What's Inside Jogja?

Jogjanese people is a part of Javanese population and culture. as a great ethnic, Java has many diversities of dialect and custom. Jogjanese dialect is known as the most cultured Javanese language, while the Javanese people of eastern Java speaks the less one. But, Javanese language in all dialects has a hierarchy of speech that make it looks so complicated.

Imagine a language so complex that to say the word 'to say', one has (at least) five choices: ngomong, kondho, sanjang, matur, ngendhiko. The word used depends on the 'level' of speech chosen. And the level depends on who is speaking to whom, their relative ages and status, the situation, the sex, generation and the race of the speaker and so on.

The three levels of speech are Ngoko, Madyo and Kromo, and each has different words for everyday things. Ngoko is the first language a child learns. It's simple, unrefined, familiar and used between close friends. The highest level is Kromo, an elegant and polite speech used in formal situations. In between the familiar and the formal is Madyo speech, used when people of low status talk or when two close friends speak respectfully. In addition there is low Kromo and high kromo to indicate the status of the speakers, and other levels of speech used only for royalty and ritual feasts.

This complex hierarchical language has been heavily influenced by the Hinduism caste system, where everyone has and must be addressed according to a certain rank. To use the wrong word would be insulting and to operate on the wrong level disastrous--no wonder the Javanese find it easier to speak in Bahasa Indonesia that rated as one of the simplest languages in the world.

How to say 'You' in Javanese?
--Ngoko : kowe or awakmu
--Madyo : sampeyan
--Kromo : panjenengan

How to say 'thank you' in Javanese?
By ignoring the relative ages and status, the situation, the sex, generation, the race and so on, Javanese will say the same phrase to say 'thank you', that is 'matur nuwun' or 'matur nembah nuwun'. It's a polite expression to show an honesty respect to other's help or service.


Taken with some corrections from 'Culture of the World; Indonesia', except paragraph 1 and the 'how to say' section by Eko Sudjarwo.