# what language is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729 "2007-01-20T17:09:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/1 "2007-01-20T17:09:35Z")
[http://organisasi-rakyat.blogspot.com/](http://organisasi-rakyat.blogspot.com/) Here’s a paragraph if you don’t need to go to the link to recognize it: “Sebelum kita masuk ke dalam pikiran dan langkah-langkah sang pengorganisir masyarakat lebih dalam, ada baiknya kita membahas, Apa sih pengorganisasian masyarakat itu?. Apa sih filosofi, nilai-nilai dan tujuan dari pengorganisasian masyarakat itu?. Dimana, bagaimana saja pengorganisasian ini dapat dijalankan, siapa yang menggunakan-nya?. Apa bedanya pengorganisasian masyarakat dengan strategi atau intervensi lain yang bertujuan sama, yaitu membantu rakyat miskin dan terpinggirkan?.” I tried looking for the mentioning of a city or nation in the pages, but gave up. I thought SE Asian, but I notice it has a lot of phonetic spellings of words from the West. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/2 "2007-01-20T17:12:31Z")
The [Xerox Language Guesser](http://www.xrce.xerox.com/cgi-bin/mltt/LanguageGuesser) identifies it as [Malay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_language). ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/3 "2007-01-20T18:42:00Z")
Could also be Tagalog aka Filipino. It’s closely related to Malay and other South East Asian languages, but has incorporated a lot of words from English and Spanish, so that’s where the similarities to Western terms could come from. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/4 "2007-01-20T19:35:09Z")
My guess: Indonesian of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/5 "2007-01-20T19:44:25Z")
It is Indonesian, I think. The giveaway is the hyphenated plurals such as “nilai-nilai”, “langkah-langkah”. I know of no other language which forms plurals by doubling the word, but Malay or Tagalog might also do so. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/6 "2007-01-20T21:20:35Z")
Most definitely not Tagalog. It’s either Indonesian or Malaysian. My guess is that it’s Indonesian. Deep in the middle of the page, there’s this reference: > [@](#): > > v Murphy,D., 2000, Membangun Organisasi Rakyat, URM-Indonesia. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/7 "2007-01-20T21:38:33Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] It’s either Indonesian or Malaysian. [/QUOTE] Most linguists consider both to constitute one “language”. There are some differences, and so it still makes sense for contributors to this thread to pinpoint which it is, but I thought I’d mention this nitpick, anyway, in the SDMB nitpick tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Cymro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Cymro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cymro)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/8 "2007-01-20T22:54:54Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] It is Indonesian, I think. The giveaway is the hyphenated plurals such as “nilai-nilai”, “langkah-langkah”. I know of no other language which forms plurals by doubling the word, but Malay or Tagalog might also do so. [/QUOTE] Japanese? 人々/ hitobito Cymro ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/9 "2007-01-20T23:07:16Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] The [Xerox Language Guesser](http://www.xrce.xerox.com/cgi-bin/mltt/LanguageGuesser) identifies it as [Malay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_language). [/QUOTE] Cool! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/10 "2007-01-20T23:20:08Z")
It looks like Indonesian to me. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/11 "2007-01-21T04:15:48Z")
I used to speak some Bahasa Indonesia (“Language (of) Indonesia”) which is about as similar to Malay as American English is to British English. I can’t find anything in the text that looks strange to me so I would bet money it is modern Bahasa Indonesia, not Malaysian Malay or any language from the Philippines. As for making plurals by doubling a noun, I’ve heard that done often in Africa. I don’t know whether it is done in any formal Bantu language but I’ve heard it in French pidgins. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/12 "2007-01-21T04:31:34Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] It is Indonesian, I think. The giveaway is the hyphenated plurals such as “nilai-nilai”, “langkah-langkah”. I know of no other language which forms plurals by doubling the word, but Malay or Tagalog might also do so. [/QUOTE] The passage in the OP is not Thai, but Thai forms plurals by doubling words. For instance, “dek” is child; “dek dek” is children." Malay and Indonesian do the same thing, and this does look like one of those two. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/13 "2007-01-21T04:49:23Z")
[QUOTE=Cymro] Japanese? 人々/ hitobito Cymro [/QUOTE] Chinese does so sometimes, too. Anyhow, the linguistics term for the doubling of words or parts of words is “reduplication” for anyone who wants to research it. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/14 "2007-01-21T08:02:53Z")
looking at the writer’s name, i’ll say Indonesian. [QUOTE=pulykamell] Chinese does so sometimes, too. Anyhow, the linguistics term for the doubling of words or parts of words is “reduplication” for anyone who wants to research it. [/QUOTE] chinese may have doubling of words but it’s not to form plurals. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/15 "2007-01-21T08:08:07Z")
[QUOTE=shijinn] chinese may have doubling of words but it’s not to form plurals. [/QUOTE] I was thinking of the tree-woods-forest (木, 林, 森 ) and human-everybody (人, 人人 ) example myself, but I guess you’re right in that those aren’t plurals in the sense we’re discussing. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/16 "2007-01-21T14:39:36Z")
If I understand correctly, there is no language called “Indonesian”, but Indonesia actually has hundreds of different languages, though many are similar. Something Indonesian was my guess too, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/17 "2007-01-21T15:00:44Z")
No, I think there is “Indonesian.” They call it “bahasa Indonesia,” but “bahasa” just means “language.” It’s like when they say “phasa Thai,” but “phasa” just means "language. Then there are ethnic languages, like maybe in Papua. But the brief time I’ve spent in Indonesia, they seemed to refer to the language as “Indonesian.” ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/18 "2007-01-21T15:04:55Z")
Whatever time you’ve spent in Indonesia is more than mine. I defer to your experience, **Siam Sam**. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/19 "2007-01-21T15:28:20Z")
Ah yes. I see in my references that “Indonesian” is the national language, while there are 300-plus other languages throughout the area, with many different regional dialects within each one. And that Sumatra alone has five different language groups, Sulawesi six, and the tiny island of Alor no fewer than seven. Apparently “Indonesian” derives from one of the five main Sumatran groups That all sounds familiar now. It’s been awhile, but my dealings were on Java and Bali. I remember one conference in Yogyakarta in which the Malaysian participants remarked on how close to Malaysian the Indonesian language was. All of my business would have been with people fluent in the national language, and all of the writing you see in the larger cities are standard Indonesian. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729/20 "2007-01-21T16:01:26Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] No, I think there is “Indonesian.” They call it “bahasa Indonesia,” but “bahasa” just means “language.” It’s like when they say “phasa Thai,” but “phasa” just means "language. Then there are ethnic languages, like maybe in Papua. But the brief time I’ve spent in Indonesia, they seemed to refer to the language as “Indonesian.” [/QUOTE] “Bahasa” and “Phasa” mean “language” in those two respective languages? Are they related, or is that just a coincidence? -FrL- [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-is-this/388729.md?page=2)