LESSON TRANSCRIPT

Absolute Beginner S1 #1
Are you Indonesian?

CONTENTS
2 INTRODUCTION
2 POST CONVERSATION BANTER
2 KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
3 GRAMMAR POINT
4 OUTRO

# 1
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INTRODUCTION

Jason:Hi everyone, Jason here! Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 1 - Are you
Indonesian?
Fira:Halo.! I'm Fira, and welcome to IndonesianPOD101.com.
Jason:With us, you'll learn to speak Indonesian with fun and effective lessons.
Fira:We also provide you with cultural insights...
Jason:...and tips you won't find in a textbook.
Jason:In this lesson, you’ll learn about how to say your name in Indonesian, and how
to tell your nationality to someone else.
Fira:This conversation takes place at a coffee shop. Edi and Tuti are friends, but not
close friends. So they will be speaking in formal Indonesian.
Jason:Okay. Let's listen to the conversation.

POST CONVERSATION BANTER

Jason:So, this seems like a good way to start off our series. And don’t forget – it’s
also a good way to introduce yourself in an informal conversation in Indonesian.
Fira:And it’s a good way to say where you are from.
Jason:So Fira, what do Indonesian people do after introducing themselves?
Fira:Well, they usually shake hands – the right hand only. Also please make sure you
hold people’s hands lightly.
Jason:Yes, don’t grip them tightly – this is seen as overly aggressive and hostile.
Also, if you’re a man and are meeting a woman for the first time, it’s best to let her
extend her hand first.
Fira:One other thing – the word “mas” that Tuti uses before Edi’s name literally means
“older brother”. But it doesn’t mean that Tuti and Edi are related, right?
Jason:Right. This is just a common way to show respect to the addressee, depending
on his or her age and social status.
Fira:For example, mas is used with young men or young-looking men, especially when
they are not married.
Jason:Okay, on to the vocab.

KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES

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Jason:Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from
this lesson.
Fira:The first words are 'hai' and 'halo' which mean 'Hello' in Indonesian.
Jason:Yes. As you can see, both of these words are borrowed from English.
Fira:They’re from English, but Indonesian people use these greetings very often today,
even if they aren’t completely “pure” Indonesian. Okay, then let’s talk about the word
‘hai’.
Jason:This is something that you would say to someone who is approaching you, right?
Fira:That’s correct. It’s also used to call someone’s attention – if they’re looking in your
direction.
Jason:And anyone can say this?
Fira:Yes, that’s right. And we also have ‘halo’. It’s much like ‘hai’, you can use this to
call anyone’s attention.
Jason:In addition, you may use it over the phone, right?
Fira:Yes, Using ‘hai’ over the phone is not so common – in fact, it sounds rather odd.
Jason:That’s good to know. Okay, now on to the grammar.

GRAMMAR POINT

Jason:In this lesson, we're going to learn how to ask someone’s name and nationality.
Fira:Now, let’s start with this phrase. “siapa nama Anda?” This is the most basic way
of asking “what’s your name?”.
Jason:The literal translation of this sentence is interesting. siapa means ‘who’, nama
means ‘name’, and Anda is one of the ways of saying “you”.
Fira:Oh, so literally, you’re saying “who is your name?.
Jason:That’s correct. It might sound rather strange in English, but in Indonesian, that’s
how you ask “what is your name”.
Fira:Listeners, repeat after me. “siapa nama Anda?”
Jason:“What’s your name?” Okay, then what about asking someone’s nationality? How
do you say that?
Fira:You say the word “orang”, which means ‘human’, and then you follow that with the
name of a nationality.
Jason:So how do we ask, “are you American?”
Fira:Orang Amerika? First, say Orang, then say ‘Amerika’ meaning ‘American’
Jason:OK. How about “are you Indonesian?”
Fira:Orang

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Indonesia?
Jason:Alright. Now here’s a slightly more difficult one. How about “are you French?”
Fira:Orang Perancis? Ah, I see what you’re trying to get at.
Jason:Yeah, the word for “French” – or “France”. So Fira, how do you answer this
question? For example, How do you say ‘I’m American?’
Fira:Saya orang Amerika. You can say “Saya Orang” then the country name.
Jason:How about “I’m Indonesian?” (pause)
Fira:Saya orang Indonesia. //
Jason:What about when someone asks your name? For example, if your name is Fira,
how do you say ‘I’m Fira’?
Fira:Nama saya Fira. (Slow) Nama saya. It’s pretty simple, right?
Jason:Good! One more thing I’ve noticed is that there’s this word saya in these
responses. What does this mean?
Fira:It’s a polite way of saying “I” or “me”.
Jason:Right. In Indonesian, there are several ways to say “I” or “me”, but many of them
have limited uses. So, for right now, you’re safe with using saya.
Fira:So listeners, don’t forget to check our lesson notes to learn more phrases.

OUTRO

Jason:Okay, that’s it for this lesson.

Fira:See you next time!

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