Assimil Indonesian

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Berenice Pretlow

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Aug 3, 2024, 10:14:05 AM8/3/24

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// We're putting this on display: none after we have its width. trp_shortcode_language_item.style.display = 'none'; } On the same principle as Learn Thai Podcasthere is Learning IndonesianOnline audio lessons to learn the basics of the Bahasa Indonesia, the Indonesian language, very close to the Melayu Bahasa, spoken in Malaysia.

I still have two weeks to wait before flying to Kuala Lumpur for a half Malaysian, half Indonesian trip. In the meantime, I'm going to explore a bit further the podcasts available on this site, to listen to see if I can pick up some extra stuff. And then, listening to the phrases in my ear is also a way to prepare the trip!

I know how to say where I come from and where I'm going (or avoid saying it with the inusable "jalan-jalan"), counting (my money, or my years, or the weeks I'll spend visiting the country), asking the basic questions you always need (how much does it cost, do you have a room, where is the toilet), expressing the past and the future. Finally, I have some vocabulary... mostly food!

On each of my trips to Indonesia and Malaysia, I reuse my little Assimil entitled The Indonesian pocketI'm still far from having assimilated everything. It's well done, it allows you to get by. For the pronunciation and the basic syntax, it's much easier than Thai, I think.

In general, my interlocutor, too happy to see my self-confidence in front of his first questions (easy, they are always the same: where are you from, where are you going, how long are you staying here, etc.), suddenly starts to spout long sentences at full speed and I don't understand anything anymore...

When I find myself wandering around Kalimantan (the Indonesian state that occupies the southern two-thirds of Borneo), with no one left to speak English in the area, I won't be so smart, that's for sure.