Seminarian Ryan on Nostr: I've started doing a bit of Indonesian language training via DuoLingo, Anki, and the ...

I've started doing a bit of Indonesian language training via DuoLingo, Anki, and the like in preparation for an upcoming trip.

I've been pleasantly surprised at some of the cognates I've encountered, not with English but rather with the Spanish and German that I already speak.

For example, today I was studying about clothing and encountered the Indonesian 'rok' (for skirt), which is clearly related to the German "Rock", obviously through our mutual friend Dutch.

As well, I encountered the Indonesian word 'kemeja' (for shirt), which sounded so very familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Then, it clicked! Could it be related to the Spanish 'camisa'? Perhaps via Arabic? A quick dictionary check confirmed that Arabic uses the word قميص (pronounced 'qamis'), so that explains that!

Sometimes, I wish I could get paid to just sit around and go on language adventures!

#languages #languagelearning #travel #nerdstr #Indonesian #Bahasa