Bahasa Indonesia or the Indonesian language is derived from the Malay language. However, the Malay language that evolved to Bahasa Indonesia has multiple influences from other languages over time. In this blog, I will explain it! Enjoy reading :)
Note: The Johor-Riau-Malay language is the root of the standard Malay and standard Indonesian languages used nowadays
Sanskrit
It all started with trading between the Indians and Indonesian in the 2nd century. The Malay language hasn't fully evolved like the language now, so there’s a lot of influence that Sanskirt has on Malay. As time passes, Hindu-Buddha starts to enter Indonesia as well. Noting that Sanskrit is the primary language of Hinduism, the spread also affects the language.
This goes for centuries and affects the people and the culture a lot. There were kingdoms in the Nusantara (a name for the entire territory of the Indonesian Archipelago) that spread Hindu-Buddha all over the country. One of the most known empires is the Majapahit empire back in the 13th century.
Some Words — (Sanskrit-Indonesian-English)
- Agama = Agama = Religion
- Karana = Karena = Because
- Madhu = Madu = Honey
- Guru = Guru = Teacher
Chinese
The trades between the Chinese and the Indonesians had started in the 4th century until today. Trading starts to begin more spread out in the 13th century. Not surprisingly, a lot of the Chinese words influence the food words in Indonesian. It’s pretty self-explainable today as well, as there are many foods that came from China in Indonesia. This continues until now as there are many Chinese descendants in Indonesia (here we say it “Chindo” — short for “Cina-Indonesia” or Chinese-Indonesian).
Arabic
The same way Arabic entered Nusantara like Sanskrit and Chinese, Arabic also influenced the Indonesian language by trading. The spread of Islam also strengthens the spread of the Arabic language. There were also Islamic empires in the Nusantara.
Some Words — (Arabic-Indonesian-English)
- Jumu’at = Jumat = Friday
- Wajh = Wajah = Face
- Barokah = Berkah = Blessing
- Rizq = Rizki = Sustenance
- Ilmi = Ilmu = Knowlegde
- Miskeen = Miskin = Poor
- Awwal = Awal = Beginning
- Akhir = Akhir = End
- Adil = Adil = Fair
Portuguese
Some people may never guess this, but indeed, Portuguese does influence Indonesian! This is due because of the colonization in the 16th century and to promote Christianity to the Nusantara.
Some Words — (Portuguese-Indonesian-English)
- Bandeira = Bendera = Flag
- Sapato = Sepatu = Shoe
- Falso = Palsu = Fake
- Domingo = Minggu = Sunday
- Igreja = Gereja = Church
- Manteiga = Mentega = Butter
Dutch
The country that colonized us for approximately 350 years, Netherlands. This is the most European language that has the biggest impact in Indonesian. To city names, people’s names (only for elderlies in this era), and old scripts are seen to be in the Dutch spelling. The most influential person in the influence of Dutch to Indonesian is Vereenigde Oostinisdche Compagnie or usually shortened as VOC. The Dutch language is also still spoken in Indonesia mostly by the veterans.
The “OE” spelling
OE in dutch is pronounced as “u” as in the “oo” in “moon. This “oe” spelling is still seen in Indonesian old scripts in the 20th century. Although this didn’t last long, as our language evolved, it changes to “u”. For example:
- Soekarno
- Poetra dan Poetri
Some Words — (Dutch-Indonesian-English)
There are an amazing amount of Dutch loanwords in the Indonesian language. Let's check out some of them!
- Tas = Tas = Bag
- Jas = Jas = Coat
- Kammer = Kamar = Room
- Kantoor = Kantor = Office
- Boek = Buku = Book
- Dag (Informal) = Dah (Informal) = Bye
- Bushalte = Halte bus = Bus stop
English
The last one is…English! This is because of globalization in the 21st century.
- Globalization = Globalisasi
- Computer = Komputer
- Information = Informasi
- International = Internasional
Thank you for reading until the end! I hope you gain useful knowledge by reading this blog :D
