Users Guide & Author Notes
TruAlfa & IndoDic.com
Alphabet Blessing
There is probably no other major language more similar to English than bahasa Indonesia. An English-speaking traveler who arrives in Indonesia after touring other Asian countries will appreciate using the same alphabet as English. No need to learn a new alphabet. Computer keyboards are exactly the same. English speakers can use translation dictionaries immediately on arrival in Indonesia but the same is not true when they visit Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, China or Japan because they all have different alphabets. You must learn their alphabet before being able to use a translation dictionary.
Learning Skills
There are four basic language skills - reading/writing (written forms) and speaking/listening (verbal forms). The easiest skill to learn is reading. You don't need to know the rules of grammar to read and you don't need to know pronunciation. The writer needs to know grammar to create new text but a reader can understand that text without knowing grammar. Reading is well suited for self-study and can be done almost anywhere. We just need a good translation tool and reading materials that use simple words. Motivation is the only limiting factor.
The next easiest step in a learning program after reading would be to work on listening skills, since knowing grammar is not essential to listening. It might be advisable to defer the study of grammar until later in a learning program. When we learned our native language as children we were already fluent speakers by the time we had our first grammar lesson in school. Why not use a similar approach when studying a new language later in life? If grammar rules were logical, consistent and without exceptions, it might be advisable to study grammar early in a learning program. But unfortunately, especially in English, grammar rules are illogical, inconsistent and riddled with exceptions that seem to overshadow the rules themselves. Grammar is necessary to write and speak properly but not necessary for reading and listening.
For those who are beginning a learning program we suggest concentrating on vocabulary-building exercises at first. Study the lists of most common words, similar words and those that are the same in both languages. Then study materials on how words are formed by combining root words with affixes (prefixes and suffixes). If you know the meaning of a root word in bahasa Indonesia and know how affixes are used, you will be able to predict the meanings of the words derived from that root word.
The Roots of It All
Our first edition of TruAlfa Indonesian-English Dictionary came out in 1992 which included Word Formation Diagrams for Indonesian words showing how they were formed from root words, affixes and other combining forms. The dictionary showed nice complete Indonesian root word families. When we started work on the English-Indonesian dictionary in 1993, we soon realized that English is not suited for using Word Formation Diagrams or for showing root word families. English is no longer a simple root-based language.
But we encountered a new problem that we didn't face with the first dictionary. We were surprised at how many English words have more that one meaning, each with a different Indonesian translation. Because there were so many, we decided to add clarifying notes (concept separators) for these multiple meanings and usages to keep concepts "sorted out'.
Aren't Words Fun ?
This website is about words, not about how to form sentences or how to write with style and flair. I still remember the day my Indonesian associate at Lake Toba greeted me with the question - Aren't words fun? I'm still not sure about the answer to that - maybe, sometimes, I guess so. But without doubt, words are the primary carrier of meaning in these two languages.
Terima Kasih
I want to thank all of the various Indonesian associates who worked with me over the last 10 years, especially Yohanes Manhitu, Mike Wijaya Sinaga, Melpa Samosir and Insanuddin Siregar. Special thanks to Tom Gilson for doing 100% of the work in setting up and managing IndoDic.com and for making this Language Learning section possible.
Wayne B. Krause
10 June 2006 and 5 Oct 2020