Blog

Are Malay and Indonesian the same language? Let me begin this blog with a few observations about the English language. One day, I was speaking with my students at the University of Hawaiʻi when they started complaining about another professor in our department. “We know he speaks English,” they said, “but we simply cannot understand... Read More >...

Both mari and ayo are interjections used to invite or urge someone to do something—similar to the English “come on.” The difference between them is subtle, but ayo carries more force. If you want to speak with emphasis, use ayo: Ayo, bangun, sudah siang ni. Come on, wake up, it’s already late. Ayo masuk! Come... Read More >...

«Baca Yuk!», our intermediate Indonesian course, has been updated. Before, there was only one single Anki (flashcard) deck. Now, that «Baca Yuk!» has grown to over 30 lessons, it was time to rearrange the existing Anki deck. Now, you can revisit the previous learned vocabulary after every four lessons. Instead of one, we now have... Read More >...

Our beginner-level textbook, «The Indonesian Way», has been reviewed by Dr. Jessica Fox, who holds a Ph.D. in Second Language Studies from Michigan State University. The review was published in her article Toward a task-based textbook for Indonesian language learning in the Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, Vol. 19 .... Read More >...

In textbooks for the Indonesian language, you may read that the plural form is created by reduplicating the noun. In Indonesian for Beginners by Restiany Achmad, on page 6, it states: However, this is not entirely accurate! For example, how would you translate “When I was a child, there were no computers”? Would it be…... Read More >...

Learning a new language opens doors to new cultures, ideas, and opportunities, but mastering correct pronunciation is a crucial aspect that is often underestimated. Pronunciation directly affects how well we are understood and how confidently we engage with native speakers. For native English speakers, the challenge of learning correct pronunciation in languages like Indonesian is... Read More >...

Indonesian pronunciation is relatively straightforward, with just six vowels (compared to English’s 12) and 18 consonants. However, depending on your native language, certain aspects of Indonesian may be challenging. For example, Japanese speakers may find the /l/ sound difficult, Germans may struggle with the /j/, and native English speakers often have trouble rolling the /r/.... Read More >...

Gara-gara & Gara-gara apa? You all know the interrogative kenapa? (why?) and the conjunction karena (because). Now, I realise that the related pair gara-gara apa? (why?) and gara-gara (because) is for the first time mentioned in our intermediate textbook Baca Yuk! but not in The Indonesian Way. Gara-Gara as a Noun The interrogative gara-gara apa?... Read More >...