The Art of Understanding the Javanese

By: Ambar Susilowati, Arum Wijayanti, Ike Irawati, Fajar Ahadi and Giartina Sulistyorini

17 July 2009

Being a Javanese is partly about genealogy, but mostly it is an elaborate art that you have to learn through a long process. It is not as simple as many people think it is. As a Javanese, you learn the customs, norms and values mainly from your nuclear family. However, a Javanese is greatly influenced by the extended family and the whole intricate Javanese society in which he lives. Javanese culture does not only teach its people to respect each other, but also to respect others who are not of Javanese descent. Sometimes it might cause confusion for people from other cultures who do not know Javanese customs, norms and values well. One of the many characteristics of the Javanese is that they want to keep things in harmony, and in order to do so they will try to avoid conflict with others, even if this means they have to “swallow the bitter pills and pretend that those are candies”. Those who do not understand this concept of keeping things in harmony might think that Javanese people in general are pretentious, and superficial. However, once they understand that maintaining the harmonious condition with people around them is a must; people of other cultures will get along well with the Javanese.

So, if you want to understand the Javanese better and get insight regarding the going ons in their lives, especially on how the Javanese relate to people of other cultures, here are some important tips for you:

* The polite language
Javanese people always use polite language when they talk amongst themselves. Unlike Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese has many variations of the same language which differ in usage. The differentiation is mainly based on whom you are talking to. For talking to older people, they have to use the kromo inggil (the highest level), while the ngoko variant is used while talking to ones peers.

Javanese language has many variations

* The tendency to say “YES”
Saying YES is almost an obligation for a Javanese. They say YES to almost anything to please other and keep things in harmony. It is considered to be “un-Javanese” to say NO when someone asks for their favor. Foreigners might have a hard time working with Javanese for they always have YES as an answer, but may not always be able to fulfill their YES. The thing is, non-Javanese do not understand that the Javanese usually say YES because they are reluctant to make the other party upset by saying NO.

For example, a Javanese will say YES to someone who asks for his favor to do something although he or she is actually really exhausted or do not even know how to get the favour done.

* The Saving Face (indirectness)
The next characteristic of the Javanese is the tendency to 'save face'. They usually do that by saying something indirectly. They will not go straight forward in rejecting something. They tend to speak as long as they can and it is just to minimize the “lost of face.”

* The Sensitive Feeling
The Javanese are too obliging in most situations. Consider this as an example; when someone asking for a Javanese about direction, the Javanese will not only show him or her the way to get to the place, but offer him or her a ride to get to the place instead.

Those are the things you need to consider when you try to get to know the Javanese. I know that it is difficult to understand other people's culture, especially within a short time, but having an open mind towards other cultures no matter how different it is from yours is already one big step to get you closer to understand the Javanese and their culture.

The Javanese Culture ( Mind Your Language)

By: Feeza Ashruff

12 July 2009

Upon visiting a foreign country, getting to know bits and pieces of the language will always come in handy. Even though the country visited could have similar culture as our country of origin,it is still important to maintain local courtesy and the right intonations of the language. Coming to Yogyakarta opened my eyes to its different styles of language and how each style differs according to the age and social status of an individual.

The Javanese language is used by almost 2/3 of the people in Java and it is divided into 2 different dialects depending on the social and geographical position of the speaker. The social dialect simply distinguishes the commoner from the Kraton royal family. This difference is similar to the Malay spoken by the local Malaysians and the Malay spoken by the royal families in Malaysia. The Javanese spoken by the local in Yogyakarta and Surakarta both located in Central Java are considered to be the standard Javanese, also known as the “Madya” style of Javanese. The “Madya” style is considered the standard Javanese, as it is the middle ground between the “Kromo” style of Javanese which is used by the royal family and upper class and the “Ngoko” style of Javanese which is used by the lower class.

lower-class Javanese people use 'Ngoko' style Javanese

Middle-class Javanese people using 'Madya' Javanese

'Madya' Javanese has become the standard of the Javanese Language

Basically, the Javanese language is divided into two umbrella categories,Ngoko and Kromo and after sometime within the Ngoko style itself, there has been an evolution into Ngoko Kasar and Ngoko Halus which is a mixture of Ngoko and Kromo. Within Kromo itself it is then divided into 3 parts from the least refined to the most refined ones which is Ngoko, Madya and Kromo. The Ngoko style of conversing is usually used for any informal speech between peers, close relatives, among younger speakers and also by those of a higher ranking to the ones of a lower one. As for Madya it is an intermediate between Ngoko and Kromo where the speech is not too formal and informal for instance between strangers or seller and a customer. Finally, Kromo is used fully when conversing with the elderly and people of higher social status even for public speeches and announcements. The Kromo style is also used widely within the Kraton as it is the most refined dialect of the Javanese culture. Within a conversation in the Javanese language one way on how the styles can be distinguished is by its choice of words used in their conversations.For example, the word “to eat”, in Ngoko is “Mangan”, whilst for Madya it is known as “Nedha” and in the Kromo language it is known as “Dhahar”. All three words have the same meaning but it carries a different rank of politeness and should be used accordingly.

People of the Kraton converse in 'Kromo' style Javanese

The Javanese language is indeed a very complex language and thus is definitely not an easy one to learn. Due to its wide differences and wide range of applications that vary according to the social and geographical differences among its users.

Nonetheless, it is still crucial to have at least a basic knowledge of the language and its different styles and dialect, lest you inadvertently offend a local due to the wrong choice of words, or intonations.

A group of students trying to pratice several Indonesian and Javanese words they have learned during the trip

WRITER'S PROFILE: Feeza is currently a third year student (hopefully graduating in 2 days time) majoring in International Studies and minoring in Communication. She is an absolute crazy one. Laughing is her middle name and she is always in love with children. One of the most veteran travelers in the IN SEARCH series organized by Dr.Yeoh and Monash University Sunway Campus, Feeza is also a person with a very complex heart and mind. She hides her feelings a lot (seriously) but adores her family and friends to bits. =)