Exploring the Lexical Influence of Arabic on Bahasa Indonesia: Phonetically Transcribed

The influence of one language on another is a common phenomenon, and given that Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, it is not surprising that it has influenced other languages. One such language is Bahasa Indonesia, which is spoken in Indonesia, one of the most populous nations in the world. There appears to be a lack of comprehensive analyses on the lexical influence of Arabic on Bahasa Indonesia. Such an analysis is an essential linguistic aspect that needs to be highlighted. Thus, this study aims to investigate the extent of the linguistic impact of Arabic on Bahasa Indonesia, specifically focusing on the lexicon. This research gathered data from twelve native speakers of Bahasa Indonesia, aged between 19 and 34, who were asked to produce Arabic lexical items. All Arabic loanwords in the data were identified and phonetically transcribed using International Phonetic Alphabet symbols. The findings revealed that Arabic has significantly impacted Bahasa Indonesia, enriching its lexicon in various domains, particularly in the religious domain, as well as in academic, political, and everyday language. The study concludes that Arabic has notably contributed to the development of Bahasa Indonesia’s vocabulary and recommends further research on other linguistic aspects such as semantics, phonology, or morphology.