Javanese - Spoken language
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| Javanese |
Javanese is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Its closest relatives are Malay, Sunda, Madura, and Bali.
It is the second most spoken Austronesian language after Indonesian, and the fourteenth most widely spoken language in the world.
Javanese is considered to be one of the world’s classical languages, with a literary tradition that goes back over a thousand years.
The oldest inscription in Javanese dates back to 804 AD.
Javanese is also spoken in Suriname and New Caledonia. It was originally spoken there by Javanese plantation workers brought from Indonesia by the Dutch.
Their descendants still speak a variety of Javanese that differs from the one currently spoken in Java.
Although it not an official language of Indonesia, Javanese is recognized as a regional language in three provinces of Java with the largest concentrations of speakers of Javanese, namely, Central Java, East Java, and Yogyakarta where it is taught in schools, used in religious practice and in electronic and print media.
Javanese is also used as a literary language in Madura, Bali, Lombok, and West Java.
Javanese is used as a spoken and communal language in suburban and rural areas of Java, and in some parts the urban communities.
Indonesian is used in media such as TV, newspapers and magazines, while Javanese is used only on certain programs on the radio or television and in certain newspaper columns.
There are three main dialects of Javanese that are more or less mutually intelligible. Each consists of sub-dialects.
The principal differences among dialects have to do with pronunciation, and, to a lesser extent, with vocabulary.
Western Javanese is spoken along the northern coast of West Java. It is influenced by Sunda.
Central Javanese is considered to be the prestige dialect, and serves as a basis for standard Javanese.
Eastern Javanese is spoken across the majority of the East Java province. It is influenced by Madura.