Indonesian is a dialect of Malay that has since been standardized, currently spoken throughout Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia was declared the official language of Indonesia at the time of Independence in 1945. The number of Indonesians who can speak fluently is now estimated to be very close to 100%. Still, most Indonesians continue to speak their local languages as well. For example, Javanese is still spoken by approximately 70 Million Indonesians, and may even be the language of choice that some prefer to speak at home. But when it comes to education, any kind of media or other forms of communications, only Bahasa Indonesia is used.

Despite its relatively short history, Bahasa Indonesia has already undergone several changes. For example, in 1947, former president Suharto changed several sounds and their written forms; ch was changed to kh, dj to j, j to y, nj to ny, sj to sy, and tj to c.