1411: Indonesian Loanwords Oct 22, 2018

An estimated 42% of Indonesian loanwords are from Dutch, but some 21% come from English. The Dutch controlled Indonesia for 123 years so the first statistic makes sense, but no English speaking group has had that same ability. While it is true that it is often difficult to decipher whether loanwords are originally Dutch or English as these are both so similar, these English loanwords came almost exclusively from foreign media and a global emphasis on trade which is English-based. It is so useful that not only is it used for trade but vocabulary has also seeped its way into everyday speech.