Pronunciation of “ng”

Both English and Indonesian feature the letter combination “ng,” which represents the /ŋ/ sound. Although it consists of two letters, it is actually a single sound

”ng” in Initial Position

In English, the /ŋ/ sound typically appears in the middle or at the end of words, such as in “England” or “running.” However, unlike English, Indonesian also uses /ŋ/ at the beginning of words, as in nganga ‘gaping; wide-open’. In many languages, /ŋ/ does not occur in the initial position, making it challenging to pronounce. Fortunately, Indonesian words that start with “ng” are relatively few in number. Yet, in colloquial Indonesian, words with an initial “ng” are quite common, such as nggak, ngapain, ngobrol, ngorok, etc.

Listen to the following words and try to imitate the pronunciation as accurately as possible. You can use the voice recorder below to record and compare your own pronunciation.

    nggak ‘no, not’

    ngomong ‘to talk, speak’

    ngobrol ‘to chat, converse’

    ngorok ‘to snore’

    ngapain ‘do what?; why do you do that?’

Although most languages include this sound, I’ve noticed as an Indonesian language teacher that native speakers of many languages often struggle to pronounce the /ŋ/ sound correctly when it appears at the beginning or in the middle of a word.

”ng” in Medial Position

Words like dingin, langit, and tangis are often mispronounced with an added /g/, leading to incorrect versions such as “dinggin,” “langgit,” or “tanggis.” The correct pronunciation, however, is “di-ngin,” “la-ngit,” and “ta-ngis.” With practice, you’ll become more comfortable pronouncing them accurately.

Listen closely to the following words with “ng” in the middle position. Use the voice recorder below to compare your pronunciation with that of a native speaker

    menangis; to weep, cry’

    mengapa? ‘why?’

    bangun ‘to wake up’

    bingung ‘confused’

    bunga ‘flower’

    hangat ‘warm’

    ingat ‘remember’

Now let’s contrast words with medial “ng” with those with “ngg” in medial position. Use the voice recorder further down to compare your voice with that of a native speaker:

    anggota ‘member’

    anggur ‘grape, wine’

    bangga ‘proud’

    Inggris ‘England, English, United Kingdom’

    menggoreng ‘to fry’

    menunggu ‘to wait’

    tanggal ‘date’

Exercise “ng” versus “ngg” 1

Now, listen closely to the following 11 words, focusing on the /ng/ sound. Do you hear “ng” or “ngg”?

Exercise “ng” versus “ngg” 2

Listen to the audio file once more and use the voice recorder to capture your own pronunciation. Then, replay the native speaker’s pronunciation and compare it with yours.

Video

This Youtube video is actually quite good. Check it out: