VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Voice of Indonesia presents “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia,” a lesson in the Indonesian language on the radio, introducing some Indonesian vocabulary and tips on how to use it in a conversation. This segment is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language and Book Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.  Today’s topic is  Perkenalan or  ‘Introduction’.

Next is a conversation about Perkenalan or ‘Introduction’. The conversation is between Kevin and Pak Imran.  (Recorded)

Kevin              : Selamat siang.

Imran              : Selamat siang. Anda Kevin Smith?

Kevin              : Iya, betul.

Imran             : Kenalkan, saya Imran. Saya diberi tugas oleh Dekan untuk menjemput Anda.

Kevin              : Oh, nama saya Kevin Smith. Panggil saja Kevin.

After the conversation, now I am going to introduce some vocabularies and expressions related to the topic today. I say each word slowly and twice, you can follow after me.

Kenalkan, saya Imran                     which means            Hello, I am Imran

Nama saya Kevin Smith                                         My name is Kevin Smith

Panggil saja Kevin                                                  just call me Kevin

Nama                                                                         name

nama saya                                                                            my name

In the conversation there are two persons who get acquaintanceship. One of them said Kenalkan, saya Imran. To introduce yourself you can start by saying kenalkan or perkenalkan.

For example:

Kenalkan, nama saya Imran(hello, my name Imran)

Perkenalkan, saya Kevin     (hello, I am Kevin)                                                          

In the introduction, you can say directly your name: nama saya Kevinor just saying saya Kevin.

In Indonesia, after meet someone, people usually ask about condition, for example:

Kevin   : Kenalkan, nama saya Kevin.

Imran   : Saya Imran.

Kevin   : Oh, Hai Imran. Apa kabar? 

When getting acquainted with other people, Indonesians will usually shake hands. Sometimes, they shake hands with one hand using the right hand and some others use two hands. If you use your left hand, you are considered impolite.

Before we end today’s Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia, for more details, let’s listen to the conversation once more.

Kevin  : Selamat siang.

Imran              : Selamat siang. Anda Kevin Smith?

Kevin              : Iya, betul.

Imran             : Kenalkan, saya Imran. Saya diberi tugas oleh Dekan untuk menjemput Anda.

Kevin              : Oh, nama saya Kevin Smith. Panggil saja Kevin.

That was “Let’s Speak Bhs Indonesia”, a lesson in bahasa Indonesia  or the Indonesian language on the radio. Hopefully, this edition can be useful for those who want to know more about Bahasa Indonesia.