Javanese language is used massively in Indonesia, even in areas that people might not think of, such as Indramayu, Karawang, and Banten. Its wide coverage gives rise to classification as a form of identity from a region. This will give you an idea of the proper application as they are often featured in media in a general form that makes it the same as any other. Please continue reading to discover more!
A Brief of Javanese Language
Javanese language variations are formed by two references, namely geographically and socially. Therefore, the features will differ in each region that uses it and with whom they speak, considering that this can be a polite medium.
The Geographical aspect stimulates the emergence of dialects in language. In this case, there are three types that you can find, namely Solo (standard), East Java, and Banyumas.
The first dialect refers to Solo and Yogyakarta in use. Meanwhile, East Java covers all areas, except Banyuwangi. Lastly, the Banyumas Residence, the Pekalongan Residency, and the western part of the Kedu Residency are the scope of the third kind.
Formerly, non-standard dialects were not widely known since they were only used in their respective regions. Another phenomenon is about certain restrictions that shaped the perception among the community. They believe that variations of the Javanese language only came from Solo and Yogyakarta.
On the other hand, digital developments have a significant impact on speakers of non-standard dialects. They have the means to spread theirs through various forms, such as movies, songs and memes.
Morphology, phonology, semantics, onomasiology, and semasiology are the distinguishing features between dialects. Vocabulary that is practical also includes things that can demonstrate the characteristics.
However, morphology, phonology, and vocabulary are the points that will be elaborated since it will give you practical understanding rather than language studies that require further analysis.
The Features of Javanese Dialects
The most obvious feature of the three dialects is the phonetic variations. Banyumas has an open ultima syllable in the form of [a], while others are [ɔ].
For instance, ‘aja’ and ‘ojo’ are variations found in Banyumas and East Java-Solo for saying ‘do not.’ According to linguists, the proper spelling and pronunciation is ‘aja’ for all dialects, but East Java and Solo use ‘ojo’ in both writing and speaking based on what they hear.
On the contrary, there is a unique phenomenon where phonetic variation [a] is used in East Java dialect. It is not a vowel at the end of a word, but a meaningless unit as a confirmation in interrogative sentences. ‘I’m going to high school 10, is that okay right?’ is translated into ‘aku tak melok sma 10 ae gaopo a?’ (Fauzi and Puspitorini, 2018).
The difference in the affix form of Javanese dialects also gave rise to two poles. The formula for Banyumas is {N- + -na}, while East Java-Solo is {N- + -ake}. For example, ‘listening’ can be translated as ‘ngerungokna’ and ‘ngerungokake.’ To add, original word comes from ‘rungu’ or ‘hear.’
The other word formation namely prefixes, suffixes, and confixation (combination of prefixes and suffixes) of standard dialect is complicated enough than any else. It has 17 units, 8 units, and 13 units respectively.
Another feature of Javanese dialects is the sound system. The standard one has quite complex rules, while the rest is simple. On the other hand, if you study scientific journals, there are more findings as language is something that continues to develop according to human use.
Solo dialect has five vowel phonemes that have two allophones (high sonority and low sonority) and one pěpět. Besides, there are twenty-one consonant phonemes that the use is influenced by some factors namely articulation, articulation place, relationships between speaker, and the vocal cords movement.
High sonority (series à) has [a, ɛ, I, U, ɔ] phonetic and refers to closed syllables, while low sonority (series á) has [ɔ, e, i, u, o] phonetic and refers to open syllable. This can be one of the factors that determine the variant. Another is, language formed sound units from syllables and syllables positions in sound units.
Javanese speakers in East Java use eight vowel phonemes, sound correspondent, and phoneme omission. The respectively examples are [ɔmbhɔ] ‘width’ and [ambha] ‘explore,’ [mulɔh] and [mulIh] and [ɔh] with [Uh], as the example ‘abuh’ becomes [abɔh] and [abUh], /w/ at the beginning of ‘wutuh’ becomes [utUh].
Banyumas dialect has vowel /i/ on the closed ultima syllable and is pronounced as [i]. For instance, [pitik] is pronounced as pitik. Meanwhile, the vowel /u/ in the closed ultima syllable is pronounced as the phonetic. For instance, abuh for [abhuh]. Moreover, the vowel /a/ on the open ultima syllable is pronounced as it is. For instance, lara for [lara]. Banyumas dialect has the same consonant phonetic as Solo. However, the pronunciation turns out to be different.
The Vocabulary of Javanese Dialects
Javanese speakers from Banyumas have a vocabulary that is quite different from the others. Therefore, there is a term ‘ngapak’ to call it. This uniqueness also raises an original identity.
Take a look to the example: kie (this), kuwe (that) priwe (how), disit (first), maning (again), and bae (just). Meanwhile, the rest remain the same; iki, kuwi, piye, dhisik, maneh, and wae.
You can call it improvisation since the comparison cannot be found in standard dialect dictionaries. The reason is, speakers from East Java usually add phonemes at the end of words, such as ‘onok’ (available) and ‘ojok’ (do not). The influencing factor is about the main characteristic of the glottal sound or glottal stop.
The Javanese language has three dialects namely Solo, East Java and Banyumas. Solo as the standard form was once recognized as the only dialect by outsiders as there were some restrictions on the others. However, digital developments take the role of introducing the rest through various media, such as movies, songs, and memes. When diversity is finally realized, one can still demonstrate the differences between them through the different features and vocabulary.
