What language can you speak when you travel to Bali? A complete dictionary of tourism vocabulary in Bali

Indonesian is the national language and is used in the education system and all legal and administrative affairs. And now it is more and more widely used, on the one hand, because of its official language status, on the other hand, because it is a mixed language (a related language), and many non-locals living and working in Bali can also communicate in this language-avoiding the complicated caste system in Bali.

English is widely used in tourist areas, and everyone speaks it well. Many Balinese people engaged in tourism know a little about German, Japanese, French and/or Italian. Older people also speak Dutch and are keen on practicing. If you want to go to remote places and communicate with people in non-tourist areas, you'd better learn a little Indonesian.

Most people in Lombok speak the local language (Sasak) and Indonesian, which is taught in schools and used in formal and official social occasions. Few people in Lombok can speak English except those who are engaged in tourism, even the police and other officials. Although English is more and more widely used, it is still rare outside major towns and tourist areas.

Indonesia's national language is widely used in Bali, but it is not Balinese. Balinese is a completely different language. Its vocabulary and grammar are completely different, and the rules used are much more complicated. It is difficult for foreigners to master this language. First of all, it is not a written language, so there are no clear rules in grammar and vocabulary, and there are quite a few variants in different parts of the island. Balinese is not taught in schools, and dictionaries and grammar books exist only to record current or historical usage, not to make rules for current syntactic pronunciation.

Influenced by the hierarchy, the grammar rules of Balinese people are very complicated. In fact, different social status speakers, interlocutors and interlocutors all determine their different vocabulary and grammatical structures. Due to the complexity of hierarchy, the traditional usage of Balinese is always arbitrary.

The following are the different forms and usages of Balinese:

◆Basa Alus is mainly used by educated people, and it was differentiated from the court language of India-Java in the 10 century.

◆Basa Lumrah (also called Biasa or Ketah) is mainly used between equal or equal people, or between friends and family. This is an ancient language of mixed descent, and some words come from Malay, Polynesian and Oceania.

◆ Barcelona Madia (also known as Midah) is a mixture of Basaru Mla and Barcelona Arrus. This polite expression is mainly used when talking to strangers or talking about strangers, and also when showing respect to the person you are talking to.

◆Basa Singgih is actually an independent language, which is used to address people of higher classes, especially in formal and religious occasions. Even Balinese people are not always fluent in this language. Mainly from the ancient Hindu Kavi language, written in Sanskrit-like fonts, as you can see in lontar (Palm Slice), written in leaves. Basa Singgih can also be seen in writing on the signs welcoming most villages in Basha.

◆Basa Sor (also called Rendah) is a language used by people of the lower classes or when talking with people of non-classes.

There are only 1000 basic words in each different vocabulary, most of which are related to people or people's behavior. Other words (in fact, the proportion of modern words is increasing) have nothing to do with class level.

Usage also changes with the decline of traditional class system and the growth of modern trend representing equality in democratic society. At present, there are only three popular trends in this language:

Low Balinese (la), equivalent to Basa Lumrah, can be used to talk with friends and family, or with people of equal or lower status, or to talk about themselves.

◆ Elegant Balinese (lpun), equivalent to Barcelona Madia, is used when talking with high-ranking people or strangers. Now this form has become a lingua franca, used more and more widely, and its connection with class level has faded.

◆ Advanced Balinese (lda) is a mixed language of Bassarus and Bassasingi, which is used to show respect for the people you talk to and the people you talk to.

The same vocabulary is often used in elegant and advanced usage of this language, while the vocabulary used in low usage is often the same as Indonesian. Elegant forms, such as Basa Madia or Midah, are usually regarded as more equal languages, and they are often mixed with Indonesian to avoid the embarrassment of garrison troops, because they are not aware of the appropriate class differences.