Optional:

• A pen and a pad to carry around with you to note down new words and expressions you encounter.
  
• An Indonesian phrasebook, preferably one with an English to Indonesian and Indonesian to English dictionary.

Put in about 20 minutes per day for four to seven days, and you should be able to get a grip on the basics. Real fluency, of course, may take a lifetime to master (but hey, you gotta start somewhere). When you visit Indonesia, give yourself one to three days to break in your new communication skills before heading to the hinterlands, where you may not have English to fall back upon.

While it may seem unnecessary to study the Indonesian terms for "thousands" and "millions," learning these words will actually come in handy. The exchange rate for one U.S. dollar hovers around 2,400 Indonesian rupiah. Meals are likely to cost in the thousands, and airline tickets in the millions of rupiah.

Be aware of cultural differences. While travelers tend to judge local inhabitants according their own cultural standards, locals are just as likely to evaluate them according to Indonesian customs and traditions. Sensitivity towards cultural differences will make your visit a richer and happier experience, while insensitivity is likely to produce the opposite effect.

In Indonesia, the concept of time is flexible. Instead of being slaves to appointments and dates, many Indonesians metaphorically adjust time to fit their schedules. The phrase for this adjusting is "jam karet," which literally means, "rubber time." If someone is 30 minutes late for an appointment, people naturally assume that something legitimately detained the person, and it's considered poor form to point out the person's tardiness.

Acting congenial is normal behavior in Indonesian interactions. It's common to smile and nod while talking to others--even when you're complaining about poor service and during other, uncharacterisctically smile-worthy interactions. Avoid public shows of emotion, particularly anger or irritation.

One last piece of advice: don't be afraid to make mistakes. The best show of a willingness to learn is a willingness to be corrected. Take it all in good stride: getting the locals to laugh is a time-tested icebreaker, so long as you have the grace to laugh along with them.

Selamat jalan!

2torial #0828: Learn2 Get By in Indonesian Selamat datang right back at ya! Indonesian? Yes, Indonesian. If you've ever been intrigued by the notion of travel in Southeast Asia, this is one language you should consider studying. Why? For a couple of very good reasons: It's (relatively) easy. Unlike Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and the like, it doesn't require mastery of a new writing system. The grammar is among the simplest of modern languages, and pronunciation is almost always a snap. It opens up a big part of the world. Most Americans are surprised to find that Indonesia is the fourth most populous country on the planet, right behind the U.S. itself. That's a lot of new friends to make. And what's more, a lot of new ground to cover: the nation itself is spread over more than 17,000 islands that literally bridge the Pacific, in a territory that makes it neighbors with everyone from Thailand to Australia to Papua New Guinea. That's a country big enough to have dozens of fascinating subcultures, from the laid-back Hindus of Bali to the urbane Muslim of Jakarta. This is not your standard-issue Third World County we're talking about. But enough Chamber of Commerce-speak: let's learn you some language! The following is one of our celebrated "Get by Guides," designed not to make you fluent in the language, but to thrust the basics of day-to-day communication in your general direction. Semoga berhasil! (Good luck!). Learn the basic pronunciation Listening carefully to native speakers is a good way to grasp the sounds and inflections of Indonesian pronunciation. It's easy to follow as Indonesian is consistently phonetic--meaning that words and letters never never veer from their assigned sounds. Unlike English, which gives us charming words like "thought," "drought" and "draught" to decipher, Indonesian is purely WYSIWYS, or "what you see is what you speak." Indonesian is pronounced as it it is read. It incorporates a Roman alphabet (that's the alphabet you're reading right now), which is, for the most part, pronounced similarly to English--with some notable exceptions: "c" is pronounced as "ch," as in "change." coba (cho-ba) = to try cari (cha-ri) = to look for, to seek "g" is always hard, as in "girl." gaji = salary, wages gula = sugar "h" is pronounced very softly, sometimes not pronounced at all. habis (a-bis) = finished hidup (i-dup) = to live "kh" is pronounced as a hard "k," as in "kitchen" khabar = news khusus = special "e" is soft, like the "u" in "but" empat = four beli = to buy Stress: Indonesian is spoken rhythmically with little or no stress. In words that have two or more syllables, a light stress falls on the penultimate syllable. sa'ya (sa-YA) = I te ta' pi (te-TA-pi) = but ke ma' rin (ke-MA-rin) = yesterday The weak "e" in open syllables is never stressed. ke ma' rin (ke-MA-rin) = yesterday kecil' = small Words derived from foreign terms are stressed according to the Dutch or French usage. presiden' (pray-si-den) = president parlemen' (par-le-men) = parliament demokrasi' (dey-mo-kra-si) = democracy poli'si (po-li-si) = policy ekonomi' (ay-ko-no-mi) = economy. Tackle the greetings and salutations How do you do? The word "selamat" is used in most Indonesian greetings. By itself, it means "congratulations," but when combined with other Indonesian words, the combination becomes a common greeting. selamat datang = welcome (datang = come) selamat pagi = good morning (pagi = morning until 11 AM) selamat siang = good afternoon (siang = afternoon from 11 AM to 3 PM) selamat sore (so-ray) = good afternoon (sore = 3 PM until nightfall) selamat malam = good evening (malam = after dark) selamat tidur = good night (tidur = sleep)   Often in ordinary speech, Indonesians shorten phrases or words by leaving out some parts of the words. Often you'll hear just "pagi" or "siang," without the "selamat" tacked on in the beginning, similar to the shortened "g' morning" or "mornin'" used in English. And although Indonesian is for the most part a phonetic language, you'll hear some slurring on very common words: selamat, for instance, will more often be sla-MAT than SE-la-mat.   Apa khabar = How are you? Literally, "what's the news?" "Apa" means "what," and "khabar" is the word for "news."   Respond to someone's "Apa khabar?" with "Khabar baik" or "Baik baik." Both phrases mean "I'm fine." "Baik" is also the word for "good."   So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, good night   When taking leave of someone it is polite to excuse yourself by saying:   "Mori. Saya pergi dulu." Literally, this means "Excuse me. I - go - first," but its intent is "Good-bye."   To say good-bye more informally, Indonesians use the phrase "Sampai jumpa lagi," which translates as "until we meet again," or "see you later." Also common is "da-da," a phrase derived from Dutch and the equivalent of the English "bye-bye."   Other common farewells: selamat tinggal = good bye (tinggal = stay) selamat jalan = bon voyage (jalan = journey). Forms of address Indonesians have a strong sense of social hierarchy, evident in the Indonesian language's many forms of addressing people. Each address corresponds to a hierarchical level, so it's a good idea to listen first to a native speaker address someone; addresses improperly used may cause offense. "Bapak" or "pak" is the most common form of address for an adult male, much like "mister" or "sir" in English. The terms mean "father," and the "k" is prounounced very softly. "Ibu" is used for addressing all women, particularly married and older women. Indonesians tend to call people by their first names rather than last names. Hence it's common to hear "Pak John" or "Ibu Janet." "Anda" is the formal term for "you." Use this form of the second-person singular with people you are meeting for the first time, people older than you and professional superiors. "Kamu" also means "you," but it is used only in informal situations. Used when addressing close friends or children, it is similar to the "tu" form in most Romance languages. If there is any doubt about the appropriate phrase to use, use "anda." Indonesians often address foreigners as "tuan" (sir), "nyonya" (madam) or "nona" (miss). While Indonesians may do so, you should not use these forms of address yourself. The following two words are Javanese in origin, and their use outside Java is limited: "Mas" (older brother) and "mbak" (older sister) are polite forms of address for someone younger than you or of the same age. The terms are commonly used in Java to address wait and shop staff and connote social inferiority. Painless grammar Tenses Rejoice! Indonesian does not have any tenses. The same form of the verb is used to indicate the past, present and future. The tense intended is usually clear from the context of the sentence. Indonesian is often called a "contextual language"--similar words and phrases are used in a wide variety of sentences. Differences in meaning are gleaned from the sentences' contexts.   saya makan = I eat or I am eating saya sudah makan = I have already eaten saya makan tadi = I ate just now saya akan makan = I will eat saya makan nanti = I will eat later   Gender Rejoice again! There is no gender distinction in Indonesian pronouns. "He," "she" and "it" are all "dia."   Attributive adjectives are placed after the word they qualify. anjing putih = a white dog (anjing = dog, putih = white) kantor besar = a big office (kantor = office, besar = big) kota kecil = a small town (kota = town or city, kecil = small). Interrogative words and phrases   apa? = what? apa ini? = what is this? apa itu? = what is that? siapa? = who? siapa ini? = who is this? kapan? = when? mana? = where? di mana? = where is it? dari mana? = from where? ke mana? = to where? yang mana? = which one? bagaimana? = how? berapa? = how much? berapa harga? = how much is the price? jam berapa? = what time is it?   ya = yes tidak = no tidak mau = I don't want stidak bisa = cannot tidak boleh = may not, should not ada? = is there? ada = there is tidak ada = there is none/it's not there bisa = can boleh = may/permitted to boleh sya coba itu? = May I try this? silakan = be my guest/you are welcome   terima kasih = thank you sama sama or kembali = you're welcome permisi = excuse me, used when interrupting someone ma'af = I'm sorry, used for all other instances   Some basic phrases   di mana ---? = where is ---? di mana kantor pos? = where is the post office? dari mana Pak? = where are you from, Sir? mau ke mana? = where are you going?/where do you wish to go? kapan datang di sini? = when did you arrive here? siapa nama anda? = what is your name? bakaimana saya bisa? = how can I? kenapa tidak bisa? = why can't I? saya mau = I want to saya mai pergi ke = I want to go to ---. Pergi means "go." saya mau beli ini/itu = I want to buy this/that   Basic introductions   siapa nama bapak/ibu? = what is your name? nama saya --- = my name is--- asal bapak/ibu dari mana? = where do you originate from? saya dari India = I am from India saya orang Amerika = I am an American   "Orang Jepang" is a Japanese person. Just "Jepang" or "Negeri Jepang" means Japan, the country; "Bahasa Jepang" is the Japanese language. "Orang," "negeri" and "bahasa" work similarly with the following:   Australi = Australian Belanda = Dutch Denmark = Danish Inggeris = English Italia = Italian Kanada = Canadian Muangthai = Thai Norwegia = Norwegian Perancis = French Selandia beru = New Zealander Sepanyol = Spanish Suedia = Swedish Suis = Swiss Tionghoa = Chinese Yunani = Greek Making requests tolong = literally, to help "Tolong" is used in asking someone to do something, used similarly to "please." tolong kirim surat ini = please send this letter tolong panggil taksi = please call me a taxi boleh = literally, to permit "Boleh" is used in asking permission and has the same connotation as the English "may I". boleh saya lihat ini? = may I see this? (lihat = to see) boleh saya bicara denggan ---? = may I speak to ---? (bicara = to speak) minta = literally, to request. "Minta" is used to order food and drink. minta air minum = can I have water to drink? (air = water, minum = drink)   Responses Possible responses to requests using the above are: silakan = please, go ahead/be my guest boleh = you may tidak boleh = you may not bisa = you can tidak bisa = you cannot Directions alamat = address gedung = building rumah = house/home jalan = street jalan raya = highway/thoroughfare jalan tol = toll road/expressway lewat = by way of/to pass by belok = to turn kanan = right kiri = left terus = straight berhenti or hop = stop putar = turn around/make a U-turn saya mau ke --- = I want to go to --- saya mau lewat --- = I want to go by way of --- terminal bis di mana? = where is the bus terminal?   Watch out for these signs Road signs Awas! or Hati-hati! = Caution! Dilarang masuk = No entry Dilarang parkir di sini = No parking Kurangi keceptan sekarang = Reduce your speed Other signs Dilarang merokok = No smoking Keluar = exit Masuk = entrance Penerangan = information Berbahaya! = Danger! Bayar di kas = pay at the cash register Food, drink and shopping   Rumah makan or restoran = restaurant warung = small restaurant/eating small makan = to eat makanan = food minum = to drink minuman = a drink.drinks   makan pagi = breakfast makan siang = lunch makan malam = dinner pisau = knife garpu = fork sendok = spoon piring = plate gelas = glass mangkok = bowl   boleh lihat daftar makanan? = may I see the menu? (daftar = list) saya mau pesan --- = I want to order --- minta garpu dan sendok = please give me a fork and spoon minta sati lagi = please give me one more (satu = one, lagi = more) minta bon = please bring me the bill (bon = bill) air (pronounced a-yer) = water air minum = drinking water nasi = cooked rice telur = egg roti = bread gula = sugar   garam = salt lada = pepper ayam = chicken daging = beef susu = milk kopi = black coffee buah = fruit   Shopping   jual = sell beli = buy toko = shop pasar = market uang = money tunai = cash harga = price mahal = expensive murah = cheap/inexpensive ukurnan = size/measurement   harga ini berapa? = how much does this cost? saya mau ini/itu = I want this/that one ada warna yang lain? = do you have another color? (warna = color) tidak mau = I don't want it/this   Numbers nol, kosong = zero satu = one dua = two tiga = three empat = four lima = five enam = six tujuh = seven delapan = eight sembilan = nine sepuluh = ten   "Se-" is the prefix indicating one. "Puluh" is the suffix idicating ten and multiples of ten. So, "sepuluh" is ten. "Dua puluh" is twenty and "tiga puluh" is thirty.   "Belas" is the suffix for numbers in the teens. "Dua belas" is twelve, "empat belas" is fourteen.   dua puluh satu = twenty-one dua puluh dua = twenty-two tiga puluh lima = thirty-five empat puluh eman = forty-six   ratus = hundred seratus = one hundred dua ratus = two hundred tiga ratus dua puluh = three hundred twenty empat ratus sembilan puluh tiga = four hundred ninety-three   ribu = thousand seribu = one thousand tiga ribu empat ratus = three thousand four hundred   juta = million milyar = billion -end- Learn More!