In Reply to: I wouldn't try it. posted by LynneeD on Friday, 11. February 2005 at 13:51 Bali Time:
selamat always sounds a bit like slummet to me. And I've heard pagi pronounced padge-eye, or pah-jee, by westerners before. P's and B's often sound almost indistinguishable. But I've heard some Indonesians pronounce pagi as "puggy", while others stress it differently, more like pah-gee. Maybe it depends on context.
Dull-tongue is closer than Day-tang.. I would have put duh-tung. (Though it's more like "de", but someone reading it might confuse that with "dee".)
And the first time I was in Bali, a (Javanese) lady said that Terima Kasih sounds almost the same as "tear up my car seat". I guess it depends on who says it.
But no doubt we sound as odd speaking their language(s) as they do speaking ours. I often ask my friends to say something in Indonesian, and then to repeat it with an Australian accent, so I can hear the difference. It's hilarious. If they're a gifted mimic, ask them to try all sorts of accents. And try it yourself. Do Marlon Brando trying to buy socks in Bali. Do Robert Dinero from Taxi Driver --"Apakah anda berbicara dengan saya? Huh? Berbicara dengan saya?" Something like that, anyway.
If you thought getting drunk and speaking crap was fun, you'll LOVE getting drunk and speaking crap in two languages.
Or maybe it's just me.