• To practise a common use of yang
• To practise distinguishing between the negators tidak and bukan
• To learn how to talk about nationality and ethnic origin

Here are some of the frequent words used in this lesson that have appeared in previous lessons.  Using the flashcards, check that you remember their meanings.

Yang is probably the most frequent word in the Indonesian language. It has quite a variety of functions and meanings. Basically yang is a connector word that helps link different parts of a clause, or helps link one clause with another, especially by introducing some kind of descriptive information or an elaboration. It often functions like the English relative pronouns “which”, “that” and “who”.

Awas !!

Yang must NOT be pronounced as if it rhymes with “bang”, “sang”, “gang” etc. The correct pronunciation of yang is close to the English word “young”.

One of the functions of yang is to link a noun with an adjectival phrase. An adjectival phrase is a cluster of two or more words that describe something. The negator tidak plus an adjective can form adjectival phrases. For example:

            tidak besar
               not big

            tidak mahal
               not expensive

            tidak bagus
               not at all impressive

            tidak pedas
               not spicy hot

Following the word order that is normal in Indonesian noun phrases, these compound adjectives follow a noun, but they are usually linked to the noun with yang. For example:

 
           rumah yang tidak besar
               a house that isn’t big

 
           makanan yang enak tetapi tidak mahal
               food that is tasty but isn’t expensive

 
           hotel yang tidak bagus
               a hotel that isn’t much good           

 
           mobil yang tidak besar tetapi cepat
               a car that isn’t big but is fast

 
           makanan Padang yang pedas dan enak
               Padang food that is spicy and delicious

Here are some more examples of yang in complex noun phrases in which more than one adjunct modifies the headword.

 
           kota Bandung yang indah
               the beautiful city of Bandung

   
         mobil saya yang baru
               my new car

 
           makanan Cina yang panas dan enak
               Chinese food that’s hot and tasty

To talk about the nationality of a person, in Indonesian you usually say orang (person) followed by the name of the country the person comes from. For example:

• orang Australia
  an Australian
• orang Cina
  a Chinese
• orang Prancis
  a Frenchman/Frenchwoman
• orang Selandia Baru
  a New Zealander
• orang Belanda
  a Dutchman/Dutchwoman

The Word for a Dutchman/Dutchwoman

The Indonesian word Belanda originates from the Dutch word “Hollander”. When the Dutch first came to Indonesia (which they called Oost Indië or “the East Indies”) Indonesians called them Olanda (Hollander). Eventually this became Walanda, then, in Malay, the /w/ became a /b/ and the term Belanda was created. Belanda is also occasionally called Negeri Belanda (negeri = land).

It is interesting that, because of pre-European contacts between Indonesians (mostly Makassarese) and the Aboriginal peoples of Australia’s north coast, some Aboriginal languages in Australia’s Arnhemland use the term Balanda to refer to whites.

There are two words for “no/not” in Indonesian. You have already met and practised using one of them: tidak. Here are some examples of how tidak can be used.

• Rumah saya tidak jauh dari sini.
  My house isn’t far from here.



• Saya tidak suka naik bus.
  I don’t like going by bus.



• Bu Partini tidak di pasar.
  Mrs Partini isn’t at the market.

In the first sentence the negator tidak is used to negate an adjective (jauh). In the second it is used to negate a verb (suka). In the third it is used to negate a preposition (di). But tidak can almost never be used to negate a noun. To negate a noun the word bukan is used. Study these examples.

• Saya bukan orang Australia.
  I am not an Australian.



• Pak Saleh bukan orang Cina.
  Mr Saleh is not a Chinese.



• Ini bukan teh.
  This is not tea.



• Itu bukan hotel, itu rumah sakit.
  That is not a hotel, it is a hospital.

Imagine that you are in the streets of Makassar (which for a while, under President Soeharto’s New Order Government, was called called Ujung Pandang) at the southern end of the island of Sulawesi. You are in conversation with some of the local citizens. The people of Makassar are very diverse, coming from all parts of the island of Sulawesi, and from the myriad islands of East Indonesia, even from as far away as Java and Bali. 

Answer each of the following questions in the negative. Then give the correct information. Each answer should be in three parts. (1) First the word bukan (negating the noun in the question). (2) Then an expanded "no" in which the word bukan is used. Ž(3) Then an affirmative sentence giving the correct information.

Look at this example first and follow the same pattern in answering the questions.

Question: Apakah Anda orang Timor?
Answer: Bukan. Saya bukan orang Timor. Saya orang Ambon.

The map opposite may help you put together your answers by jogging your memory on islands and towns in East Indonesia.

1. Apakah Anda orang Ambon?
2. Apakah Anda orang Cina?
3. Apakah Anda orang Toraja?
4. Apakah Anda orang Bali??
5. Apakah Anda orang Irian?
6. Apakah Anda orang Manado?
7. Apakah Anda orang Bali?
8. Apakah Anda orang Maluku?
9. Apakah Anda orang Jawa?
10. Apakah Anda orang Kalimantan?

Look at this model dialogue and commit it to memory.

Dialogue

Dengarkan rekaman ini.

Kata Baru | Transkripsi

	Anda dari mana?		Saya dari Jerman.
	Haaa!? Saya kira Anda orang Rusia!		Bukan. Saya bukan orang Rusia. Saya orang Jerman.

 

Notice the exclamation of surprise Haaa!?. It is a bit crass, so you probably wouldn’t say it in a formal situation or in ultra-polite company. It is pronounced loudly with a sharply rising note of incredulity. It is more polite to say: O begitu “I see! Is that so?”. Notice also the very useful phrase saya kira... that you have already practised. This is often used when you want to admit to a mistake or misapprehension, like the English phrase “I thought ...” as in “What!? I thought you were a Russian!”

Now say the dialogue with a partner or your tutor/teacher, inserting these place names into the second line of the dialogue.

Make sure the response in line three fits sensibly with the cue in line two. And when you practise the dialogue with a partner, don’t forget to display some exaggerated emotion as you speak the words... emotions like surprise, incredulity, bewilderment, embarrassment, disappointment etc. Inject some variations wherever you can using the vocabulary and sentence shells you have practised so far.

When this initial simple exchange rolls easily off the tongue, continue the conversation, perhaps as follows....

Dialogue

Dengarkan rekaman ini.

Kata Baru | Transkripsi

	Anda berasal dari mana?		Saya berasal dari Jerman.
	Oh, Anda orang Jerman! Di mana Anda tinggal?		Saya tinggal di kota Berlin.
	O begitu. Apakah Anda suka tinggal di Berlin?		Kurang. Saya suka tinggal di Indonesia. Dan Anda? Anda berasal dari mana?
	Saya berasal dari Jepara, dekat Semarang.		Oh, Anda orang Jawa, ya?
	Ya, saya orang Jawa.

 

From this point let the conversation take off, perhaps following the path suggested in the model dialogue in Lesson 10, but perhaps going in another direction.

You are no doubt familiar with the guessing game “Twenty Questions”. One player must guess who the other player is (or what the other player is thinking of) by asking a certain number of “yes/no” questions.

You can play this game to practise answering questions with tidak or bukan and to get used to the Indonesian names for countries. Try it with a fellow student or with your teacher/tutor. Basically there are three questions you can ask:

1. Apakah Anda orang [insert the name of a country] ?
   (Because orang is a noun you answer “no” to this question with bukan.)
   
2. Apakah negara Anda jauh dari [insert the name of a country] ?
   (Because jauh is an adjective you answer “no” to this question with tidak.)
   
3. Apakah negara Anda di dekat [insert the name of a country] ?
   Because di dekat is a preposition you answer “no” to these questions with tidak.)

So the guessing game might go as follows: