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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Sit! Eat! Go Away!

I find that my grasp of Bahasa Indonesia, after two years of study, is quite satisfactory now, as long as I limit my practice of the language to conversation with the dogs, or with myself, which may, in any case, amount to the same thing.

The demands in this manner are minimal. Sit! Eat! Go away!

Know what I mean?

My level of exertise is also quite impressive if I happen to be talking to Mamdouh--who does not speak Indonesian, nor very much of English either, for that matter. In other words, Indonesian may almost just as well be English.

Duduk! Makan! Pergi sana! It's the same.

Speaking with my 8 year old son is a little more demanding. Although he does not speak Indonesian, he has heard it being spoken for the last 8 years, by his mother, grandfather and grandmother in particular, and so he instinctively knows the difference between the actual language and simple jibberish.

Nothing like having an 8 year old correct you regarding a language he does not speak.

Therefore, I stick with what I know: Duduk! Makan! Pergi sana! Sit, eat, go away.

It works on him just as well as on the dogs, and that, my friends, is communication!

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