This is an online dictionary translating day-to-day the language used in Ambon (and to some degree in Maluku more widely) into English. In future the data presented here will be adapted to a print volume, so if you're interested please keep an eye out for that, but in all likelihood this online tool will be far more useful to people.
Only those words that differ from standard Indonesian, either in spelling or meaning, are featured here. Many of the words you'll see here are derived from Indonesian by applying the following substitutions:
- Initial -e, -er syllables in grammatical prefixes become -a
- berdiri → badiri
- terbakar → tabakar
- Initial -e syllables more generally become -a
- mesin → masing
- lentera → lanterna
- Final -n, -m modifiers become -ng
- teman → tamang
- asam → asang
- Final -k, -h modifiers are dropped
- anak → ana
- bersih → barsi
- Final -u syllable becomes -o
- arus → aros
- mabuk → mabo
Stress tends to be noticeably on the penultimate syllable, which plays a significant part in producing the distinctive Ambon accent.
This dictionary represents the collation, translation, and standardisation of five major sources:
- Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia (Takaria & Pieter, 1998)
- Malayu Ambong: Phonology, Morphology, Syntax (van Minde, 1997)
- Holle Lists: Vocabularies in Languages of Indonesia Vol. 3/3 § Ambon Maleis (Stokhof, 1987)
- Bahasa Ambon - English Dictionary (Devin, 2011)
- Bahasa Ambon Hari-Hari (Pattiasina, 2011)
Additionally, an updated version of the Takaria & Pieter dictionary was produced in December 2022 by the Kantor Bahasa Provinsi Maluku (part of the Kementerian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi), so in places where there are new, updated definitions these have been used. Interestingly this document seems to reproduce quite a few of Pattiasina's definitions directly. Finally, the KutiKata series of articles (Maspaitella, 2021), has provided some additional vocabulary along with important cultural context and example sentences.