Interesting Indonesian Language

After 3 years in Palembang, I could speak and write Indonesian "dikit dikit" (a little bit). Here are some of the alphabet pronunciations that are different from English:

A - ah
B - beh
C - chey
D - day
E - er
F - eff
G - gay (no kidding!)

H - ha
I - aye
J - jay
K - ka
L - el
M - am
N - an
O - oh
P - pay

Q - kee
R - ar
S - ass
T - tay
U - ooo
V - fey

W - way
X - axe
Y - yay
Z - zet

Try to sing the ABCD song in Bahasa Indonesia....LOL!

When I first arrived, I was pretty "bingung" (confused) when somebody mentioned to me that he drives a "Fey-Way" car (VW = Volkswagon)!

Despite the fact that Indonesia was never colonized by the British (30 years under Dutch's rule), the Indonesian language has a lot of terms similar to English (just to name a few):

1. Halte (hall-ter): bus stop, from the word halt.
2. Helm (hell-lem): helmet.
3. Amplop (aam-plope): envelope.
4. Baut (ba-oot): bolt.
   

Some slight difference between Indonesian and Malay terms (just to name a few also):

1. Karna, Karena - Kerana (Malay) - Because (English)
2. Bisa - Boleh (Malay) - Can (English)
3. Butuh - Perlu (Malay) - Need (English)
4. Becak - Beca (Malay) - Trishaw (English)
5. Wewenang - Tanggung-jawab (Malay) - Responsibility (English)
6. Sendok - Sudu (Malay) - Spoon (English)
7. Cangkir - Cawan (Malay) - Cup (English)
   

I guess that's all for my limited Indonesian translations. Tomorrow will be my last day in Palembang.... # leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again #. Palembang will always have its place in my heart despite all the power problems. I am sure that sometime in my life, "I'LL BE BACK"! Adios Palembang!