It is very rare to find an Indonesian who does not speak this language in addition to his/her own regional language, unless among the very elderly. Many Dutch words as well as some Portuguese, Arabic and English can also be found in the official Bahasa Indonesia dictionary.īahasa Indonesia has served to unify the country, and is now the language spoken in government, the media, schools and the business community. Bahasa Indonesia is a hybrid of other languages, based on Malay as the Malay language was used in the trade routes of Southeast Asia and therefore was already widely spoken in most of the region’s coastal areas. The concept of a national language, Bahasa Indonesia, first arose in 1928 when youth groups from around the country, at the time still a Dutch colony, held a national congress and pledged allegiance to one country, one nation and one language in order to promote unity among Indonesians. The indigenous languages of Java are very different than those of Bali, which is also totally different from the language used in Lombok for example. Fortunately it is a fairly simple language, without genders of nouns and tenses of verbs like many European languages, and it is certainly far less complicated than English! There are over five hundred different languages and dialects spoken in Indonesia which represent the many different ethnic groups found in the archipelago.
English is the main foreign language taught in schools and, although most Indonesians have a basic understanding of English, their knowledge is likely to be passive and the standard of English is not very high outside of the tourism industry and the business world.įor a foreigner to speak the language, or even make an attempt, is widely appreciated in Indonesia and will greatly facilitate the process of making friends and learning about the culture. It is certainly well worth taking the trouble to learn at least a little of the language as it will make your stay in Indonesia more rewarding.
One of the challenges for newcomers to Jakarta is learning the local language, Bahasa Indonesia.