What is Bahasa Indonesia?
Bahasa Indonesia is the official language of Indonesia, and is spoken by more than 200 million people. It is a standardized language, and primarily serves as a second language for people in Indonesia to help them communicate with one another. Less than 30 million people speak Bahasa Indonesia as their native tongue. Bahasa Indonesia is sometimes referred to by people outside of Indonesia simply as Indonesian, or even as Bahasa. The name itself means “language of Indonesia,” and so calling it Bahasa is viewed by many as an incorrect abbreviation, since this means simply “language.
