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What’s with this “Wren” thing?
The oldest extant version of the fable
we
are presenting here appeared in 1913 in the first volume of a two-volume anthology
of Low
Saxon folktales (Plattdeutsche
Volksmärchen “Low German Folktales”)
collected by Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935). Read
more ...
Indonesian
Tempo
doeloe ... A show of brotherly
affection in the halls of power ...
Indonesian
rubbed shoulders
with
Dutch for over 300 years.
Language
information:
Indonesian is the common language of all of Indonesia. It is based on Indonesian
Coastal Malay varieties with influences from Javanese, Sundanese and other
local languages, as well as from Indian languages, Dutch, Arabic, Minnan (Hokkien)
Chinese and English.
Indonesian has many
native speakers and is used by many others as a second language.
Indonesian (Bahasa
Indonesia) is
basically
a variety of Malay with Sundanese, Javanese and other Indonesian influences. As such it is
largely mutually intelligible with other Malay varieties, including Malaysian
Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) and also with Brunei Malay. The only occasional Indonesian stumbling blocks
for other Malay speakers are Dutch loanwords which tend to correspond to Malay
words or English
loanwords in their varieties. Examples of these are Indonesian handuk (< Dutch handdoek) vs Malaysian tuala (< Portuguese toalha) ‘towel’, Ind. karcis (< Dutch kaartjes ‘cards’, ‘tickets’) vs Mal. tiket ‘ticket’, Ind. plafon (< D. plafond) vs Mal. siling ‘ceiling’, Ind. rekening (< D. rekening) vs Mal. bil ‘bill’, Ind. resleting (< D. ritssluiting) vs Mal. zip ‘zipper’, Ind. sekrup (< D. schroef) vs Mal. skru ‘screw’, Ind. tas (< D. tas) vs Mal. beg ‘bag’, Ind. mantel (< D. mantel) vs Mal. baju kot ‘(over)coat’, and Ind. arbei (< D. aardbei) vs Mal. strawberi ‘strawberry’. However,
a number
of
Dutch
loanwords
in
Indonesian
came
to
be
introduced to or at least accepted by Malaysian, such as bengkel ‘workshop’ (< Dutch winkel ‘shop’ < ‘nook’), kantor ‘office’ (< Dutch kantoor ‘office’), and (kacang) buncis ‘green beans’ (< Dutch boontjes ‘beans’, diminutive).
In the days of Dutch
rule it was not uncommon for Dutch residents of “The Islands,” especially for those that grew up there, to be proficient in Indonesian, Javanese,
Sundanese or
other
Indonesian
languages, while Indonesian house staff and public servants tended to be proficient
in Dutch.
Indonesian has long
been written with the Roman script, though at times it used to be written using
the Arabic script. Under
Netherlands
colonial
rule (1602–1949),
Indonesian was written with a Dutch-based orthography,
using oe for u, j for y, and tj for c, for example. Soon after independence,
Indonesians strove to create a non-Dutch-based orthography, and in more recent
times they coordinated their system with that
used for Malaysian.
On rare occasions,
far more rarely than in the case of Malay proper,
Indonesian has been written using Pegon, a Malay adaptation of the Arabic script referred to as “Jawi” in Malaysia.
Not
only does Indonesian (and Malay in general) have numerous dialects but a good
number of new language varieties have been
developed
from it as well, for example the following:
Ambonese Malay (Bahasa
Ambon)
Dutch- and Portuguese-influenced creole of Ambon
Island as well as Buru, Seram, Geser-Gorom and South-West Maluku
islands, Indonesia,
Baba Malay (Bahasa
Baba-Nyonya)
or Peranakan Malay (Bahasa Peranakan)
Malay-based language varieties with numerous
Chinese, Indic and Western elements, spoken by descendants of “Straits
Chinese” in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (Baba Malay of Java has
strong
Javanese as as well.)
Bachanese Malay (Bahasa Bacan)
Malay-based language with numerous admixtures used
in the Bachan islands of Northern Maluku, Indonesia
Bandanese Malay(Bahasa Banda)
Dutch- and Portuguese-influenced creole of the
Banda Islands, Indonesia
Batavian Malay (Bahasa Betawi)
mostly used by the Batavian (Betawi ) people
of Jakarta (formerly called Batavia), descendants of a conglomeration of
Southeast Asians
Bazaar
Malay
(Pasar Melayu, Bahasa Melayu Pasar)
pidgin language, non-natively spoken simplified
Malay varieties that have been developed for intercultural interaction
(It is very often these varieties with which non-Malays learn to get
around and then proclaim that Malay (including Indonesian) is “simple”
and “easy.”)
Kupangese Malay (Bahasa Kupang)
Malay-based language with numerous Portuguese and
Dutch loans spoken in the western part of Timor Island
Larantukan Malay (Bahasa Larantuka)
pidgin language of Eastern Flores, Indonesia, based
on Kupang Malay and containing numerous Portuguese loans
Malay of Papua and West Irian Jaya
Papuan-influenced pidgin, also understood in parts
of Papua New Guinea
Manadoan Malay (Bahasa Manado)
Malay-based language with numerous Portuguese and
Dutch loans spoken in Northern Sulawesi (Celebes), Indonesia
Penang Malay(Melayu Pulau Pinang)
Malay variety greatly influenced by languages of
numerous immigrant communities on Penang, Malaysia
Sarawak Malay (Melayu Sarawak)
Malay variety greatly influenced by local Dayak
varieties of Sarawak, Indonesia
Ternatean Malay (Bahasa Ternate)
Malay-based language with numerous Portuguese and
Dutch loans spoken on the Sulu Islands, Indonesia
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