What are the 24 words for "you" in Indonesian? Why does Indonesian have four words for "rice" but no exact equivalent of "farm"? How do you say "Bang!" "Eh?" and "Ouch"?. What is the difference between "dong" and "doang" in colloquial Indonesian? How did the name of the Hindu god Indra give us the modern Indonesian word for motor vehicle? Whether you are a beginner or an advanced student of Indonesian, "The Learner's Dictionary of Today's Indonesian" is a tool intended to help you gain an authentic, up-to-date and active command of the language. It provides a detailed snapshot of the core vocabulary of Indonesian. Among its features are: thousand of illustrative sentences; an easy pronunciation guide; extensive cross-referencing; helpful tips on usage; and topic lists which group the dictionary's words according to 42 "common usage" areas, including time, colours, daily activities, the home, sport, occupations, mass media, religion and business. A key feature of the dictionary is the dozens of boxes giving invaluable information on everyday usage, word origins and nuances of meaning. Rich in information on the cultural context in which words are used, it includes notes on the difficulties learners experience arsing from differences in culture and history between English-speakers and Indonesian-speakers. The book is a comprehensive dictionary designed specifically to help you gain a practical command of the national language of one of the world's most populous nations.

Author Biography

George Quinn is one of Australia's most innovative teachers of Indonesian with 25 years practical experience teaching the language at the University of Sydney, the Northern Territory University and currently the Australian National University. As a researcher he is best known for his ground-breaking study of modern literature in the Javanese language. George Quinn holds a Bachelor's degree in Indonesian from Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta) and a PhD from the University of Sydney.