When I talk to people about studying Indonesian in Jakarta, one of the most common responses is something like: “You know, what they teach you in the classroom is totally different from what you hear on the streets!”
Posts published in “Reading EN”
Borrowing words is not a sign of any linguistic defect. It is natural response to the need to express new concepts. Rather than weakening a language, borrowing actually strengthens it.
Insurance terms in Indonesian language can be confusing. Health means kesehatan, the noun form for sehat (being healthy). Insurance can be translated into jaminan or…
You should note that when the kinship term bapak (a father) used as second person pronouns (i.e. meaning “you”), Bapak is written with the initial capital B. But…
The shield’s five emblems in the Indonesia’s coat of arms Garuda Pancasila represent Pancasila. Italso spelled Pantjasila, English Five Principles, the Indonesian state philosophy, was formulated by the Indonesian…
Round Table Conference Indonesia Nederland Society The Hague, Senate Building, 25 June 2014 When I was contemplating which thoughts I would like to share with…
Language and Indonesian Nationalist Movement by Abdul ‘dubbun’ Hakim, Director of Center for Islam and State Studies Indonesia In the colonial period, Indonesian founding fathers faced…
The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, was formed as a colony of the Netherlands in 1800 when the country nationalized the Dutch East…
I still remember very vividly the moment I became hooked on the study of Indonesia and on the mystery of translation between Indonesian and English.…
Corporate and public organisations now operate on a global scale. Whether dealing with an overseas client, colleague or supplier, or exploring a new business partnership.…
Bale-bale, this is the traditional type of seat which is still in demand in modern society in Indonesia. In General Dictionary of Indonesian Language, Bale-bale…
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…