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…
Summary of Colloquial Features
Words Meaning Formal Equivalent bakal marker of future time akan banget very sekali bareng together bersama biar so that, in order that supaya bikin to make membuat bilang say berkata bokap father ayah…
Basic Features
Introduction This module is for students who know formal standard Indonesian fairly well but do not yet know colloquial Indonesian. It aims to equip them with a good enough reading knowledge to enjoy…
Basic Features Example (1)
1.Cewek itu lagi duduk bareng temen. That girl was sitting with a friend. Colloquial items: cewek = young woman lagi = indicates action-in-progress bareng = together, together with temen = (“tM’N”) teman with…
Basic Features Example (2)
8. Kalo makan rendang mending pake tangan aja. If you eat beef rendang it’s better to just use your hands. Colloquial items: kalo = kalau with sound change au → o: if, when….
Basic Features Example (3)
15. Dia gak dateng. Mungkin lagi sibuk kali ya? He didn’t come. Maybe he’s busy, hm? Colloquial items: gak = no, not. [Also enggak, nggak, or ga] dateng = (“DAt’ng”) datang with sound…
Basic Features: Exercise (1)
These sentences 1-15 below give reading practice in all the colloquial features introduced in THE EXAMPLE SENTENCES earlier An Answer Key is provided at the end of the section. 1. (explaining why didn’t…
Colloquial Prefixes
Colloquial Prefixes On Transitive Verbs One basic feature has been deliberately omitted until now, as it merits separate treatment: sound changes for forming verbs. You already know the set of sound changes to…
Colloquial Prefixes: Exercise (2)
These sentences 1-22 below give reading practice in all the colloquial features introduced so far. An Answer Key is at the end of the section. 1. (talking admiringly about a palace). Gua ga…
Emotive Particles (1): kan, nih, tuh, lho
These particles are scattered through colloquial Jakartan speech and writing. They don’t carry concrete meaning, but rather express the speaker’s feelings about what is being said. Their effect is subtle and often hard…
