Basic English Conversation Part II

             Language is the way the brain attempts to symbolically express and explain its abstract thoughts to itself and to the outside world. As someone who regularly attempts to communicate abstract ideas to both humans and machines through the use of English and various computer languages, I've always been aware to some degree of the limitations of language. But recent efforts to express the same abstract concept in two very different computer languages made the degree to which my thought processes are influenced by language especially clear. While the observations to follow resulted from working with computer programming languages, I believe that they also apply to the effects of more conventional languages on human thought processes.

            Consider that a literary work is typically composed of two very different aspects - the plot and the prose. The prose constitutes the entire tangible expression of the work - the words that assembled in a specific order and taken together accomplish the purpose of the work. The words that make up the tangible expression of the work are available to anyone with a dictionary, and can be used for a wide variety of purposes, but only become this work when assembled in the specific way that is unique to this particular work.

Identifying people by accupation = Mengenal orang berdasarkan pekerjaannya

61	Who are you?	Siapa kamu?
62	I’m a student.	Saya seorang mahasiswa.
63	Who is that over there?	Siapa disebelah sana itu?
64	He’s a student too.	Dia adalah seorang mahasiswa juga.
65	Is that lady a student?	Apakah wanita itu seorang mahasiswa?
66	No, she isn’t.	Bukan, dia bukan seorang mahasiswa.
67	Those men aren’t students, either.	Orang-orang lelaki itu bukan mahasiswa juga.
68	Am I your teacher?	Apakah saya guru anda?
69	Yes, you are.	Ya, anda guru saya.
70	That man is a teacher, isn’t he?	Orang laki-laki itu seorang guru, bukan?
71	Yes, he is.	Ya, dia seorang guru.
72	Who are those people?	Siapa orang-orang itu?
73	Maybe they’re farmers.	Mungkin mereka para petani.
74	Aren’t they students?	Bukankah mereka mahasiswa?
75	I really don’t know.	Saya sungguh tidak tahu.

Introductions and courtesies = Perkenalan dan keramahan

76	What’s your name?	Siapa nama kamu?
77	My name is Jones.	Nama saya adalah Jones.
78	What’s your first name?	Siapa nama pertama kamu?
79	My first nama is Bill.	Nama pertama saya adalah Bill.
80	How do you spell your last name?	Bagaimana kamu mengeja nama terakhir kamu?
81	Jones. J. O. N. E. S.	Jones. Jei-ow-en-i-es
82	What’s your friend’s name?	Siapa nama teman kamu?
83	His name is John Smith.	Namanya adalah John Smith.
84	John and I are old Friends.	John dan saya teman lama.
85	Are you John’s brother?	Apakah anda saudara laki-laki John?
86	No, I’m not.	Bukan, saya bukan kakak John.
87	This is Mr. Jones.	Ini adalah Tuan Jones.
88	How do you do?	Apa kabar?
89	Mrs. Jones, this is Mr. John Smith.	Nyonya Jones, ini Tuan John Smith.
90	Very pleased to meet you.	Senang sekali saya berkenalan dengan anda.

Day and month of the calender = Hari dan bulan kalender

91	What day is today?	Hari ini hari apa?
92	Today is Monday.	Hari ini hari Senin.
93	What day was yesterday?	Kemarin hari apa?
94	Yesterday was Sunday.	Kemarin hari Minggu.
95	What day is tomorrow?	Besok hari apa?
96	What month is this?	Ini bulan apa?
97	This is January.	Ini bulan Januari.
98	Last month was December, wasn’t it?	Bulan lalu Desember, kan?
99	Yes, it was.	Ya, betul.
100	What month is next month?	Bulan depan bulan apa?
101	I was in the hospital for several weeks.	Saya masuk rumah sakit selama beberapa minggu.
102	Where were you on Tuesday?	Pada hari Selasa yang lalu kamu ada dimana?
103	You were here in February, weren’t you?	Bulan Pebruari yang lalu kamu ada disini, kan?
104	No, I wasn’t.	Tidak, saya tidak berada disini.
105	Your friend was here a week ago, wasn’t he?	Seminggu yang lalu teman kamu ada disini, kan?

Talking about objects = Bicara tentang benda-benda

106	Do you have a book?	Apakah kamu punya buku?
107	Yes, I do.	Ya, saya punya.
108	You have a radio, don’t you?	Kamu punya radio, kan?
109	No, I don’t.	Tidak, saya tidak punya.
110	I don’t have a phonograph, either.	Saya juga tidak punya gramofon.
111	Does this radio belong to you?	Apakah radio ini milikmu?
112	Yes, I think it does.	Ya, saya kira begitulah.
113	How many sisters and brothers do you have?	Berapa orang saudara laki-laki dan perempuan kamu?
114	Don’t you have my hat?	Tidakkah kamu membawa topi saya?
115	Yes, I have both your hat and your coat.	Ya, saya bawa topi dan jas kamu dua-duanya.
116	Does John have a yellow pensil?	Apakah John punya pensil kuning?
117	Yes, he does.	Ya, punya.
118	He has a radio, doesn’t he?	Dia punya radio, kan?
119	No, he doesn’t have one.	Tidak, dia tidak punya radio.
120	He already has a phonograph, but he doesn’t have a radio yet.	Dia sudah punya gramofon, tapi dia belum punya radio.