General Questions About Javanese

What is Javanese and where is it spoken?

Javanese is an Austronesian language native to the central and eastern parts of the island of Java in Indonesia. It is spoken by approximately 82 million people, making it one of the world’s largest languages by native speakers. The language is also used by diaspora communities in Suriname, New Caledonia, Malaysia, and the Netherlands. Javanese belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family, which includes languages like Malay, Tagalog, and Malagasy.

Is Javanese the same as Indonesian?

No, Javanese and Indonesian are distinct languages. Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the official national language of Indonesia and is based on Malay. While Indonesian serves as a lingua franca across the archipelago, Javanese is a regional language with its own grammar, vocabulary, and writing systems. Many Javanese speakers are bilingual, using Indonesian in formal and interethnic contexts and Javanese in daily life. The two languages belong to the same family but are not mutually intelligible.

How old is the Javanese language?

Javanese has a recorded history spanning over a millennium. The earliest known inscriptions in Old Javanese date from the 8th century CE, written in a script derived from the Brahmi script of India. Classical Javanese literature flourished from the 9th to the 15th centuries, including the famous poem Kakawin Ramayana and the prose work Pararaton (Book of Kings). Modern Javanese, which emerged around the 16th century, continues to evolve today.

Javanese Dialects and Variants

What are the main dialects?

Javanese has several major dialect groups, broadly divided into Western, Central, and Eastern varieties. The most prestigious dialect is Surakarta (Solo) Javanese, often considered the standard. Other notable dialects include:

• Central Javanese (Surakarta-Yogyakarta): The basis for the standard language, known for its refined speech levels.
• Western Javanese (Banten, Cirebon): Influenced by Sundanese and Malay, with distinct vocabulary.
• Eastern Javanese (Surabaya, Malang): More direct and less formal, with a different intonation.
• Osing: A dialect in Banyuwangi, considered a separate language by some linguists.
• Tengger: Spoken by the Tengger people in mountainous East Java, retaining archaic features.

What is the difference between high and low Javanese?

Javanese has a complex system of speech levels, or undha-usuk, which reflect social hierarchy and politeness. The three main levels are:

• Ngoko (Low Javanese): Used among close friends, family, and people of lower status. It is direct and informal.
• Madya (Middle Javanese): A polite but not overly formal register, used between strangers or in casual formal settings.
• Krama (High Javanese): The most polite level, used when addressing elders, superiors, or in ceremonies. Krama has its own vocabulary and grammatical forms.

Additionally, there is a special vocabulary called Krama Inggil for referring to actions or possessions of respected persons. Choosing the correct level is crucial; using the wrong one can be seen as rude or disrespectful.

Phonology and Pronunciation

What are the main pronunciation challenges?

Javanese phonology includes sounds that may be unfamiliar to English speakers. Key features include:

• Retroflex consonants: Javanese distinguishes dental (t, d) and retroflex (ṭ, ḍ) stops, similar to languages like Hindi. The tongue curls back to the roof of the mouth for retroflex sounds.
• Voiced stops: The language has both aspirated and unaspirated versions of p, t, k, but aspiration is not phonemic as in English.
• Vowels: Javanese has six vowels: /i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, u/. The mid vowels /e/ and /ɔ/ are more open than in English, and /a/ can vary from [a] to [ɑ].
• Nasal vowels: Some dialects have nasalized vowels, especially in final position.
• Pitch accent: Javanese is not tonal, but it has a pitch accent system where the penultimate syllable is stressed, unless the vowel is schwa.

Pronunciation also varies by dialect; for example, Eastern Javanese often replaces /a/ with /ɔ/ in final syllables.

How is the writing system?

Javanese is traditionally written in the Javanese script (Aksara Jawa), an abugida derived from the Brahmi script. It is still used for ceremonial purposes, traditional literature, and in some official contexts. The script has 20 main consonants, each with an inherent vowel /a/, which can be modified by diacritics. Vowels can also be written independently. Additionally, a set of numerals (Angka Jawa) exists. In modern daily life, the Latin alphabet is commonly used, with some additional letters like é, è, and dh to represent specific sounds.

Grammar and Vocabulary

How is grammar different from English?

Javanese grammar differs significantly from English in several ways:

• Word order: The basic word order is subject-verb-object (SVO), similar to English, but modifiers typically follow the noun (e.g., omah gedhe ‘house big’).
• No grammatical gender or number: Nouns do not have gender, and plural is often expressed by reduplication (e.g., buku ‘book’, buku-buku ‘books’) or context.
• Verbs are not conjugated: Verbs do not change for person, number, or tense. Instead, time is indicated by context, temporal adverbs, or auxiliary words like wis (already) for past and bakal (will) for future.
• Affixes: Javanese uses a rich system of prefixes, suffixes, and infixes to derive new words and indicate grammatical functions. For example, the prefix N- (nasal) can mark active voice, while di- marks passive.
• Speech levels affect grammar: The choice of vocabulary and some grammatical structures depends on the speech level. For instance, the word for ‘eat’ is mangan in Ngoko, nedha in Madya, and dhahar in Krama.

What are some unique vocabulary features?

Javanese has a large lexical stock with many loanwords from Sanskrit, Arabic, Dutch, Portuguese, and English. Sanskrit contributed to religious and literary terms, while Arabic influenced Islamic vocabulary. Dutch left words related to administration and technology. A unique feature is the existence of krama vocabulary that is completely different from ngoko, requiring speakers to master two distinct lexicons. For example:

• Ngoko: aku (I), Krama: kula
• Ngoko: kowe (you), Krama: sampeyan
• Ngoko: omah (house), Krama: dalem

Additionally, Javanese has elaborate numeral classifiers for counting objects, such as wong for people, ekor for animals, and lembar for flat objects.

Cultural Aspects

How do greetings work?

Greetings in Javanese are highly dependent on the speech level and the relationship between speakers. A common informal greeting is Halo or Piye kabare? (How are you?) in Ngoko. In polite Krama, one might say Punapa kabar? or Sugeng enjing (Good morning). The word sugeng is a polite term for ‘good’ used in various greetings (e.g., sugeng siang for good afternoon, sugeng ndalu for good night). When meeting someone of higher status, one should use Krama and may add honorifics like Pak (Mr.) or Bu (Mrs.). Handshakes are common, but a slight bow or nod is also respectful.

What are some unique cultural expressions?

Javanese culture emphasizes harmony and respect, reflected in language use. The phrase Alon-alon waton klakon (Slowly but surely) encourages patience. Another saying, Mangan ora mangan sing penting kumpul (Whether we eat or not, the important thing is to be together), highlights family bonds. The concept of unggah-ungguh (proper behavior) governs speech levels, and using the wrong level can damage relationships. Javanese also has many paribasan (proverbs) that convey wisdom, such as Ajining dhiri saka lathi (One’s dignity is reflected in one’s speech).

Javanese is also rich in basa rinengga (ornate language), used in traditional performances like wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) and tembang (poetic songs). The language has a deep connection to Javanese mysticism and courtly traditions, with special vocabulary for royal contexts.