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Sundanese is the local language in Bandung and most of West Java. Indonesian is spoken fluently by nearly all adult Indonesians who live in Bandung. In the outlying areas, one might find some folks who only know Sundanese. English is known to some extent, especially by people in the tourist industry, businessmen, and students.

Remember, this is a different culture from where you're from. Even the words "yes" and "no" may not mean what you think. BandungExpat recommends: Filter all utterances though your rational mind before believing or acting upon them.

Language resources:

• Indonesian language system -- Explains how to use suffixes and prefixes in Indonesian
• Indonesian etymology (Uses Java applet, may take a moment to load)
• Highly recommended, An Indonesian-English Dictionary / by John M. Echols and Hassan Shadily
• Danny Yee's Indonesian Book Reviews
  • Soenjono Dardjowidjojo: Vocabulary Building in Indonesian** An Advanced Reader
  • John M. Echols, Hassan Shadily: Kamus Indonesia-Inggris* An Indonesian-English Dictionary
  • Liaw Yock Fang: Standard Indonesian Made Simple
  • A.L.N. Kramer, Willie Koen: Tuttle's Concise Indonesian Dictionary
  • J.D. McGarry: The M.I.P. Concise Indonesian Dictionary For Students and Travellers
  • George Quinn: Hidup Berwarna Introductory Readings in Modern Indonesian and Malay Literature
  • Amin Singgih: Learning Bahasa Indonesia Without Teacher
• Beginning Indonesian through Self-Instruction (BITSI)
  Cost of the compete materials in a set of 3 CD-ROMs is $80 plus postage. There are two organizations which sell them (and the textbook): (1) Noyes Lodge Language Learning Center Cornell University Ithaca, New York, 14853 USA phone: 607/255-7394 email: mal6@cornell.edu (2) SE Asia Program Publications East Hill Plaza Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14853 USA
• Learning Bahasa Indonesia www.expat.or.id/info/bahasa.html
• Learn Indonesian: Learn some important Indonesian words and phrases. www.balifolder.com/feature/learn/index.shtml
• The Indonesian Language - Bali: The Online Travel Guide