3. Apostrophes: The apostrophe is very rarely used in Javanese. It is only used
to highlight a word.
4. Colons, semi-colons and ellipsis: These are all used similarly to English.
5. Brackets: These are also used in a similar way to Indonesian and to English.
Section Three – Measurements and Abbreviations
1. Measurements: Javanese is not used in an official capacity, rather, it is a 'home'
language, used by people in their homes and within
their communities. Therefore, it is rarely used
in the context of measurement, for which Indonesian
is used instead. All measurements use the metric
system, with a few exceptions like computer monitor
sizes (which originally come with 'inch' sizes),
pipe tubes that come with 'inch' sizes, wrenches
that come with'inch' sizes, and TV sets. Televisions
are always measured in inches, never using the metric
system.
A decimal point is denoted by a comma in Javanese e.g. 4,5 cm, 5,5
m, 11,2 km (English 4.5 cm, 5.5 m, 11.2 km). Thousands
are separated by full stops, e.g. 4.000, 50.000, or without any mark, e.g. 4000, 50000.
Time: The following examples show how the time is written in Javanese.
10.30 am / noon / 4.30 pm / midnight
10:30 / awan / 4:30 esuk / tengah wengi
Date: The following examples show how the Javanese language corresponds
to the English format.
20 February 2004 -> 20 Pebruari 2004
20th February 2004 -> 20 Pebruari 2004
20/02/2004 -> 20/02/2004
February 20 -> 20 Pebruari
There should never be a space between the number and any measurement,
including cm, kg, % and °C. Thus, in Javanese these
measurements would be written as 5cm, 10kg, 50%
and 30°C.
Currency: In terms of format, all examples are acceptable, e.g.:
Rp230 / 230 rupiah / Rp 98 milyar / 98 milyar rupiah.
The ISO-standard of currencies must also be accepted:
IDR230.
2. Abbreviations:
No. (nos.) = No.
e.g. = cont.
WxLxHxD = - (very rarely encountered to be written in Javanese,
almost
always written in Indonesian: L (lebar) x P (panjang) x T (tinggi)
x D
(dalam). In Javanese it should be A (amba) x D (dawa) x Dh (dhuwur)
x J
(jero), but these are never used in an official or business capacity.
1st /
2nd / 3rd / 4th = kapisan/kapindho/katelu/kapapat (ka-1/ka-2/ka-3/ka-4)
Mr. / Mrs. = Bpk/Ibu.
Messrs. = Bapak-bapak
Miss = Mbakyu, Jeng Ayu, Den Ajeng (depending on who is addressed).
Dear Sir / Madam = Bapak/Ibu (in formal occasion:
Para Rawuh Kakung kaliyan Putri).
m (for metre) = m
cm (for centimetre) = cm
lb (for pound weight) = - (N/A).
g (for gram) = g
km (for kilometre) = km
yr (for year) = taun
k (for 1000) = -
EMEA (Europe, Middle-East & Asia) = - (not commonly abbreviated
but: Eropa, Timur Tengah & Asia)
Days of the week: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun -> Senen,
Seloso, Rebo, Kemis, Jum'at, Setu, Minggu
These names are actually derived from the Indonesian language versions
which are: Senin, Selasa, Rabu, Kamis, Jumat, Sabtu,
& Minggu. There are also actually Javanese names
for these days, but these names are no longer commonly
used, so it would be hard to find a native Javanese
who would understand them, except scholars of the
Javanese language. These names are: Soma (Monday),
Anggara (Tuesday), Budha (Wednesday), Respati (Thursday), Sukra (Friday), Saniscara (Saturday), Radite (Sunday).
Please note: The Javanese language/culture has its own calendar system, which
uses only 5 days per week. These days, Manis, Pahing,
Pon, Wage, Kliwon, are actually market days but
have not been commonly used as standalone names
since the 19th century. However, these names for
the days of the week are still used today in combination
with the International days and are still indicated
in many calendars found in Java, e.g. Senen Manis,
Senen Pon, Rabu Kliwon, Jumat Kliwon, Setu Pahing.
The combined names are mostly used to indicate the
birthday of a Javanese person. For instance, Teguh
Irawan was born on Rebo (Wednesday) Pahing, 16 April
1975. These are also used to calculate 'good days'
within the year. There is a belief that Jumat Kliwon
(Friday Kliwon), as well as Selasa Kliwon, is a
'sacred' day (this is probably similar to beliefs/superstitions
about Friday the 13th).
Months: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
-> Januari, Pebruari, Maret, April, Mei, Juni, Juli, Agustus,
September, Oktober, Nopember, Desember.
Please note: Javanese actually also has its own calendar system containing 12
months. Originally, it was a lunisolar system (Saka/Hindu
calendar) but, in around the 15th century, the calendar
was switched to a lunar system by Sultan Agung (an
Islamic Javanese King of Mataram), which is similar
to the Muslim Calender. The months are: Sura, Sapar,
Mulud, Bakda Mulud, Jumadil Awal, Jumadil Akir,
Rejeb, Ruwah, Pasa, Sawal, Dulkangidah, and Besar.
Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (not normally abbreviated
in English).
Indonesia (Java island) does not have four seasons,
but two: the rainy season and the dry season. There
is a more complicated Javanese season calculation,
which can be translated literally from 1st season
to 12th season. But this system is not commonly
used anymore. Only a small number of older people
and scholars still understand this system. (Personal
note: even my father-inlaw, a descendant of the
Jogja royal family, aged 65, told me that he does
not understand it very much any more, although his
father did.) This season calculation was useful
for instance to determine when to cut bamboo or
wood trees, so that the bamboo or woods will not
be eaten by bugs. Today, Javanese people just cut
bamboo and trees whenever they like, and thus these
products are not preserved as long as those cut
in olden times.
One other abbreviation which may look strange to a non-native speaker
would be:
Lsp (lan sapiturute: etc.)
Section Four – Hyphenation
Hyphenation is used when words are split over lines. It is determined
by syllabic structure.
Originally, word joining with hyphens was very rare in Javanese.
However, with the borrowing of words from foreign
languages, this has become more commonplace.
Prefixes, infixes, and suffixes are joined to words without using
hyphens.
Single-syllabic words must never be separated by a hyphen, e.g.
sing, lan, etc.
The use of dashes mirrors that of the Indonesian language.
Section Five – Miscellaneous Peculiarities
Javanese people, as well as most Indonesians (except Batak people),
do not normally have surnames. Siblings usually
(and almost always) even have different last names.
For instance, the eldest: Budi Setiono, 2: Toni
Nugraha, 3: Hesna Subiakto. 4: Rita Talia. Javanese
people name their children mainly based on their
wish upon the children. If they name their son Slamet
(Safe), it is with a wish that their son will always
be safe. Equally, if they pick the name Hartono
(Be wealthy), they are wishing for the boy to be
wealthy.
Javanese language has a ‘stratification’ feature. That is, the choice
of word used is determined by the position (social,
economic, cultural) of the person speaking and that
of the addressee. Basically, there are two categorizations
of the language: Kromo (higher), and Ngoko (lower).
Some people believe that there are more categorizations
in between, i.e. more intermediate than higher and
lower. The Kromo is used mostly among the high classes
of society (esp. in the past, in Javanese castles
and royal families, and other high class families).
The Ngoko is used by the lay people amongst themselves.
A person with a higher position will use Ngoko language
when talking to a person with a lower social status.
A person with a lower position uses Kromo when talking
a person with a higher status.
That is not all. Regarding the use of Kromo (higher) language: when
the two people communicating have equal positions
within society, but are not yet well-acquainted,
each will use a 'lower' version of a word to refer
to himself/herself, and will use a 'higher' version
of the word to refer to the addressee.
Example:
A.
Kromo:
Kulo badhe wangsul (I will go home)
Punapa panjenengan badhe kondur rumiyin? (Would you go home first?).
Ngoko:
Aku arep mulih.
=> Wangsul is the lower version of the action
'going home', used to refer to oneself, while kondur
is the higher version, for the addressee. Mulih
is the Ngoko version and used among lay people.
B.
Kromo:
Kulo badhe nedha (I will eat) (lower)
Monggo dhahar rumiyin. (Please eat first) (higher).
Ngoko:
Kirike lagi mangan (The dog is eating) (lowest).
=> Nedha is used to refer to oneself, dhahar to the addressee.
Mangan is used for animals and lay people and in Ngoko.
This is a feature that creates difficulties for young Javanese,
who have grown up with little knowledge of the Kromo
language, when communicating with the older generation.
They realise that they ought to use the Higher/Kromo
language with the older people, and that if they
use the Ngoko language they will be considered impolite
and somewhat ‘uncivilised’. However, using it is
not easy for them, as generally they are not familiar
with the language. As a result, some prefer to use Indonesian, which does not have this
stratification.
This feature is also one of the reasons that Javanese was not made
the national official language of Indonesia, albeit
having the largest number of speakers (much larger
than the number of speakers of Melayu, the language
from which Indonesian originated) when compared
to the other hundreds of ‘tribal’/traditional languages which exist in Indonesia.
Section Six – Geographic Distribution
The official and business language of Java island (all native areas
in which Javanese language is spoken) is the Indonesian
language. Indonesian is used in all official and
business environments in Java and throughout Indonesia
and also in non-official/home situations in some
parts of urban communities of Java. The Javanese
language is used as a spoken and communal language
in suburban and rural areas of Java, and in some
parts the urban communities.
The language used in media such as TV, newspapers and magazines
is Indonesian, even in locally-targeted media, such
as Radar Banyumas, a newspaper published specifically
for Banyumas people. Javanese language is used only
on certain programs on the Radio or television and
in certain columns. Advertisements use the Indonesian
language.
There are basically three dialects of Javanese language. In the
Central Java province there are: 1. Tegal/Banyumasan,
and 2. Solo & Jogjakarta, and in the East Java
province there is 3. East Javanese language. Each
dialect may have slight variants depending on the
different areas in which they are spoken. For instance,
the Tegal/Banyumasan dialect differs slightly when
spoken in the Wonosobo area as opposed to when it
is spoken in Pekalongan, and this, in turn, is different
from the variety spoken in the Purwokerto area.
Javanese in its various dialects is used by about 75 million people,
from Central Java to East Java area. The West Java
area uses a different language: Sundanese.
The Javanese language is also used in Suriname and New Caledonia.
It was originally brought there by Javanese people
taken to those countries as plantation workers by the Dutch. Even today, the descendants of
those Javanese people in the two areas still use
Javanese (the lower form), but it is a different
variety to that currently spoken in Java due to
its seclusion.
The knowledge of ‘proper’ (grammatically correct with rich vocabulary)
Javanese language is now only retained by the older
generation. The Javanese used by the youth is merely
a communication tool for use amongstthemselves,
with poor vocabulary, and is no longer suitable
for ‘serious occasions’, let alone for literary
purpose.
Considering the above, localization into Javanese is not highly
recommended and, in fact, rarely needed, unless
the target audience is very specific. Furthermore, if the localized material is to be appropriately targeted,
it must use the proper dialect for that specific
target.
However, if localization into Javanese is a must, it has to take
into account the following considerations:
1. If the localization is to reach the entire Javanese-speaking
community, regardless of dialects and location,
it should be done in the Jogja/Solo dialect. This
dialect can be said to be the standard Javanese,
i.e. the Javanese as taught in schools, probably
because it still has the authoritative resource
(the Javanese palaces in Jogja & Solo). Besides,
this dialect is understood by the entire Javanese-speaking
community, regardless of their dialects.
2. However. if the localization is to reach only a specific part
of the Javanesespeaking community, it should use
the proper dialect of Javanese, which is divided into 3 dialects as mentioned above.
Section Seven – Character Set
Note: The following character set is the one used by Javanese language
written with Latin alphabet, which is the commonly
used Javanese today.
