< Indonesian < Lessons
Lessons
Introductory
0.01 Introduction
0.02 Learning Indonesian
0.03 The Alphabet
0.04 Pronunciation
0.05 Greetings
0.06 Formal Speech
0.07 How are you?
0.08 Numbers
0.09 Dates
0.10 Telling Time
Review • Test
Talk : page • lessons
(  ) Indonesian Language Course (discussion)
Learning the Indonesian Language  •  Downloadable and Print Versions

Lessons • Grammar • Appendices • Texts • About • Q&A • Planning
Introductory  •  Level One  •  Level Two  •  Level Three  •  Level Four



^ Indonesian ^ | << How to use this Indonesian Wikibook | Lesson 0: The Alphabet | Lesson 1: Greetings >>

Go to Exercise: Rhyme Game


There are only 19 native consonants and 6 vowels in Indonesian.

Indonesian is made up of syllables

There are 4 types of syllables, and they each require at least one vowel.

The 1st type of syllable consists of a consonant, followed by a vowel. For Example..."Nasi." It means Steamed Rice. /na/ and /si/. Each one is made up of a consonant and a vowel.

The 2nd kind of syllable consists of a consonant, a vowel, and then a final consonant. For Example..."Habis." It means "Finished. This one is made up of two syllables as well, but this time, Each one is made up of a consonant-vowel syllable, /ha/ and it is followed by a consonant-vowel-consonant syllable /bis/.

The 3rd kind only contains a vowel. For Example "Anak." It means "Child." In this word, we have the vowel /a/ It is followed by a consonant-vowel-consonant syllable /nak/.

The 4th kind is the vowel plus consonant syllable. For Example "Anjing," which means "Dog." In this word, the first syllable /an/ has a vowel, /a/ and a consonant, /n/. The second syllable is yet another consonant-vowel-consonant syllable, with the consonant j, /dʒ/ the vowel /i/ and the sound written as two letters, ng, /ŋ/


Examplesnearest English equivalentExamplesnearest English equivalentExamplesnearest English equivalentExamplesnearest English equivalent
bola ball cari check dari do ganti gain
hari hat jari job kalah sky lari clean
mari moon nama note patah spy rasa trilled r
sari sick tari time waduk we ya yell


The alphabet and its pronunciation

Indonesian letters are the same as those used in English. Historically, the languages of Indonesia had been written in Indian alphabets or the Arabic alphabet. All of the letters A through Z are used, as in English, though some of the letters are pronounced differently. However, unlike English, Indonesian spelling is very consistent: letters are largely pronounced as they are spelled and no letters are silent. You will find that some of the sounds are similar to Spanish.

Below is a table of the Indonesian alphabet. The pronunciation column shows how each letter is pronounced in Indonesian. The sound column shows how it sounds in English. Where the sound isn't spelled out, it is roughly the same as in English.

Listen to how Indonesians pronounce the alphabet: A-M; N-Z

Letter Pronunciation IPA English Approximation
aa (like a in father)[a] always the a in father, Dali Lama but shorter, never the "a" in catch
bbe (like bay)[b]  
cce (pronounced "chay")[ʨ] (versus English [ʧ])

Almost always like the ch in church, chest, and in some borrowed words or proper nouns like the French c'est (nearly like English say)

dde (like da in day)[d] like de in deli
ee [ɛ], [ə], [e] (not [eɪ]) there are three ways of pronouncing e in Indonesian:
  1. one (and by far the more common) is the schwa sound, as in e in stern, learn.
  2. second one is like the e in bed, red.
  3. and third is like in a in foray and came
fef[f] like the English standalone f, though often substituted with p and vice versa
gge ("GAY")[ɡ] always the hard g in English: gas, guard except in conjunction with an n
hha[h] as in the English have except when occurring at the end of a word when it is pronounced but unvoiced
ii (pronounced "EE")[i]Like the long "e" sound in "bee", "see", but shorter
jje ("JAY")[ʥ] (versus English [ʤ]) like the j in joke, some accents make it sound much heavier making dj a closer transliteration
kka[k] (versus English [kʰ]) like the k in kite except when at the end of the word when it functions more like a glottal stop
lel[l] 
mem[m] 
nen[n] 
oo [o] (not [oʊ] or British [əʊ]), [ɔ] there are two ways of pronouncing o in Indonesian:
  1. like the o in post, rope, but don't pronounce the u sound.
  2. more open, like the o in boss, stop.
ppe ("PAY")[p] (versus [pʰ])(Do not aspirate)
qki ("KEE")[k] 
rer (like English "AIR")[r] always trilled as in the r in Spanish.
ses[s] 
tte ("TAY")[t] (versus [tʰ]) always the hard t in English: test, top (Do not aspirate)
uu ("OO")[u] like the oo in soon, boot
vfe ("FAY")[f]pronounced like f
wwe ("WAY")[w] 
xeks[ks] 
yye ("YAY")[j] 
zzet[z] 


^ Indonesian ^ | << How to use this Indonesian Wikibook | Lesson 0: The Alphabet | Lesson 1: Greetings >>

Introductory Lessons

0.01 Introduction • 0.02 Learning Indonesian • 0.03 The Alphabet • 0.04 Pronunciation • 0.05 Greetings • 0.06 Formal Speech • 0.07 How are you? • 0.08 Numbers • 0.09 Dates • 0.10 Telling Time • Review • Test

Lessons

(discuss)

Information • Introductory • Print Versions • Q&A • Planning

Basic:  Learning Indonesian • The Alphabet • Greetings • This and that • Pronouns • Simple Sentences • Numbers • Rainbow • Prepositions

Beginner:  Introducing Yourself • My Body • My Family • My Home • At School • At Work • To the Market • What Time is it? • Happy Birthday! • Going to Bali

Expert:  Me and you • Slang language • Money • Transportation

()

Indonesian : Print Versions • Lessons • Grammar • Appendices • Texts • About • Q&A • Planning

 (discussion)



This article is issued from Wikibooks. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.