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Tutor Natalia P 's Column

FORMAL & INFORMAL GREETINGS

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May 5, 2023

Happy Friday from Indonesia GMT+7.
Today I will discuss how to say greetings in Indonesian. What you should know first is that Indonesia has a formal language and a neutral and informal language.
Then, is there formal or informal language in greeting? Of course "yes", but not all. In this section, let's first look at the conversation below:
 
Amira: Hai Beni. Apa kabar?
Beni: Hai Amira, Aku baik. Kamu?
 
This is a type of informal conversation that takes place between friends who know each other. We can see there is an informal word "Aku (I) & Kamu (You)"
 
Next, we see the conversation between Leader and Staff in the office:
 
Aris: Halo Pak Banu, Bagaimana kabar Anda?
Banu : Hello Aris, Saya baik. Bagaimana kabar Anda?
 
This is a formal type of conversation, where we can see the words "Saya (I) & Anda (You)".

So what's the difference between "Apa kabar?" and "Bagaimana dengan Anda?" which means both "How are you?"
 
I'll cover that in next week's topic.


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