It's not very difficult to pronounce bahasa Indonesia in a way that it's understood by even those who never come into contact with foreigners. Remember to keep it simple. Certain sounds we use in English and European languages do not occur in Indonesian at all. Unfortunately, those of us who have grappled with French, Spanish and German are often tempted to pronounce the word as it may sound in another language. For example, selamat datang ("welcome") does not rhyme with the well-known orange-like juice that accompanied astronauts into space. It also is pronounced with only about four discernible syllables, not five.

With this simple guide, the novice speaker of Indonesian should be able to avoid most of the traps of basic communication.

RULES

• Most letters have only one pronunciation thereby avoiding the problems of English in which we are forced to memorize when an "a" is long (fall), short (fat), or some other manifestation (fate). That's one reason the bahasa Indonesia approximations to foreign words often appear strange at first sight--"bureau" becomes biro--but then you realize the Indonesian spelling is much more logical.

• The only letter that has two distinct pronounciations is "e". Usually it is pronounced as an "uh" sound, like "a" in "sofa". Sometimes it takes on an "ay" sound like "a" in "make". Common words using the "ay" sound are besok (tomorrow), merah (red) and restoran. Sometimes, the "e" is hardly pronounced (selamat becomes slamat).

• One of the main pitfalls in pronunciation is the use of the letter "c" in bahasa Indonesia. The letter "c" is always pronounced as "ch" in "check". Another hazard is that "ngg" is a very different sound from "ng". See the Pronunciation Guide below for more details.

• There is a slightly accented syllable that is either the last or next to last depending upon which book you believe. In my experience, Jakartans try to put the emphasis on the last syllable. For example, asking for em-ping' will likely get you a bowl of crispy chips. Asking, on the other hand, for em'-ping will get you a blank stare. When in doubt, try to pronounce the word monotonically--no emphasis is better than a wrong one.

• A "k" at the end of a word is pronounced as a glottal stop and if you don't know what that is, you're better off ignoring the terminating "k" altogether. The honorific Pak ("Mister" or "Father") sounds altogether unpleasant when pronounced like "pack", "pock", or the Bonanza standard "Pa". In actual fact, it's more like the sound you make when trying to blow a floating feather in someone else's direction.

• A double "a" as in maaf ("excuse me") is pronounced with a slight glottal stop between the vowels. You can get away with a slight pause (like ma af) but never simply maf.

• In bahasa Indonesia, some consonants ("b", "p", "t", "d", "v") have much softer sounds. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between "b" and "d", "p" and "t", etc.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE (Click on the word to hear it pronounced.)

Vowels

Spelling	Example	Description
a	apa	always a long a as in "father" (never "bad" or "bang")
e	bécak	like a in "make"
e	ke, empat	like a in "sofa"
i	pagi, itu	like ee in "see" but shorter (never like "hit" or "hike")
o	kopi	like aw in "law", but shorter
u	susu	like oo in "food", but shorter

Diphthongs

Spelling	Example	Description
ai	pandai	somewhere between "pay" and "pie"
au	tembakau	like ow in "now"
oi	amboi	like oy in "boy"
oe	Soeharto	old spelling, still used in names, pronounced as oo in "food"
ua	uang	like "wa" in "Walla-walla, Washington"

Consonants (the easy part)

Spelling	Example
b	bawah	same as b in "bungle" but spoken more softly. At the end of a word may be more of a soft p.
c	bicara	similar to ch in "church"
d	duduk	like d in "bed". At the end of a word may sound more like a soft t.
dj	djarum	old spelling still used in names, pronounced like j in "jump"
f	foto	like f in "fan"
g	garpu	like g in "dog"
h	hari	similar to h in "hope"
j	jalan	like j in "jump"
j	djaja	old spelling still used in names, like y in "yard"; look for other old spelling clues in the name (like oe, dj)
k	kabar	like k in "kite" when not at the end of a word. At the end of a word, pronounced like a soft g or glottal stop.
kh	akhir	like clearing your throat or German "ach"
l	lima	similar to l in "like"
m	minta	like m in "main"
n	nama	like n in "noon"
ny	nyamuk	like ny in "canyon"
ng	dengan	like ng in "singer" (not "finger", that requires ngg)
ngg	tunggu	like ng in "finger" (not "singer")
p	pukul	similar to p in "pool" but without the puff of air
q		is not used much in Indonesian words but does come up in Arabic words used in Indonesia (for example, Istiqlal). When it occurs, qu is pronounced as qu in "queen".
r	kiri	like a softly trilled Scottish or German r. Never a hard American, Australian or Canadian r.
s	selamat	similar to s in "seven"
t	tujuh	like t in "let" but without the plosive quality (it's sometimes difficult to differentiate between spoken t, p and d)
tj	Tjoakroaminoto	old spelling still used in names, pronounced like ch in "church"
v	visa	rarely used, like v in "visa" but softer
w	awas	between w in "wane" and v in "vane"
x		not used. In foreign words, often replaced with ks as in taksi.
y	yang	like y in you
z	zat	like z in "zone", often replaced with, and pronounced like s

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