“Practice your Dutch” Forum

Dutch Loanwords in the Indonesian Language

Dutch Loanwords in the Indonesian Language

by Carmelito OLS Community Manager -
Number of replies: 1

Source: Carmelito (OLS)

Source: Carmelito (OLS)

The vast archipelagic nation of Indonesia is a country of many languages, around 700 to be precise. Many of those languages still use quite a few Dutch loanwords from the colonial period. As a German speaker, many of these seem to be some of the funnier sounding loanwords (at least to my German ears!). For example "Knalpot" and "Wastafel". 

Source: Carmelito (OLS)

Source: Carmelito (OLS)

Interestingly both Malaysia and Indonesia use the same national language, though Indonesian uses Dutch loanwords why Malaysia, a former British colony, uses English ones. 

Source: Carmelito (OLS)

Today, one can still find some Dutch colonial heritage buildings in Indonesia, which come with quite a bit of interesting history. Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, has some fascinating ones, such as the former Oranje hotel which was built by the Sarkies brothers, who have quite a track record of luxury heritage hotels in the region.

Source: Carmelito (OLS)

Source: Carmelito (OLS)

There are also some dishes that survived, such as the bitterballen and the stroopwafel. The word "saus" is also encountered everywhere.



In reply to Carmelito OLS Community Manager

Re: Dutch Loanwords in the Indonesian Language

by Lemba OLS community Manager -
Hi Carmelito,
Thanks very much for posting this, especially with the pictures. I was in Bali and Lombok several years ago and was (also) pleasantly surprised by the occurrence of Dutch words in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian). I will expand on this topic in a blog post. Thanks for the inspiration :-)