The Indonesian Language
The official language of Indonesia is known as Bahasa Indonesia. This archipelago known as Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the world, making Indonesian one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Bahasa Indonesia is the Indonesian name for the language and literally means "the language of Indonesia". The number of speakers in Indonesia is approximately 197.7 million.
Indonesian is the country's national language but most Indonesians also speak one of more than 700 indigenous languages alongside it. It is common as a first language in urban areas, and as a second language by those residing in more rural parts of Indonesia.
In popular tourist areas such as Bali many people are comfortable with basic English. However, the language barrier can be difficult to overcome at times and cause misunderstandings. Outside of well known tourist areas knowledge of Indonesian is definitely a plus. Indonesian is an artificial language, so it is easy to build simple sentences, without having much knowledge of the grammar. It really only gets complicated as you move into the more formal side of the language.
Bahasa Indonesia for Surfers
No matter where you are from, if you have an interest in the language, you can generally gain basic Indonesian language skills pretty fast. A few words in Bahasa (many people drop the 'Indonesia' part) will certainly help you with your daily life or at least earn you a friendly smile and respect from the locals. If you travel on to places outside of Bali such as Java, Sumatra, Lombok or other parts of Indonesia, it will certainly help you a lot. For example: Asking for directions to a beach; getting transportation there or quizzing the locals about the conditions at a particular break etc. Language for surfing type questions can be pretty tricky at times with some of the technical language involved such as swell, tide etc. Being able to ask these questions (and respond) in Bahasa can be a real bonus.
Some Indonesian surfing vocabulary to get you started:
Time Periods
morning (0:00 -11:59): pagi
afternoon (12:00-15:00): siang
evening (15:00-18:00): sore
night (18:00-0:00): malam
dry season: musim kering/kemarau
wet season: musim hujan
monsoon: pancaroba
Moons
crescent moon: bulan sabit
full moon: bulan purnama/penuh
half moon: bulan separuh
new moon: bulan muda
Surf Words and Phrases
beach: pantai
big wave: ombak besar
boat: perahu
good wave: ombak bagus
high tide: air pasang
left: kiri
low tide: air surut
ocean: samudra/lautan
reef: terumbu karang/ batu karang
right: kanan
sea current: arus laut
small wave: ombak kecil
surf (verb): berselancar
surfboard: papan selancar
surfer: peselancar
surfing: selancar
surfing community: komunitas selancar
swell: gelombang
wave: ombak
water: air
wind: angin
wind (light) : angin kecil
wind (strong): angin kencang
The official language of Indonesia is known as Bahasa Indonesia. This archipelago known as Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the world, making Indonesian one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Bahasa Indonesia is the Indonesian name for the language and literally means "the language of Indonesia". The number of speakers in Indonesia is approximately 197.7 million.
Indonesian is the country's national language but most Indonesians also speak one of more than 700 indigenous languages alongside it. It is common as a first language in urban areas, and as a second language by those residing in more rural parts of Indonesia.
In popular tourist areas such as Bali many people are comfortable with basic English. However, the language barrier can be difficult to overcome at times and cause misunderstandings. Outside of well known tourist areas knowledge of Indonesian is definitely a plus. Indonesian is an artificial language, so it is easy to build simple sentences, without having much knowledge of the grammar. It really only gets complicated as you move into the more formal side of the language.
Bahasa Indonesia for Surfers
No matter where you are from, if you have an interest in the language, you can generally gain basic Indonesian language skills pretty fast. A few words in Bahasa (many people drop the 'Indonesia' part) will certainly help you with your daily life or at least earn you a friendly smile and respect from the locals. If you travel on to places outside of Bali such as Java, Sumatra, Lombok or other parts of Indonesia, it will certainly help you a lot. For example: Asking for directions to a beach; getting transportation there or quizzing the locals about the conditions at a particular break etc. Language for surfing type questions can be pretty tricky at times with some of the technical language involved such as swell, tide etc. Being able to ask these questions (and respond) in Bahasa can be a real bonus.
Some Indonesian surfing vocabulary to get you started:
Time Periods
morning (0:00 -11:59): pagi
afternoon (12:00-15:00): siang
evening (15:00-18:00): sore
night (18:00-0:00): malam
dry season: musim kering/kemarau
wet season: musim hujan
monsoon: pancaroba
Moons
crescent moon: bulan sabit
full moon: bulan purnama/penuh
half moon: bulan separuh
new moon: bulan muda
Surf Words and Phrases
beach: pantai
big wave: ombak besar
boat: perahu
good wave: ombak bagus
high tide: air pasang
left: kiri
low tide: air surut
ocean: samudra/lautan
reef: terumbu karang/ batu karang
right: kanan
sea current: arus laut
small wave: ombak kecil
surf (verb): berselancar
surfboard: papan selancar
surfer: peselancar
surfing: selancar
surfing community: komunitas selancar
swell: gelombang
wave: ombak
water: air
wind: angin
wind (light) : angin kecil
wind (strong): angin kencang