Indonesian food
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How is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Rosmanita is an Indonesian Translator and Project Manager with over 10 years of experience in the field. She is a native Indonesian speaker, and lives locally in Indonesia. There are 20 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. How marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback.
This article has been viewed 229,931 times. Indonesian, also known as Bahasa Indonesia, is spoken throughout the country of Indonesia. More than 170 million people speak Indonesian around the world. If you’d like to join them in conversation, start by learning how to pronounce the Indonesian alphabet. After that, having basic conversations with native speakers is one of the best ways to pick up any new language.
Bahasa Indonesia has 5 vowels, the same as in English. However, in Bahasa Indonesia, vowels typically only make one sound. This differs from English, in which vowels can be either long or short. The letter “a” makes an “ah” sound like the “a” in the English word “father. The letter “e” makes an “eh” sound similar to the “e” in the English word “let,” but slightly more rounded.
Think of combining the “eh” sound with the “a” sound in the English word “late. The letter “i” makes an “ee” sound like the “ee” in the English word “feet. The letter “o” makes an “oh” sound similar to the “oe” in the English word “toe,” but more rounded. Think of combining the “oh” sound with the “aw” sound in the English word “saw. The letter “u” makes an “oo” sound like the “oo” in the English word “boot.
Blend the vowel sounds in diphthongs. Bahasa Indonesia also has 3 diphthongs, which are a combination of 2 vowels blended together to produce a different sound than the 2 letters would make separately. These diphthongs always have the same sound. The diphthong “ai” sounds like the “ie” in the English word “tie. The diphthong “au” sounds like the “ow” in the English word “how. The diphthong “oi” sounds like the “oy” in the English word “boy.
Tip: If you see 2 vowels together that are not one of these 3 diphthongs, pronounce each of them separately with a slight pause in between. Use most of the same consonant sounds you would in English. Bahasa Indonesia uses the same alphabet as English, and most of the consonants are pronounced the same way. However, some are more limited than their English counterparts. There are also a few consonants that are pronounced differently, so if you’re learning Bahasa Indonesia, you’ll need to practice those. The letter “g” is pronounced like the hard “g” in the English word “good.
However, it never has a soft sound, like the “g” in the English word “giant. The letter “s” is pronounced like the “s” in the English word “see. It never has a softer “z” sound, like the “s” in the English word “boys. The letter “y” always has a hard consonant sound, as in the English word “yell. English words “kill,” “put,” and “tap. Rather, they always sound like “skate,” “spot,” and “stop.