Sorry I Don’t Speak Bahasa
I think I just wanna write this post as a public service so that people will stop the misunderstandings that the language that Indonesian people use is called “Bahasa”.
“So, do you speak Bahasa?”
“Er… Yeah?”
You see, people, the word “bahasa” actually means “language” in Indonesian. Bahasa Inggris means English language. Bahasa Cina means Chinese language. So when you ask people whether they speak Bahasa, then the answer will always be yes, right?
I think a lot of people tried to “localize” their figure of speech by saying “Bahasa”, but really, sometimes it just seems stupid to answer a question whether you speak a language.
So, bottom line – it’s either Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian language, or even only “Indonesian”.
Sorry, I don’t speak Bahasa.
More stories like this...
- Indonesian Chinese Indonesian Chinese Chinese Indonesian Chindo Indochina Cokin Tong ngin Tionghoa...
- I’m Voting (and you’re probably not) In case you’re so ignorant, my dear fellow Indonesian readers,...
- Don’t Write. Talk. I started writing this entry around 1 month ago and...
- The End is Near As cliche as it may sound, it’s true. My years...
- My Love, Jakarta When I close my eyes, I’m there When I fly...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
8 Responses to “Sorry I Don’t Speak Bahasa”
Leave a Reply
on 
on 
on 
yuku
on January 28th, 2010
I have been always thinking that way, but someone pointed out that Bahasa may mean “Bahasa Indonesia or Bahasa Melayu/Malaysia”
Maybe in the past when westerners comes here, they grouped that 2 languages into one and the common word they have is “Bahasa”
Sylvia Giacinta
on January 29th, 2010
somehow I also think it’s because Bahasa is easier to pronounce than Indonesian/Melayu
yuku
on January 28th, 2010
btw something is obviously wrong, I don’t use mac and I don’t use Safari.
Sylvia Giacinta
on January 29th, 2010
yah sorry bout that, i think it’s time to upgrade my plugin.
e.lee
on February 1st, 2010
yes, this confusion is common in Malaysia, a place that is already very confused hahah
e.lee´s last blog ..‘Past’ Postcolonialism and Wedgwood Tea
Sylvia Giacinta
on February 6th, 2010
why is Malaysia confused? I would dare say Singapore is even more confused. Hehehe.
Jasmine
on February 10th, 2010
Love this!
Another misconception is that whenever I tell my friends I took Bahasa Indonesia in school, they will say it’s Bahasa Melayu. Lost count of the times that I told them that both are different!
Jasmine´s last blog ..Man spewed vulgarities at me.
Sylvia Giacinta
on February 10th, 2010
Yup. Usually my easiest explanation is “Similar, but different. Came from the same root, but evolved to be 2 different languages.”
If he/she ever needs more explanation, just say that Malaysia used to be colonized by the British and hence many English loan words. Indonesia used to be colonized by the Dutch and hence many Dutch loan words (and many other loan words!)