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Javanese linguistic data
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Common questions about Javanese
What linguistic data does this Javanese page show?
Word order, tone, gender count, case marking, adposition direction, syllable structure, consonant inventory traits, vowel system, morphological alignment, script, register stratification, speaker count, and geographic area. Each row is one feature with Javanese's value visible; you can add other languages to read the same feature side by side.
Where do the Javanese data points come from?
Typological features are merged from URIEL+ (Mortensen et al.) and a curated set authored against descriptive grammars. Speaker counts come from Ethnologue and Glottolog. Geographic area is computed from the Asher 2007 world language atlas. Similarity scores combine genetic distance, typological overlap, and lexical-borrowing data.
How do Javanese speech levels work?
Three core registers — ngoko, madya, krama — each with sub-styles. Switching levels swaps lexical items wholesale: 'eat' is mangan in ngoko, nedha in madya, dahar in krama. A single sentence to a respected elder might use krama vocabulary throughout, with grammatical particles also shifting. Choosing the wrong level reads as either rude or aloof; speakers calibrate constantly.
What is the Javanese (Hanacaraka) script?
An indigenous Brahmic abugida used in Java for centuries before Latin script displaced it in colonial and post-independence schooling. Each consonant carries an inherent vowel and is modified by diacritics. The script remains in cultural use (signage, ceremonial documents, regional education) and is preserved in Unicode. Most contemporary Javanese is written in Latin orthography.
Why does Javanese show high similarity with Sundanese?
Both are Western Malayo-Polynesian Austronesian languages spoken on Java, with shared SVO typology, similar morphology, and overlapping core vocabulary. Sundanese also has a speech-level system (though structured differently). Geographic and historical contact has reinforced the overlap. The factor breakdown chip on the row tells you which dimensions contributed most.
Sources for Javanese
The grammatical descriptions on this page are informed by the following published reference and descriptive grammars. Grammatical facts themselves are not subject to copyright; the scholars who documented them deserve attribution.
- Ogloblin, Alexander K. 2005. "Javanese." In The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar, ed. K.A. Adelaar and N.P. Himmelmann. London: Routledge.
- Horne, Elinor C. 1961. Beginning Javanese. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Wedhawati et al. 2006. Tata Bahasa Jawa Mutakhir (Modern Javanese Grammar). Yogyakarta: Kanisius.
- Robson, Stuart and Singgih Wibisono. 2002. Javanese English Dictionary. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions.
- Suhandano. 1994. A Grammar of Javanese. PhD dissertation, University of New Mexico.