Javanese language
Javanese (/ˌdʒɑːvəˈniːz/ JAH-və-NEEZ,[3] /dʒævə-/ JAV-ə-, /-ˈniːs/ -NEESS;[4] basa Jawa, Javanese script: ꦧꦱꦗꦮ, Pegon: بَاسَا جَاوَا, IPA: [bɔsɔ d͡ʒɔwɔ]) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northern coast of western Java. It is the native language of more than 68 million people.[5]
Not to be confused with Java (programming language), Japanese language, Javan, or JavaScript.Javanese
- Javanese
- • Samin
- • Banyumasan
- • Tenggerese
- • Cirebonese
- • Osing
68 million (2015)[1]
-
Malayo-Polynesian
- Javanese
- Middle Javanese
- Kawi
(Early standard form) - Surakartan Javanese
(Modern standard form)
- Special Region of Yogyakarta (co-official with Indonesian)[2]
31-MFM-a
Javanese is the largest of the Austronesian languages in number 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 as Sundanese, Madurese, and Balinese. Most speakers of Javanese also speak Indonesian for official and commercial purposes as well as a means to communicate with non-Javanese-speaking Indonesians.
There are speakers of Javanese in Malaysia (concentrated in the West Coast part of the states of Selangor and Johor) and Singapore. Javanese is also spoken by traditional immigrant communities of Javanese descent in Suriname, Sri Lanka and New Caledonia.[7]
Along with Indonesian, Javanese is an official language in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.[2]
Classification[edit]
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 the lexicostatistical method, Isidore Dyen classified Javanese as part of the "Javo-Sumatra Hesion", which also includes the Sundanese and "Malayic" languages.[a][8][9] 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, and Malay).[10]
Malayo-Javanic has been criticized and rejected by various linguists.[11][12] Alexander Adelaar does not include Javanese in his proposed Malayo-Sumbawan grouping (which also covers Malayic, Sundanese, and Madurese languages).[12][13] Robert Blust also does not include Javanese in the Greater 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.[14] Blust's suggestion has been further elaborated by Alexander Smith, who includes Javanese in the Western Indonesian grouping (which also includes GNB and several other subgroups), which Smith considers as one of Malayo-Polynesian's primary branches.[15]
Endangerment[edit]
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.[53] 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.[54] Instead, Javanese speakers typically acquire Javanese through extrafamilial sources, like friend groups.[55] Although Javanese enjoys a large quantity of speaker base, it is not immune from pressures from other languages like Indonesian and English.[53]