Indonesian/Lessons/Formal speech

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More Pronouns
For a laid back country such as Indonesia, the people can seem surprisingly status conscious to the new arrival. One of the ways in which this social order is established and maintained is through the language one uses in conversation.

Unlike some other languages in the archipelago (notably Sundanese and Javanese) modern Indonesian does not have well defined language levels which indicate the status of each party in conversation, although there are certainly words one would not use in a discussion with one's boss, one's friend's parent and so on.

As a general rule, it is easier and safer to err on the side of politeness and always use saya for a first person pronoun and Bapak or Ibu for a second person pronoun, but to do so would exclude you from most everyday speech.

Master the phrases below and be prepared to receive compliments aplenty.

Titles
In Indonesian instead of referring to the person you are talking to as you and yourself as I/me, people often use their name, or term of address. Using someone's title instead of a second person pronoun (you, your etc.) is normally considered the most polite way of addressing someone, as long as you don't use the incorrect title... Referring to yourself by name sounds a little childish if you are the person with lower social standing, and patronising if the reverse is true. In most cases unless speaking with small children, or unless you are a small child, it's safer to stick with saya.

Second Person
As a general rule, Indonesians tend to use a person's title or their given name (often in conjunction with their title) in place of a true second person pronoun in spoken language. This sounds less childish (as the younger person) or patronising (as the older person) than doing so with the first person pronoun and is probably your safest bet in most instances.

Enseignement de l'indonésien/Leçons/Discours formel