris, mandarin, jepang, dan lagi belajar bahasa korea sekarang, kalo nanti u dateng lagi, belajar bahasa spanyol nantinya.
i give you the above slank indonesian language so you can evaluate yourself, quite different right? if you have any interest in indonesian slank language, please do drop me email at handywijaya82@live.com, don’t hesitate, i’ll teach you
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To Anita
My Dear,
Just mention one good reason to be proud to be Indonesian. Did you look around you???? Maybe you are blind.
My god I was not so lucky to be born Indonesian…………, poor me.
Giacomo
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Giacomo,
A very small reason why I am proud to be Indonesian and to live in Indonesia. I can get free tissue in any types of restaurants, from a small KAKI LIMA to BINTANG LIMA. You will not get this comfort in Singapore unless you go to a pricey food stall.
That’s a very small reason but really comforts me.
I think you are not a grateful type of person and I am sure Indonesia regrets to have you here.
Why dont you move away to your dream country and change your nationality if you have the capacity????
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It is fun to read your story in learning Indonesian language. It’s always a challenge to learn new language. As Indonesian, I didn’t realize how difficult Indonesian language could be for foreigner. Like you had mentioned, Indonesian language have no strict rules on word order. Currently I am learning Dutch and Spanish, yet myself – most of the time complaining how complicated these languages are with their past, present, future tenses – not to mention their pronunciation!
Learning foreign languages always interesting. It will open your mind to other cultures and also opportunity to get in touch with locals, where ever you are
Any new language to learn for the next trip? salam hangat..
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Love this! Am learning Indonesian now and can relate to your frustrations and senses of accomplishment.
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