"Tegal language" redirects here; not to be confused withTegali language.
Javanese
Basa Jawa ꦧꦱꦗꦮ باسا جاوا
Basa Jawa written in Javanese script
Pronunciation
[bɔsɔd͡ʒɔwɔ] (central, eastern, and Pekalongan dialects) [basad͡ʒawa] (western and Tenggerese dialect) [basəd͡ʒawə] (Serang dialect and certain areas in Central Java) [basod͡ʒawo] (Plered Cirebonese dialect)
Javanese is the largest of theAustronesian languages innumber of native speakers. It has several regional dialects and a number of clearly distinct status styles.[6] Its closest relatives are the neighboring languages such asSundanese,Madurese, andBalinese. Most speakers of Javanese also speakIndonesian for official and commercial purposes as well as a means to communicate with non-Javanese-speakingIndonesians.
Javanese is spoken throughout Indonesia, neighboringSoutheast Asian countries, the Netherlands,Suriname,New Caledonia, and other countries. The largest populations of speakers are found in the six provinces of Java itself, and in the neighboring Sumatran province ofLampung.
The language is spoken inYogyakarta,Central andEast Java, as well as on the north coast ofWest Java andBanten. It is also spoken elsewhere by the Javanese people in other provinces of Indonesia, who are numerous due to the government-sanctioned transmigration program in the late 20th century, includingLampung,Jambi, andNorth Sumatra provinces. In Suriname, Javanese is spoken amongdescendants of plantation migrants brought by the Dutch during the 19th century.[8] In Madura, Bali, Lombok, and the Sunda region of West Java, it is also used as aliterary language. It was the court language inPalembang,South Sumatra, until the palace was sacked by the Dutch in the late 18th century.
Javanese is written with theLatin script,Javanese script, andArabic script.[9] In the present day, the Latin script dominates writings, although the Javanese script is still taught as part of the compulsory Javanese language subject in elementary up to high school levels in Yogyakarta, Central and East Java.
Javanese is thetwenty-second largest language by native speakers and the seventh largest language without official status at the national level. It is spoken or understood by approximately 100 million people. At least 45% of the total population of Indonesia are of Javanese descent or live in an area where Javanese is the dominant language. All seven Indonesian presidents since 1945 have been of Javanese descent.[a] It is therefore not surprising that Javanese has had a deep influence on the development of Indonesian, the national language ofIndonesia.
There are three main dialects of the modern language: Central Javanese, Eastern Javanese, and Western Javanese. These three dialects form adialect continuum from northernBanten in the extreme west of Java toBanyuwangi Regency in the eastern corner of the island. All Javanese dialects are more or lessmutually intelligible.
A table showing the number of native speakers in 1980, for the 22 Indonesian provinces (from the total of 27) in which more than 1% of the population spoke Javanese:[b]
According to the 1980 census, Javanese was used daily in approximately 43% of Indonesian households. By this reckoning there were well over 60 million Javanese speakers,[10] from a national population of 147,490,298.[11][d]
In Banten, the descendants of the Central Javanese conquerors who founded the Islamic Sultanate there in the 16th century still speak an archaic form of Javanese.[12] The rest of the population mainly speaks Sundanese and Indonesian, since this province borders directly on Jakarta.[e]
At least one third of the population ofJakarta are of Javanese descent, so they speak Javanese or have knowledge of it. In the province ofWest Java, many people speak Javanese, especially those living in the areas borderingCentral Java, the cultural homeland of the Javanese.
Almost a quarter of the population ofEast Java province areMadurese (mostly on theIsle of Madura); many Madurese have some knowledge of colloquial Javanese. Since the 19th century, Madurese was also written in the Javanese script.[f]
The original inhabitants ofLampung, the Lampungese, make up only 15% of the provincial population. The rest are the so-called "transmigrants", settlers from other parts of Indonesia, many as a result of past governmenttransmigration programs. Most of these transmigrants are Javanese who have settled there since the 19th century.
InSuriname (the formerDutch colony of Surinam), South America, approximately 15% of the population of some 500,000 are of Javanese descent, among whom 75,000 speak Javanese. A local variant evolved: theTyoro Jowo-Suriname orSuriname Javanese.[13]
Javanese is part of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, although its precise relationship to other Malayo-Polynesian languages is hard to determine. Using thelexicostatistical method,Isidore Dyen classified Javanese as part of the "Javo-Sumatra Hesion", which also includes theSundanese and "Malayic" languages.[g][14][15] This grouping is also called "Malayo-Javanic" by linguist Berndt Nothofer, who was the first to attempt a reconstruction of it based on only four languages with the best attestation at the time (Javanese, Sundanese,Madurese, andMalay).[16]
Malayo-Javanic has been criticized and rejected by various linguists.[17][18]Alexander Adelaar does not include Javanese in his proposedMalayo-Sumbawan grouping (which also coversMalayic,Sundanese, andMadurese languages).[18][19]Robert Blust also does not include Javanese in theGreater North Borneo subgroup, which he proposes as an alternative to Malayo-Sumbawan grouping. However, Blust also expresses the possibility that Greater North Borneo languages are closely related to many other western Indonesian languages, including Javanese.[20] Blust's suggestion has been further elaborated by Alexander Smith, who includes Javanese in theWestern Indonesian grouping (which also includes GNB and several other subgroups), which Smith considers as one of Malayo-Polynesian's primary branches.[21]
There are three main groups of Javanesedialects, based on sub-regions: Western Javanese, Central Javanese, and Eastern Javanese. The differences are primarily in pronunciation, but with vocabulary differences also. Not all Javanese dialects are mutually intelligible; for example, a Javanese speaker from Surabaya might not be able to understand the Javanese spoken in Tegal, or the formal registers spoken in parts of Central Java.
A preliminary general classification of Javanese dialects given by theMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Department of Linguistics is as follows.[22] Pesisir (Tegalan), Banyumas and Tengger are considered to be among the most conservative dialects.[23][24] TheBanten, Pesisir Lor,Banyumas andTengger dialect do not have the vowel raising and vowel harmony features that are innovations of the "standard" Solo and Yogyakarta dialects.
Standard Javanese is the variety of the Javanese language that was developed at theYogyakarta andSurakarta courts (the heirs to the Mataram Sultanate that once dominated the whole of Java and beyond), based on the Central Javanese dialect, and becomes the basis for the Javanese modern writings. It is marked with the strict usage of two speech levels for politeness, i.e.vernacular level calledngoko and high-register level calledkrama. Other dialects do not contrast the usage of the speech levels.[28]
Central Javanese (Jawa Tengahan) is founded on the speech ofSurakarta[h] and to a lesser extent ofYogyakarta. It is considered the most "refined" of the regional variants, and serves as a model for the standard language. This variant is used throughout eastern part ofCentral Java, theSpecial Region of Yogyakarta, and the western and southern part ofEast Java provinces. There are many lower-level dialects such asKedu (influenced byBanyumasan),Muria andSemarangan, as well asSurakarta andYogyakarta themselves. Javanese spoken in the Western and Southern Part ofEast Java (Madiun,Ponorogo,Ngawi,Magetan,Pacitan,Tulungagung,Trenggalek and most parts ofKediri,Nganjuk andBlitar) bears a strong influence of Surakarta Javanese.
This variant is also used by Mataraman descendant's outside the Mataraman cultural area, like small part of western region ofJombang Regency, small part of western region ofMalang Regency, almost of southern part ofBanyuwangi Regency (pesanggaran until tegaldlimo district) and south and southeastern part ofJember Regency (Wuluhan until Tempurejo district). The variation of Central Javanese are said to be so plentiful that almost every administrative region (orkabupatèn) has its own local slang.
There some influences of other dialect, like in the eastern part ofNganjuk (greater Kertosono), north and northeastern part ofKediri (ex kawedanan Papar & ex kawedanan Pare) and the eastern part ofBlitar (ex kawedanan Wlingi) there is some influences of the Arekan dialect, even though the basic vocabulary is still predominantly Mataraman and still classified as Mataraman Dialect.
Western Javanese (Jawa Kulonan), spoken in the western part of theCentral Java province and throughout theWest Java andBanten province (particularly on the north coast), includes dialects that are distinct for theirSundanese influences. It retains many archaic words and original pronunciation from Old Javanese.
Some Western Javanese dialects such as Banyumasan dialects and Tegal dialect are sometimes referred to asbasa ngapak by other Javanese because of the dialectal pronunciation of wordapa (what).
Eastern Javanese (Jawa Wétanan) speakers range from the eastern banks ofBrantas River in Kertosono, and fromJombang toBanyuwangi, comprising the second majority of theEast Java province excludingMadura island,Situbondo andBondowoso. However, some variant like Pedalungan has been influenced byMadurese.
The most outlying Eastern Javanese dialect is spoken in Balambangan (orBanyuwangi). It is generally known asbasa Using.Using, a local negation word, is a cognate oftusing inBalinese.
Pasisir Lor Wétan (Northeastern Coast) or Surabaya dialect is spoken in Surabaya, Sidoarjo, southern part of Gresik, Mojokerto and most part of Lamongan.
Malang-Pasuruhan dialect is spoken inMalang andPasuruan.
Lumajangan dialect is sub-dialect of arekan, bit influenced by madurese languages, spoken in west and southern part ofLumajang (except in north and north-east which base of madurese people's) and also spoken in southwestern part ofJember like Kencong, Jombang, Umbulsari, Gumukmas and southern part of Sumberbaru.
Jombang dialect is sub dialect of Arekan, bit influenced by Mataraman Javanese dialect, spoken in most part of Jombang
Gresik dialect or Giri dialect is the outermost in the Arekan dialect group spoken in the northern and central regions of Gresik Regency. Gresik Javanese is thought to be a blend of Arekan Javanese (especially the Surabaya dialect) with Javanese from the Kesunanan Giri era.
Surinamese-Javanese is mainly based on Central Javanese, especially fromKedu residency. The number of speakers of Suriname-Javanese in Suriname was estimated at 60,000 as of 2012.[29] Most Surinamese-Javanese are bi- or trilingual. According to the 2004 census, Surinamese-Javanese was the first or second language in 11 percent of households. In a 2012 study of multilingualism in Surinamese education by the Dutch Language Union,[29] 3,497 out of 22,643 pupils (15 percent) in primary education indicated Surinamese-Javanese as a language spoken at home. Most of them were living inWanica andParamaribo districts.
Not all immigrants from Indonesia to Suriname were speakers of Javanese. Immigration records show that 90 percent of immigrants were Javanese, with 5 percent Sundanese, 0.5 percent Madurese and 2.5 percent from Batavia. The ethnic composition of this last group was not determinable. Probably Sundanese, Madurese or Malay speaking immigrants were forced to learn Javanese during their stay in Suriname to adapt. In view of the language policies in Netherlands Indies at the time of immigration, it is unlikely the immigrants had knowledge of the Dutch language prior to immigration to Suriname. Dutch today is the official language of Suriname.
Surinamese Javanese is somewhat different from Indonesian Javanese.[30][31] In Surinamese-Javanese there is a difference between formal and informal speech. Surinamese-Javanese took many loanwords from languages like Dutch,Sranantongo,Sarnami and Indonesian. The influence of the latter language, which is not spoken in Suriname, can be attributed to the Indonesian embassy and Islamic teachers from Indonesia. Indonesian movies are popular, and usually shown without subtitles on Surinamese-Javanese television channels.
Loanwords of Sranantongo and Dutch in Surinamese-Javanese[30]
Surinamese-Javanese
Sranantongo
Dutch
English
ngabrah
abra
over
across
babrik
fabriek
factory
bakrah
bakra
blanke
white man
blangkeman
blakaman
zwarte man
black man
bedi
bedi
bed
bed
busi
busi
bos
jungle
pernangsi
pernasi
plantage
plantation
sekaut
skowtu
schout (politieagent)
policeman
In 1986, the Surinamese government adopted an official spelling for Surinamese-Javanese.[32] It is seldom used as a written language, however.
In the 2012 survey, pupils who indicated Surinamese-Javanese as a language spoken at home, reported Dutch (97.9 percent) and Sranantongo (76.9 percent) also being spoken in the household.
Surinamese-Javanese speaking pupils report high proficiency in speaking and understanding, but very low literacy in the language. They report a low preference for the language in interaction with family members, including their parents, with the exception of their grandparents. Pupils where Surinamese-Javanese is spoken at home tend to speak Dutch (77 percent) rather than Surinamese-Javanese (12 percent).
As expected, New Caledonian Javanese is somewhat different from Indonesian Javanese. New Caledonian Javanese took many loanwords from French. New Caledonian society, in addition to their mastery of the language according to their ethnicity (Javanese New Caledonians), is obliged to be fluent in French that is a medium that is used in all the affairs of the state, economy, and education. French is regarded as a prestigious language because it is the language of the government, an official language in France include New Caledonia, one of the major languages in Europe, and one of the official languages of the United Nations.[33]
Phoneme /i/ at closedultima is pronounced as [ɪ] in Central Javanese (Surakarta–Yogyakarta dialect), as [i] in Western Javanese (Banyumasan dialect), and as [ɛ] in Eastern Javanese.
Phoneme /u/ at closed ultima is pronounced as [ʊ] in Central Javanese, as [u] in Western Javanese, and as [ɔ] in Eastern Javanese.
Phoneme /a/ at closed ultima in Central Javanese is pronounced as [a] and at open ultima as [ɔ]. Regardless of position, it tends toward [a] in Western Javanese and as [ɔ] in Eastern Javanese.
Western Javanese tends to add a glottal stop at the end of word-final vowels, e.g.:Ana apa? [anaʔ apaʔ] "What happened?",Aja kaya kuwè! [adʒaʔ kajaʔ kuwɛʔ] "Don't be like that!".
Dialectal Phonetics
Phoneme
Orthography
Central Javanese (standard)
Western Javanese
Eastern Javanese
English
/i/
getih
[g̊ət̪ɪh]
[g̊ət̪ih]
[g̊ət̪ɛh]
blood
/u/
abuh
[ab̥ʊh]
[ab̥uh]
[ab̥ɔh]
swollen
/a/
lenga
[ləŋɔ]
[ləŋa]
[ləŋɔ]
oil
/a/
kancamu/kancané kowé
[kaɲtʃamu]
[kaɲtʃanɛ kowɛ]
[kɔɲtʃɔmu]
your friend
Final consonant devoicing occurs in the standard Central Javanese dialect, but not in Banyumasan. For example,endhog (egg) is pronounced [əɳɖ̥ɔk] in standard Central Javanese, but [əɳɖ̥ɔg] in Banyumasan. The latter is closer toOld Javanese.[25]
The vocabulary of standard Javanese is enriched by dialectal words. For example, to get the meaning of "you", Western Javanese speakers sayrika/rikaʔ/, Eastern Javanese usekon/kɔn/ orkoen/kɔən/, and Central Javanese speakers saykowé/kowe/. Another example is the expression of "how": the Tegal dialect of Western Javanese useskeprimèn/kəprimen/, theBanyumasan dialect of Western Javanese employskepriwé/kəpriwe/ orkepribèn/kəpriben/, Eastern Javanese speakers sayya' apa/jɔʔɔpɔ/ – originally meaning "like what" (kaya apa in standard Javanese) orkepiyé/kəpije/ – and Central Javanese speakers saypiye/pije/ orkepriyé/kəprije/.
Surakarta (standard)
Northern Banten
Cirebon-Indramayu
Tegal-Brebes
Banyumas
Pekalongan
Surabaya
Tengger
Osing (Banyuwangi)
English
aku
kite
kita, isun, reang
enyong
inyong
nyong, aku
aku, awakku
reyang (male), yani (female)
isun, hun
I, me
kowé, sliramu
sire
sira, dika
koen
rika, kowè
kowe
koen, riko, awakmu
sira, rika
riko, hiro
you
tenan
pisan
pisan, temen
temenan
temenan
temen
temenan, temen
temenan
kari
truly
kepiyé, piyé
kepremèn
kepribèn, kepriwè
keprimèn, pimen
kepriwè
kepriye
ya'apa
njare
kelendi
how
ora, ogak
ore
ora, belih
ora, blih
ora
ora
gak
ora
sing, hing
not
mlebu
manjing
manjing
manjing, mlebu
mlebu
manjing, mlebu
melbu, menjero
mlebu
melebu
to enter
arep
arep
arep, pan, pen
pan
arep
pak
apé, até, katé
katé
arep
will
såkå, sekå, saking(king)
sing
sing
sing
sekang
sekå
tekå
teka
tekå
from
ora ånå
lakê
laka
laka
ora nana, langka
nono
gak ono
nana
nono
nothing
The Madiun–Kediri dialect has some idiosyncratic vocabulary, such aspanggah 'still' (standard Javanese:pancet),lagèk 'progressive modal' (standard Javanese:lagi), and emphatic particlesnda,pèh, andlé.[26]
The earliest attested form of Old Javanese can be found on theSukabumi inscription at Kediri regency, East Java which dates from 804 CE.[35] Between the 8th and the 15th century, this form of Javanese flourished in the island of Java. Old Javanese is commonly written in the form of verses. This language variety is also calledkawi or 'of poets, poetical's, although this term could also be used to refer to the archaic elements of New Javanese literature.[19] The writing system used to write Old Javanese is a descendant of thePallava script from India.[35] Almost half of the entire vocabularies found in Old Javanese literature areSanskrit loanwords, although Old Javanese also borrowed terms from other languages in theMaritime Southeast Asia.[19][35]
The form of Old Javanese found in several texts from 14th century onward (mostly written in Bali) is sometimes referred to as "Middle Javanese". Both Old and Middle Javanese written forms have not been widely used in Java since early 16th century. However, Old Javanese works and poetic tradition continue to be preserved in the Javanese-influenced Bali, and the variety is also used for religious purposes.[19][36]
Modern Javanese emerged as the main literary form of the language in the 16th century. The change in the literary system happened as Islam started to gain influence in Java.[34] In its early form, Modern Javanese literary form was based on the variety spoken in thenorth coast of Java, where Islam had already gained foothold among the local people. Many of the written works in this variety were Islamic in nature, and several of them were translation from works in Malay.[37] TheArabic abjad was also adopted (asPegon) to write Javanese.[34][37]
The rise ofMataram in the 17th century shifted the main literary form of Javanese to be based on the inland variety. This written tradition was preserved by writers ofSurakarta andYogyakarta, and later became the basis of the modern written standard of the language.[37] Another linguistic development associated with the rise of Mataram is the stratification of Javanese into speech levels such asngoko andkrama,[38] which were unknown in Old Javanese.[37][38]
Books in Javanese have been printed since 1830s, at first using theJavanese script, although theLatin alphabet started to be used later. Since mid-19th century, Javanese has been used in newspapers and travelogues, and later, also novels, short stories, as well as free verses. Today, it is used in media, ranging from books to TV programs, and the language is also taught at schools in primarily Javanese areas.
Although Javanese is not anational language, it has recognized status as aregional language in the three Indonesian provinces with the biggest concentrations of Javanese people:Central Java, Yogyakarta, andEast Java.[citation needed] Javanese is designated as the official language of theSpecial Region of Yogyakarta under Yogyakarta Special Region Regulation Number 2 of 2021.[2] Previously, Central Java promulgated a similar regulation—Regional Regulation 9/2012[39]—but this did not imply an official status for the language.
Javanese is taught at schools and is used in somemass media, both electronically and in print. There is, however, no longer a daily newspaper in Javanese. Javanese-language magazines includePanjebar Semangat,Jaka Lodhang,Jaya Baya,Damar Jati, andMekar Sari.Damar Jati, a new Javanese language magazine, appeared in 2005 is not published in the Javanese heartlands, but in Jakarta.
Since 2003, an East Java local television station (JTV) has broadcast some of its programmes in the Surabayan (Suroboyoan) dialect, includingPojok Kampung [id] ("Village Corner", main newscast),Kuis RT/RW ("RT/RW Quiz"), andPojok Perkoro ("Case Corner", a crime newscast). In later broadcasts, JTV offers programmes in the Central Javanese dialect (called by thembasa kulonan, "the western language") and Madurese. The speakers of Suroboyoan dialect are well known for being proud of their distinctive dialect and consistently maintain it wherever they go.[40]
Several linguists has voiced concerns about the status of Javanese. It is believed that Ngoko Javanese enjoys a stable diglossic status, while Krama Javanese is under more serious threat.[41] The number of Javanese native speakers has significantly dwindled over the years. In a research in Yogyakarta, it was revealed that a significant number of parents do not transmit Javanese to their children.[42] Instead, Javanese speakers typically acquire Javanese through extrafamilial sources, like friend groups.[43] Although Javanese enjoys a large quantity of speaker base, it is not immune from pressures from other languages like Indonesian and English.[41]
The Javanese language has 23–25 consonant phonemes and 6–8 vowel phonemes.[44][45][46] The dialects of Javanese each have their own distinct characteristics in terms of phonology.[44]
The phonemes of Modern Standard Javanese as shown below.[47][48]
There is disagreement regarding the number of vowel phonemes in Javanese. According to the Javanese linguistE. M. Uhlenbeck, Javanese has six vowel phonemes, each of which has two pronunciation variants (allophones), except for the schwa /ə/.[49] This view is supported by several other Javanese linguists. However, an alternative analysis by some linguists concludes that Javanese has two additional phonemes, namely /ɛ/ and /ɔ/, which are considered independent phonemes, separate from /e/ and /o/.[45][46]
Following the six-vowel analysis, the phonemes above have the following allophones:
The phoneme/i/ has two allophones: [i], which generally appears in open syllables, and [ɪ], in closed syllables.[44]
mari [mari] ‘to recover’
wit [wɪt] ‘seedling’
The phoneme/u/ has two allophones: [u], which generally appears in open syllables, and [ʊ], in closed syllables.[44]
kuru [kuru] ‘thin’
mung [mʊŋ] ‘only’
The phoneme/e/ has two allophones: [e] and [ɛ], which can appear in both open and closed syllables.[44] In open syllables, /e/ is realized as [ɛ] if that syllable is followed by (1) an open syllable with the vowel [i] or [u], (2) a syllable with an identical vowel, or (3) a syllable containing the vowel [ə].[50]
saté [sate] ‘satay’
mèri [mɛri] ‘jealous’
kalèn [kalɛn] ‘drain, gutter’
The phoneme/o/ has two allophones: [o], which generally appears in open syllables, and [ɔ], which can appear in both open and closed syllables.[44] In open syllables, /o/ is realized as [ɔ] if that syllable is followed by (1) an open syllable with the vowel [i] or [u], (2) a syllable with an identical vowel, or (3) a syllable containing the vowel [ə].[50]
loro [loro] ‘two’
kori [kɔri] ‘gate’
sorot [sorɔt] ‘ray, light’
The phoneme/a/ has two allophones: [a], which generally appears inpenultimate (second-to-last) and antepenultimate (third-to-last) syllables, whether open or closed; and [ɔ], which can appear in open syllables.[44] In open syllables, /a/ is only realized as [ɔ] if the syllable occurs at the end of a word, or if it is the penultimate syllable of a word ending in /a/.[50]
Inclosed syllables the vowels/iueo/ are pronounced[ɪʊɛɔ] respectively.[47][51] In open syllables,/eo/ are also[ɛɔ] when the following vowel is/iu/ in an open syllable; otherwise they are/ə/, or identical (/e...e/,/o...o/). In the standard dialect of Surakarta,/a/ is pronounced[ɔ] in word-final open syllables, and in any open penultimate syllable before such an[ɔ]. Example:Janaka = /dʒ̊anɔkɔ/ andNakula = /nakulɔ/.
A Javanese syllable can have the followingform: CSVC, where C =consonant, S =sonorant (/j/,/r/,/l/,/w/, or anynasal consonant), and V =vowel. As with other Austronesian languages, native Javanese roots consist of two syllables; words consisting of more than three syllables are broken up into groups of disyllabic words for pronunciation. In Modern Javanese, a disyllabic root is of the following type: nCsvVnCsvVC.
Apart fromMadurese, Javanese is the only language of Western Indonesia to possess a distinction betweendental andretroflex phonemes.[47] The latter sounds are transcribed as "th" and "dh" in the modern Roman script, but previously by the use of anunderdot: "ṭ" and "ḍ".
The most common syllable structures in Javanese are V, CV, VC, and CVC. Syllables may also begin with consonant clusters, which are generally divided into three types: 1) homorganic consonant clusters consisting of a nasal sound plus a voiced stop (NCV, NCVC), 2) consonant clusters consisting of a stop plus a liquid or semivowel (CCV, CCVC), and 3) homorganic nasal consonant clusters followed by a liquid and semivowel (NCCV, NCCVC).
V
:ka-é 'that'
CV
:gu-la 'sugar'
VC
:pa-it 'bitter'
CVC
:ku-lon 'west'
CCV (including NCV)
:bla-bag 'board',kre-teg 'bridge'
CCVC (including NCVC)
:prap-ta 'arrive'
NCCVC
:ngglam-byar 'unfocused'
Consonant clusters between vowels generally consist of a nasal + homorganic stop (such as [mp], [mb], [ɲtʃ], and so on), or [ŋs]. The sounds /l/, /r/, and /j/ can also be added at the end of such consonant clusters. Examples of such consonant clusters arewonten ‘exist’,bangsa ‘nation’, andsantri ‘santri, devout Muslim’. In Javanese, the syllable before such consonant clusters is conventionally considered an open syllable, because the sound /a/ in such a syllable undergoes rounding into [ɔ]. The wordtampa ‘accept’, for instance, is pronounced [tɔmpɔ]. Compare this with the wordtanpa ‘without’, which is pronounced [tanpɔ].
Most morphemes (85%) in Javanese consist of two syllables; the remaining morphemes have one, three, or four syllables. Javanese speakers have a strong tendency to change monosyllabic morphemes into disyllabic morphemes. Morphemes with four syllables are sometimes also analyzed as combinations of two morphemes each with two syllables.
Views onstress in Javanese differ. Some linguists have claimed that there is (weak) stress on the penultimate syllable of a word, unless that syllable contains a schwa; if it does, the stress is on the final syllable. Another opinion that appears in the literature is that Javanese stress is word-final. In any case, Javanese stress is considered not to be contrastive.[53]
JavaneseJohn 3:16 written in the Arabic script (Pegon variant).
Javanese has been traditionally written withJavanese script. Javanese and the relatedBalinese script are modern variants of the oldKawi script, aBrahmic script introduced to Java along with Hinduism and Buddhism. Kawi is first attested in a legal document from 804 AD. It was widely used in literature and translations[54] from Sanskrit from the 10th century; by the 17th, the script is identified ascarakan.
The Javanese script is anabugida. Each of the twenty letters represents a syllable with a consonant (or a "zero consonant") and the inherent vowel 'a' that is pronounced as /ɔ/ in open position. Various diacritics placed around the letter indicate a different vowel than [ɔ], a final consonant, or a foreign pronunciation.
Letters have subscript forms used to transcribe consonant clusters, though the shapes are relatively straightforward, and not as distinct as conjunct forms ofDevanagari. Some letters are only present inold Javanese and became obsolete in modern Javanese. Some of these letters became "capital" forms used in proper names. Punctuation includes a comma; period; a mark that covers the colon, quotations, and indicates numerals; and marks to introduce a chapter, poem, song, or letter.
However, Javanese can also be written with theArabic script (known as thePegon script) and today generally usesLatin script instead of Javanese script for practical purposes. A Latinorthography based on Dutch was introduced in 1926, revised in 1972–1973; it has largely supplanted the carakan. The current Latin-based forms:
Javanese has no specificpersonal pronoun to express plural except forkita which was influenced by Indonesian’s first person plural inclusive pronoun. Pronoun pluralization can be ignored or expressed by using phrases such asaku kabèh 'we',awaké dhéwé 'us',dhèwèké kabèh 'them' and so on. Personal pronoun in Javanese, especially for the second and third person, are more often replaced by certain nouns or titles. In addition to the pronoun described in the table below, Javanese still has a variety of other pronoun whose use varies depending on the dialect or level of speech.[44][55][56][page needed]
Personal pronouns in Javanese, especially for the second and third persons, are more often replaced with specific nouns or titles. In addition to the pronouns listed in the table above, Javanese still has a wide variety of other pronouns whose usage varies depending on the dialect or speech level.
The wordsiki andiku can be used both in writing and in conversation. The formskiyi,kiyé,kuwi, andkuwé are mainly used in everyday speech. The formika is only used in traditional Javanese poetry (tembang).
Themadya (middle-level politeness) forms ofiki/kiyi/kiyé,iku/kuwi/kuwé, andkaé areniki,niku, andnika. These three types of demonstratives all share the samekrama (high-level politeness) form, which ispunika ormenika, although in some cases the wordsmekaten orngaten are also used as polite equivalents ofkaé.
In Javanese, modifiers (attributes) of a head noun are placed after the noun. The head noun does not take affixes if it is followed by an attributive adjective or a non-passive verb (indicating purpose or function) that restricts the meaning of the noun. Possession can be expressed implicitly without affixes, or explicitly with the suffix-(n)é or-(n)ipun on the head noun.
Numerals are generally placed after the noun.[44][50]
wong siji — ‘one person’
gelas pitu — ‘seven glasses’
candhi sèwu — ‘a thousand temples’
Numerals are placed before the noun if the noun refers to a unit of measure or a unit of number. In this position, numerals take a nasal linker:-ng if they end in a vowel, or-ang if they end in a non-nasal consonant. The only exception is the numeralsiji ‘one’, which is replaced by the prefixessa-,se-, ors- in this context.[44][50]
telu-ng puluh — ‘thirty’
pat-ang pethi — ‘four chests’
sa-genthong — ‘one jar’
se-gelas — ‘a glass (of)’
s-atus rupiyah — ‘one hundred rupiah’
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The paradigm of standard Javanese verbs can be summarized as follows:
Verb paradigm
mood
diathesis
prefix
suffix
neutral
applicative I
applicative II
indicative
active
N-
-Ø
-i
-aké
passive I
tak-/kok-/di-
passive II
ke-
-an
-Ø
imperative
active
N-
-a
-ana
-na
passive I
Ø-
-en
propositive
active
(aku)takN-
-Ø
-i
-aké
passive I
tak-
-é
-ané
-né
subjunctive
active
N-
-a
-ana
-na
passive I
tak-/kok-/di-
-en
-na
Not all verbal affixes in the paradigm described above are commonly used in everyday conversation. In addition, other Javanese dialects generally have a simpler verb paradigm, such as theTengger dialect which does not use different affixes for verbs with subjunctive and imperative moods (although the standard dialect also does not distinguish between the two in the active form, both are marked with the affixesN- and-a).
Transitive verbs in Javanese can be formed by attaching the nasal prefixN- to the root word for the active form, or pronominal prefixes such asdi-,tak-, andkok- for the passive form.
The addition of the suffixes-i and-aké generally indicates higher valency. The suffix-i is usually applicative, as intanduri ‘plant with (something)’ from the roottandur ‘to plant’. The suffix-aké (polite/krama form:-aken) can form causative verbs from transitive verbs, e.g.lebokaké ‘put in (into something)’ frommlebu ‘to enter’. When attached to an intransitive verb, the derived verb can be benefactive, e.g.jupukaké ‘take (for someone)’ from the rootjupuk ‘take’.
Para utusan mau ugang-islam-aké wong-wong ing Pejajaran
PL envoy ANAPH also AV-Islam-SS people(plural) LOC Pejajaran
‘These envoys also converted the people in Pejajaran to Islam.’
Both transitive and intransitive verbs have several forms depending on their grammatical mood. In addition to the base or indicative form, there are also the irrealis/subjunctive, imperative, and propositive forms. The irrealis mood in Javanese is expressed with the suffix-a, which can have several meanings:
Verbs in the imperative mood cannot be preceded by an explicit subject, and are marked with the suffixes-en or-a. Intransitive verbs do not have a special imperative form.
The propositive form is an imperative-like form used to command oneself or to express the desire to do something. The morphemetak ordak is used before the verb to mark the active propositive mood. Unlike the pronominal prefixtak- ordak-, which cannot be preceded by a first-person subject, the active propositive construction withtak/dak can be preceded by a subject (e.g.,aku tak nggorèng iwak ‘I intend to fry fish’). This active propositive marker can also be separated from the verb that follows it, as can be seen in examples (10–11).
The suffix-é or-ipun is used to mark the passive propositive form. Here, the morphemetak- functions similarly to the pronominal prefixtak- used in the passive form in the indicative and irrealis moods.
In non-indicative forms (irrealis/subjunctive, imperative, and propositive), the suffixes-i and-aké are synonymous with the suffixes-an and-n, as in the affix sequences-an-a,-an-é,-n-a, and-n-é. These affixes are often regarded as fused forms (-ana,-ané,-na, and-né), although some linguists argue that they are actually composed of two separate components:-an and-n as derivational affixes, and-a and-é as mood markers.
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Modern Javanese usually employsSVO word order. However, Old Javanese sometimes hadVSO and sometimesVOS word order. Even in Modern Javanese, archaic sentences using VSO structure can still be made.
Examples:
Modern Javanese: "Dhèwèké (S)teka (V)ing (pp.)karaton (O)".[57]
Old Javanese: "Teka (V)ta (part.)sira (S)ri (pp.)-ng (def. art.)kadhatwan (O)".[i]
Both sentences mean: "He (S) comes (V) into (pp.) the (def. art.) palace (O)". In the Old Javanese sentence, the verb is placed at the beginning and is separated by the particleta from the rest of the sentence. In Modern Javanese the definite article is lost, and definiteness is expressed by other means if necessary.
Verbs are not inflected for person or number. There is no grammaticaltense; time is expressed by auxiliary words meaning "yesterday", "already", etc. There is a complex system of verb affixes to express differences of status in subject and object. However, in general the structure of Javanese sentences both Old and Modern can be described using thetopic–comment model, without having to refer to conventional grammatical categories. Thetopic is the head of the sentence; the comment is the modifier. So the example sentence has a simpler description:Dhèwèké =topic;teka = comment;ing karaton = setting.
Javanese has manyloanwords supplementing those from the native Austronesian base.Sanskrit has had a deep and lasting influence. TheOld Javanese–English Dictionary contains approximately 25,500 entries, over 12,600 of which are borrowings from Sanskrit.[58] Such a high number is no measure of usage, but it does suggest the extent to which the language adopted Sanskrit words for formal purposes. In a typical Old Javanese literary work about 25% of the vocabulary is from Sanskrit. Many Javanese personal names also have clearly recognisable Sanskrit roots.
Sanskrit words are still very much in use. Modern speakers may describe Old Javanese and Sanskrit words askawi (roughly meaning "literary"); butkawi words may also be fromArabic.Dutch andMalay are influential as well; but none of these rivals the position of Sanskrit.
There are far fewer Arabic loanwords in Javanese than in Malay, and they are usually concerned withIslamic religion. Nevertheless, some words have entered the basic vocabulary, such aspikir ("to think", from the Arabicfikr),badan ("body"),mripat ("eye", thought to be derived from the Arabicma'rifah, meaning "knowledge" or "vision"). However, these Arabic words typically have native Austronesian or Sanskrit alternatives:pikir =galih,idhep (Austronesian) andmanah,cipta, orcita (from Sanskrit);badan =awak (Austronesian) andslira,sarira, orangga (from Sanskrit); andmripat =mata (Austronesian) andsoca ornétra (from Sanskrit).
Dutch loanwords usually have the same form and meaning as in Indonesian, with a few exceptions such as:
Javanese
Indonesian
Dutch
English
pit
sepeda
fiets
bicycle
pit montor
sepeda motor
motorfiets
motorcycle
sepur
kereta api
spoor, i.e. (rail) track
train
potelot
pensil
potlood
pencil
bolpen
bolpoin
balpen
pen
The wordsepur also exists in Indonesian, but there it has preserved theliteral Dutch meaning of "railway tracks", while the Javanese word follows Dutchfigurative use, and "spoor" (lit. "rail") is used asmetonymy for "trein" (lit. "train"). (Compare a similar metonymic use in English: "to travel by rail" may be used for "to travel by train".)
Malay was thelingua franca of the Indonesian archipelago before the proclamation of Indonesian independence in 1945; and Indonesian, which was based on Malay, is now the official language of Indonesia. As a consequence, there has been an influx of Malay and Indonesian vocabulary into Javanese. Many of these words are concerned with bureaucracy or politics.
A Javanesenoble lady (left) would address her servant with one vocabulary, and be answered with another. (Studio portrait of painterRaden Saleh's wife and a servant,colonialBatavia, 1860–1872.)
In common with other Austronesian languages, Javanese is spoken differently depending on the social context. In Austronesian languages there are often three distinct styles orregisters.[60] Each employs its own vocabulary, grammatical rules, and evenprosody. In Javanese these styles are called:
Ngoko (ꦔꦺꦴꦏꦺꦴ):Vernacular or informal speech, used between friends and close relatives. It is also used by persons of higher status (such as elders, or bosses) addressing those of lower status (young people, or subordinates in the workplace).
Madya (ꦩꦢꦾ): Intermediate betweenngoko andkrama. Strangers on the street would use it, where status differences may be unknown and one wants to be neither too formal nor too informal. The term is from Sanskritmadhya ("middle").[61]
Krama (ꦏꦿꦩ): The polite, high-register, or formal style. It is used between those of the same status when they do not wish to be informal. It is used by persons of lower status to persons of higher status, such as young people to their elders, or subordinates to bosses; and it is the official style for public speeches, announcements, etc. The term is from Sanskritkrama ("in order").[61]
There are also "meta-style"honorific words, and their converse "humilifics". Speakers use "humble" words concerning themselves, but honorific words concerning anyone of greater age of higher social status. The humilific words are calledkrama andhap, while the honorifics are calledkrama inggil. This honorific system is very similar to that of the Japanesekeigo. Children typically use thengoko style, but in talking to the parents they must be competent with bothkrama inggil andkrama andhap.
The most polite word meaning "eat" isdhahar. But it is considered inappropriate to use these most polite words for oneself, except when talking with someone of lower status; and in this case,ngoko style is used. Such most polite words are reserved for addressing people of higher status:
Mixed usages
(honorific – addressing someone of high status)Bapak kersa dhahar? ("Do you want to eat?"; literally "Does father want to eat?")
(reply to a person of lower status, expressing speaker's superiority)Iya, aku kersa dhahar. ("Yes, I want to eat.")
(reply to a person of lower status, but without expressing superiority)Iya, aku arep mangan.
(reply to a person of equal status)Inggih, kula badhé nedha.
The use of these different styles is complicated and requires thorough knowledge of Javanese culture, which adds to the difficulty of Javanese for foreigners. The full system is not usually mastered by most Javanese themselves, who might use only thengoko and a rudimentary form of thekrama. People who can correctly use the different styles are held in high esteem.
Sabén uwong kalairaké kanthi mardikå lan darbé martabat lan hak-hak kang pådhå. Kabèh pinaringan akal lan kalbu sartå kaajab pasrawungan anggoné mêmitran siji lan sijiné kanthi jiwå sumadulur.
سابن اووڠ كالايراكي كانڟي مارديکا لان داربَي مرتبة لان حق۲ كاڠ ڤاڎا. كابَيه ڤيناريڠان عقل لان قلبو سارتا كأجاب ڤاسراوڠان اڠڮوني مميتران سيجي لان سيجيني كانڟي جيوا سومادولور.
Sound sample
English translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
^Sukarno has a Javanese father and a Balinese mother,Habibie has a father ofGorontalo descent and a Javanese mother, whileMegawati isSukarno's daughter through his wife, who is fromBengkulu.
^The data are taken from the census of 1980 as provided by James J. Fox and Peter Gardiner and published by S. A. Wurm and Shiro Hattori, eds. 1983.Language Atlas of the Pacific Area, Part II: (Insular South-East Asia), Canberra.
^In 1980 this included the now separate Banten province.
^The distribution of persons living in Javanese-speaking households in East Java and Lampung requires clarification. For East Java, daily-language percentages are as follows: 74.5 Javanese, 23.0 Madurese, and 2.2 Indonesian. For Lampung, the official percentages are 62.4 Javanese, 16.4 Lampungese and other languages, 10.5 Sundanese, and 9.4 Indonesian. The figures are somewhat outdated for some regions, especially Jakarta; but they remain more or less stable for the rest of Java. In Jakarta the number of Javanese has increased tenfold in the last 25 years. On the other hand, because of theconflict the number of Javanese inAceh might have decreased. It is also relevant thatBanten has separated from West Java province in 2000.
^Many commuters to Jakarta live in the suburbs in Banten, among them also Javanese speakers. Their exact number is unknown.
^The aspirated phonemes of Madurese are not reproduced in writing. The 19th-century scribes apparently overlooked the fact that Javanese script does possess the required characters.
^Dyen's "Malayic" differs from the modern established concept of"Malayic" (introduced by Alexander Adelaar). Dyen's Malayic includesMadurese,Acehnese, andMalayan (=Malayic in the modern sense).
^For example Pigeaud's dictionary in 1939 is almost exclusively based on Surakarta speech (1939:viii–xiii).
^The Old Javanese spelling is modified to suit Modern Javanese spelling.
^Villerius, Sophie (2016)."Het Surinaams-Javaans anno 2016".Oso (in Dutch). Vol. 35, no. 2. pp. 276–294 – via Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren.
^abGobardhan-Rambocus, Lila; Sarmo, Johan (1993)."Het Surinaams Javaans" [The Javanese Surinamese](PDF). In Gobardhan-Rambocus, Lila; Hassankhan, Maurits S. (eds.).Immigratie en ontwikkeling : emancipatieproces van contractanten [Immigration and development: emancipation of contractors] (in Dutch). Paramaribo: Anton de Kom Universiteit. pp. 184–201.
^Villerius, S. E. (2019).Development of Surinamese Javanese: Language contact and change in a multilingual context (Ph.D. thesis). Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen.hdl:2066/199947.ISBN978-94-6093-313-4.
^abcdefghijklWedhawati; Nurlina, Wiwin Emi Siti; Setiyanto, Edi (2001).Tata Bahasa Jawa Mutakhir [Latest Javanese Grammar] (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional Indonesia.ISBN978-9-79-685141-6.
^Perwitasari, Arum; Klamer, Marian; Witteman, Jurriaan; Schiller, Niels O. (2017). "Quality of Javanese and Sundanese Vowels".Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society.10 (2):1–9.hdl:10524/52406.
^abRobson, Stuart (2014).Javanese Grammar for Students: A Graded Introduction. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Monash University Publishing.ISBN9781922235374.
Adelaar, Karl Alexander (2005a). "Malayo-Sumbawan".Oceanic Linguistics.44 (2). University of Hawai'i Press:356–388.doi:10.1353/ol.2005.0027.S2CID246237112.
Adelaar, Karl Alexander, ed. (2005b).The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar. Routledge language family series. London: Routledge.ISBN978-0-7007-1286-1.
Nothofer, Berndt (2009)."Javanese". In Keith Brown; Sarah Ogilvie (eds.).Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 560–561.ISBN9780080877747.
Ogloblin, Alexander K. (2005)."Javanese". In K. Alexander Adelaar; Nikolaus Himmelmann (eds.).The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar. London dan New York: Routledge. pp. 590–624.ISBN9780700712861.
Smith, Alexander D. (2017). "The Western Malayo-Polynesian Problem".Oceanic Linguistics.56 (2). University of Hawai'i Press:435–490.doi:10.1353/ol.2017.0021.S2CID149377092.
Horne, Elinor C. (1961).Beginning Javanese. New Haven: Yale University Press.
van der Molen, W. (1993).Javaans schrift. Leiden: Vakgroep Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië.ISBN90-73084-09-1.
Horne, Elinor Clark (1963),Intermediate Javanese, Yale University Press, retrieved18 February 2013
Horne, Elinor Clark (1974),Javanese-English dictionary, Yale University Press,ISBN978-0-300-01689-5
Keeler, Ward (1984),Javanese, a cultural approach, Ohio University Center for International Studies,ISBN978-0-89680-121-9
Robson, S. O. (Stuart Owen); Wibisono, Singgih (2002),Javanese English dictionary, Periplus Editions (HK); North Clarendon, VT : Tuttle Pub,ISBN978-0-7946-0000-6
Robson, S. O. (Stuart Owen); Monash University. Monash Asia Institute (2002),Javanese grammar for students (Rev. ed.), Monash Asia Institute, Monash University,ISBN978-1-876924-12-6
Robson, S. O. (Stuart Owen); Monash University. Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (1991),Patterns of variation in colloquial Javanese, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University,ISBN978-0-7326-0263-5
Siegel, James T (1986),Solo in the new order : language and hierarchy in an Indonesian city, Princeton University Press,ISBN978-0-691-00085-5
Uhlenbeck, E. M; Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Netherlands) (1978),Studies in Javanese morphology, Martinus Nijhoff,ISBN978-90-247-2162-7
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