-
Gemes
This word is difficult to find in the dictionaries because the “proper” form is actually “gemas”. Gemes is the Jakartanese pronunciation. The word describes the emotion of intense and passionated anger, but the…
-
English is Changing The Grammar Of Indonesian
If words are flesh and grammar is bones, then the flesh of Indonesian has an unmistakable English flavour by now. What you might not know is that English is shaping the bones of…
-
Indonesia’s Culture of Bargaining
Negotiating a price is the norm in Indonesia’s many thousands of markets, but often even in shops where “fixed” prices are displayed, there may be room for negotiation. There is usually no harm…
-
I Don’t Like This
Modesty is an important virtue in Indonesia. Indonesians tend to avoid making blunt negative statements such as Makanan ini tidak enak “I don’t like this food.” It is much better to use ‘Makanan ini kurang enak’ which literally means “This food is less delicious.”
-
To Thank Or Not To Thank in Indonesian
On my first trip to Indonesia twenty years ago, I arrived in the village of Ubud in Bali and was sitting in my losmen. Two young hotel maids came in, and started making…
-
Arabic loanwords in Indonesian revisited
How did Arabic loanwords end up in Indonesian?1 Various answers to this intriguing question have been put forward in an effort to trace the long road these words may have followed before becoming part of…
-
November 17, 2011Pasang
-
September 2, 2012Words for ‘Give’: Kasi(h) and Beri(kan)
-
November 19, 2012Expressing “When” and “While”
-
November 4, 2011The miracle of Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic
-
May 11, 2012George Quinn On Translating Indonesia
-
June 20, 2011Alphabet in Indonesian
