How Indonesian language sounds like to foreigners?

I have been told by my American friends that Indonesian sounds like a train of short syllables uttered in a rapid way, like Chinese language but with fewer nasal sounds and no tones. I’ve also read somewhere that to foreigners we sound staccato-ish. Another friend said to him I sound like somebody hammering a nail.

Is Bahasa Indonesia a phonetic language?

Unlike English, Bahasa Indonesia is a phonetic language, that is a language with a direct relationship between spelling and pronunciation. One can look at a written Indonesian word and know how to pronounce it, or we can hear an Indonesian word and know how to spell it.

Is Bahasa a tonal language?

Bahasa Indonesia is a language belonging to the Austronesian family of languages and a little more precisely, the Malay group of languages. It’s spoken by 40-45 million, mainly in Indonesia, and it’s quite an interesting language! Indonesian is not a tonal language.

Why do Indonesian talk fast?

And of course, Indonesian, where base words are usually disyllabic, and is an agglutinative language, and on top of that employs word reduplication, does have longer words than, for example, English. So in order to have a similar information transfer rate as other languages it has to be spoken faster.

Where does Bahasa Indonesia come from?

Malay
Indonesian is a form of Malay, spoken in Indonesia. The term “Indonesian” is political rather than linguistic, as Indonesian Malay (called Bahasa Indonesia in Indonesia) is virtually identical with Bahasa Melayu, another variety of Malay, as spoken in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Where does Bahasa come from?

Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia, [baˈha.sa in.do.’ne.sja]) is the official language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries.

Is it okay to say I don’t speak Indonesian in Indonesian?

However, if you still have difficulty in understanding Indonesian, you still have to say it and use the international language. If you are not confident enough yet, you can say that you don’t speak Indonesian and that is okay. Learn from explanation below to know how to say I don’t speak Indonesian in Indonesian.

How is Bahasa Indonesia different from other languages?

The Bahasa Indonesia that is used on a daily basis by Indonesians is quite different than what you may learn in a formal course, though most Indonesians will certainly understand formal Indonesian grammar as well as the more relaxed versions.

What are the negative effects of not learning Bahasa Indonesia?

An inability to communicate in Bahasa Indonesia will cut you off from the mainstream of society, and dealing with those Indonesians who don’t speak your foreign language will be very difficult. By not learning the language, you also deny yourself the rich cultural experience of fully communicating with those from another culture.

Can foreigners live in Jakarta without speaking Bahasa Indonesia?

While it may be technically possible for foreigners to live in Jakarta, Bali, or other big cities without learning/speaking Bahasa Indonesia, it is highly recommended that you obtain a working knowledge of the Indonesian national language.