Thread: Learning Indonesian

I find it strange that now when I return to work and am forced to use english again I often cannot recall a particlur word in english but i know the word in indonesian...

for example the other day i wanted to use the word "diligent", I just kept coming up with "rajin" the indonesian equivelant....

On occasion a word will enter my head, for no apparent reason..... i will rack my brain for the better part of an hour before finally conceeding and checking the dictionary...

I mulled over "knalpot" for a while the other day..... why the indonesian word for exhaust came to me is a mystery.

Indonesian is not so difficult but you still have memorize lots of vocab.

Same as learning any language. Memorize three new words a day and in a year, you know about 1,000.

The hardest part in learning languages is the grammar. The second hardest is correct pronunciation. The third is trying to speak like a local, (depending where you are).

Indonesian grammar is fairly straight-forward, (unlike English), so being able to be understood is not all that difficult. On the other hand, engaging in conversations dealing with complex topics, (such as philosophy, for example), requires a much more advanced grasp of Indonesian than the mere basics. Sophisticated Bahasa Indonesia requires considerably more time and effort than being able to ask how much is that coconut? in a market.

Easy to learn when you live there, when you have to function. Book/on line learning does not work.

It may not "work" 100%, but it certainly gives you a workable foundation to build on.

I mulled over "knalpot" for a while the other day..... why the indonesian word for exhaust came to me is a mystery.

I've had the same experience many times. (Not only about "knalpot"; "cat oven" keeps popping up for me.)

When I go back to my western country for a visit, I notice that I get tongue-tied quite frequently speaking "real" English. I truncate sentences, change the word order around, and when shopping, try to bargain, etc. "Berapa those prawns very big, again? Is that a morning price"

My mother, (now 86 years old), could speak 16 languages in her hey-day. Her worst one was English. My father, (long dead), could speak 8 languages. His worst one was English. I could speak 3-4, sort of, when I was six. I managed to get university degrees in English language and literature, but became a psychologist instead.

Knowing too many languages can drive anyone bonkers. Maybe that's why I became interested in psychology in the first place.

IMHO, those mp3 Bahasa Indonesia lessons that markit pointed to are very worthwhile.

:D

16 languages? That's amazing. May I ask what some or all of them were?

For calitobali...

Here are ten of them. (I forget the rest.)

Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Estonian, Latvian, Ukrainian, German, Czechoslovakian, French, English.

Others like Hungarian, Croatian, and a few more.

:D

Thanks Markit

I know of mp3cutter, etc.

I often use Steinberg's WaveLab, (not free), to chop up sound files or even the free Audacity, (with the appropriate codecs installed). I'm sure there are plenty of "free" options out there these days.

:)

Hi All
New here today so a big hi to all.
I followed the link and downloaded all the Indonesian lessons and now the big job of cutting out the ads and the beginning and end. Then it will be a quick burn to cd and I's listen and learn as I drive to work each day.
Thanks for that link.

All the best