Indonesian is the national language of Indonesia, and the one most foreigners learn first. Everyone you are likely to meet will speak Indonesian. However, in Central Java, the most commonly used language for everyday conversations among Javanese people is Javanese. This is a different language to Indonesian. Indonesian is easier to learn than Javanese, and it is usually assumed that foreigners will learn it first, hence my focus on Indonesian in this basic introduction.
Here I will start by providing a guide to basic Indonesian that you might find useful during your stay. I may then add more complex language if time allows, so if you're planning to come in October, you can start learning now! If you want to learn more, you might consider getting a phrase book or an Indonesian language textbook. This website is also worth a look: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Indonesian
PRONUNCIATION
Pronunciation is a bit similar to standard English with a number of important differences. Here are some of the main ones:
a is pronounced with a wide sound as in man, not ah as in car or bath (for us Southerners).
c is pronounced like ch in English.
e has two variants - 1) like the first part of "birthday" but shorter, 2) like the French e with an acute accent.
g is pronounced hard, like granite, not germ.
i is pronounced like the vowel sound in the word be, not as in bicycle.
o as in orange, not as in toe.
r is rolled slightly.
u is like the vowel sound in book, not under.
If you really want to perfect your pronunciation it might be beneficial to look at websites with audio examples, for example, http://www.learningindonesian.com/ or http://www.learnindonesian.org/
GREETINGS AND MANNERS
Selamat pagi = Good morning
Selamat siang = Good day (for roughly 11am - 3pm)
Selamat sore = Good evening (for roughly 3pm - 7pm)
Selamat malam = Good evening (for roughly 7pm until morning)
Selamat datang = Welcome
Selamat tidur = Good night (for going to sleep)
Selamat jalan = Good bye (said to the person who is leaving)
Selamat tinggal = Good bye (said by the person who is leaving)
Terima kasih = Thank you
Sama-sama = You're welcome
Saya senang bertemu dengan anda = I'm pleased to meet you
NUMBERS
Indonesians sometimes use haggling/bartering and foreigners are sometimes overcharged. The currency is the rupiah, and with about 14,000 rupiahs to the pound, the numbers for counting money are fairly high. Fortunately Indonesian numbers are very straightforward.
1 satu
2 dua
3 tiga
4 empat
5 lima
6 enam
7 tujuh
8 delapan
9 sembilan
10 sepuluh
11 sebelas
12 duabelas and so on - take the number and add -belas for the teens
20 dua puluh
21 dua puluh satu
22 dua puluh dua and so on
100 seratus
200 dua ratus
1000 seribu
2000 dua ribu
1000000 satu juta
Examples: 12000 = dua belas ribu
40000 = empat puluh ribu
1, 234, 567 = satu juta, dua ratus tiga puluh empat ribu, lima ratus enam puluh tujuh.
USEFUL WORDS
Ya = yes
Tidak (often shortened to nggak, or gak) = no
Sudah = already (this and the following word are used far more frequently than their English equivalents)
Belum = not yet
QUESTIONS
Berapa harganya? = How much does it cost?
(Kamar kecil) di mana? = Where is (the toilet)?
Apa itu? = What is that?
SIMPLE CONVERSATIONS
Apa kabar? = How are you?
Baik = Fine
Siapa namanya? = What's your name?
Nama saya (Rachel). = My name is (Rachel).
Mau ke mana? = Where are you going? / Where do you want to go?
Saya mau ke (Mangkunegaran). = I'm going to (the Mangkunegaran) / I want to go to (the Mangkunegaran)
Asli mana? = Where are you from?
Saya asli (Inggris). = I'm from (England).
