Javanese language (Javanese: basa Jawa (ꦧꦱꦗꦮ), Indonesian: bahasa Jawa) is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java. It is the native language of more than 75,500,000 people.
The Javanese language is part of the Austronesian family, and is therefore related to Indonesian and other Malay varieties. Most speakers of Javanese also speak Indonesian for official and commercial purposes and to communicate with non-Javanese Indonesians.
Outside Indonesia, there are some Javanese-speaking people in neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. In addition there are also people of Javanese descent in Suriname (the former Dutch Guiana until 1975), who speak a creole descendant of the language. The Javanese speakers in Malaysia are especially found in the states of Selangor and Johor. For distribution in other parts, as far as Suriname, see Demographic distribution of Javanese speakers below.
Javanese is a Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian language, but is otherwise not particularly close to other languages and is difficult to classify. It is however not too dissimilar from neighboring languages such as Malay, Sundanese, Madurese, and Balinese.
Javanese is spoken in Central and East Java, as well as on the north coast of West Java. In Madura, Bali, Lombok and the Sunda region of West Java, Javanese is also used as a literary language. It was the court language in Palembang, South Sumatra, until their palace was sacked by the Dutch in the late 18th century.
Javanese can be regarded as one of the classical languages of the world, with a vast literature spanning more than twelve centuries. Scholars divide the development of Javanese language in four different stages:
Although not currently an official language anywhere, Javanese is the Austronesian language with the largest number of native speakers. It is spoken or understood by approximately 80 million people. At least 45% of the total population of Indonesia are of Javanese descent or live in an area where Javanese is the dominant language. Five out of six Indonesian presidents since 1945 are of Javanese descent. It is therefore not surprising that Javanese has a deep impact on the development of Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia, which is a modern dialect of Malay.
There are three main dialects of Modern Javanese: Central Javanese, Eastern Javanese and Western Javanese. There is a dialect continuum from Banten in the extreme west of Java to Banyuwangi, in the foremost eastern corner of the island. All Javanese dialects are more or less mutually intelligible.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/
The Javanese language is part of the Austronesian family, and is therefore related to Indonesian and other Malay varieties. Most speakers of Javanese also speak Indonesian for official and commercial purposes and to communicate with non-Javanese Indonesians.
Outside Indonesia, there are some Javanese-speaking people in neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. In addition there are also people of Javanese descent in Suriname (the former Dutch Guiana until 1975), who speak a creole descendant of the language. The Javanese speakers in Malaysia are especially found in the states of Selangor and Johor. For distribution in other parts, as far as Suriname, see Demographic distribution of Javanese speakers below.
Javanese is a Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian language, but is otherwise not particularly close to other languages and is difficult to classify. It is however not too dissimilar from neighboring languages such as Malay, Sundanese, Madurese, and Balinese.
Javanese is spoken in Central and East Java, as well as on the north coast of West Java. In Madura, Bali, Lombok and the Sunda region of West Java, Javanese is also used as a literary language. It was the court language in Palembang, South Sumatra, until their palace was sacked by the Dutch in the late 18th century.
Javanese can be regarded as one of the classical languages of the world, with a vast literature spanning more than twelve centuries. Scholars divide the development of Javanese language in four different stages:
- Old Javanese, from the 9th century
- Middle Javanese, from the 13th century
- New Javanese, from the 16th century
- Modern Javanese, from the 20th century (this classification is not used universally)
Although not currently an official language anywhere, Javanese is the Austronesian language with the largest number of native speakers. It is spoken or understood by approximately 80 million people. At least 45% of the total population of Indonesia are of Javanese descent or live in an area where Javanese is the dominant language. Five out of six Indonesian presidents since 1945 are of Javanese descent. It is therefore not surprising that Javanese has a deep impact on the development of Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia, which is a modern dialect of Malay.
There are three main dialects of Modern Javanese: Central Javanese, Eastern Javanese and Western Javanese. There is a dialect continuum from Banten in the extreme west of Java to Banyuwangi, in the foremost eastern corner of the island. All Javanese dialects are more or less mutually intelligible.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/
