Banyumasan (), also known as the
autoglottonym Ngapak (), is a dialect of
Javanese spoken mainly in three areas of
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
that is the
Banyumasan, located in westernmost
Central Java
Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...
province and surrounding the
Slamet mountain and
Serayu River; a neighboring area inside
West Java
West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...
province; and northern region of
Banten
Banten (, , Pegon alphabet, Pegon: بنتن) is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang and its largest city is Tangerang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capi ...
province. This area includes
Cilacap,
Kebumen,
Banjarnegara
Banjarnegara is a town in Central Java, Indonesia and the seat of Banjarnegara Regency. It is 55 km from the Dieng Plateau region and a centre for ceramic arts.
Climate
Banjarnegara has a tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest c ...
,
Purbalingga,
Banyumas,
Pemalang,
Tegal, and
Brebes regencies, together with independent cities within that region. Banyumasan is considered as one of the most conservative Javanese dialects (comparable to the Nuorese variety of
Sardinian), retaining the phonology and some aspects of Old Javanese grammar in the modern language.
History
Scholars divide the development of Javanese language into four different stages:
* 9th–13th century, known as
Old Javanese
Old Javanese or Kawi is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language and the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was natively spoken in the central and eastern part of Java Island, what is now Central Java, Special Region o ...
.
* 13th–16th century, developed to Middle Javanese.
* 16th–20th century, developed to Early Modern Javanese.
* Since 20th century, developed to Modern Javanese.
The phases above were influenced by the emergence of empires in
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. In
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
nese cultural history, empires yielded some distinct grades of language, each grade representing the social grade of the speakers (mainly nobles and populaces). Those grades of language are not of significant influence to
Banyumasan people
Banyumasan or Banyumasan Javanese ( Javanese: Ngoko: (''Wòng Banyumasan''), Indonesian: ''Orang Banyumasan'') (colloquially known as Javanese Ngapak) is a collective term for a Javanese subgroup native to the Indonesia's westernmost part of ...
. In the Banyumasan region, high grades are usually used only when speaking to a stranger assumed to come from the eastern area of Java i.e.
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
/
Surakarta
Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
etc., or on certain occasions. Nowadays the
Banyumasan people
Banyumasan or Banyumasan Javanese ( Javanese: Ngoko: (''Wòng Banyumasan''), Indonesian: ''Orang Banyumasan'') (colloquially known as Javanese Ngapak) is a collective term for a Javanese subgroup native to the Indonesia's westernmost part of ...
use high grade Javanese to a stranger, a noble man and older people. Surakartan and Yogyakartan style are usually considered the standard Javanese language.
Vocabulary
Banyumasan many differences compared to standard Javanese, mainly in phonology, pronunciation and vocabulary. This happened due to cultural or character distinction and widely current usage of Old Javanese vocabulary. Another distinction is that the pronunciation of the vowels is not as complicated.
Vocabulary distinction is basically found in:
*Same word and phonetic but different meaning
*Same word and meaning but different phonetic
*Same phonetic and meaning but different pronunciation (changed on consonant or vowel).
Politeness
Javanese speech varies depending on social context, yielding three distinct styles, or
registers. Each style employs its own vocabulary, grammatical rules and even
prosody. This is not unique to Javanese; neighbouring Austronesian languages as well as
East Asian
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
languages such as
Korean,
Japanese and
Thai share similar constructions.
In Javanese these styles are called:
#''Ngoko'' is informal speech, used between friends and close relatives. It is also used by persons of higher status to persons of lower status, such as elders to younger people or bosses to subordinates.
#''Madya'' is the intermediary form between ''ngoko'' and ''krama''. An example of the context where one would use ''madya'' is an interaction between strangers on the street, where one wants to be neither too formal nor too informal.
#''Krama'' is the polite and formal style. It is used between persons of the same status who do not wish to be informal. It is also the official style for public speeches, announcements, etc.
In the
Banyumasan region, Madya and Krama styles are rarely used, usually towards a stranger who is assumed to come from the eastern area of Java () such as Yogyakarta, Surakarta etc. or on certain occasions, an eastern style of language () named (from ).
Dialects and sub-dialects
There are three main
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
s of Banyumasan: North area (Tegalan), South area (Banyumasan), and Banten.
The Tegalan dialect is spoken in northern areas of Banyumasan:
Tanjung,
Ketanggungan,
Larangan,
Brebes,
Slawi,
Moga,
Pemalang,
Surodadi, and
Tegal.
The Banyumasan dialect is spoken in southern areas:
Bumiayu,
Karang Pucung,
Cilacap,
Nusakambangan Island,
Kroya,
Ajibarang,
Wangon,
Purwokerto,
Purbalingga,
Bobotsari,
Banjarnegara
Banjarnegara is a town in Central Java, Indonesia and the seat of Banjarnegara Regency. It is 55 km from the Dieng Plateau region and a centre for ceramic arts.
Climate
Banjarnegara has a tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest c ...
,
Purwareja,
Kebumen, and
Gombong.
The Banten dialect is spoken in north
Banten
Banten (, , Pegon alphabet, Pegon: بنتن) is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang and its largest city is Tangerang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capi ...
.
In addition, there are several sub-dialects spoken in Banyumasan, such as Bumiayu, Dayeuhluhur, and Ayah.
See also
*
Javanese script
Javanese script (natively known as ''Aksara Jawa'', ''Hanacaraka'', ''Carakan'', and ''Dentawyanjana'') is one of Indonesia's traditional scripts developed on the island of Java. The script is primarily used to write the Javanese language ...
*
Java (island)
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, pro ...
*
Hans Ras
Johannes Jacobus (Hans) Ras (1 April 1926 – 22 October 2003) was emeritus professor of Javanese language and literature at Leiden University, the Netherlands. In 1961 he was lecturer at the University of Malaya, and in 1969 first representat ...
*
Banyumasan people
Banyumasan or Banyumasan Javanese ( Javanese: Ngoko: (''Wòng Banyumasan''), Indonesian: ''Orang Banyumasan'') (colloquially known as Javanese Ngapak) is a collective term for a Javanese subgroup native to the Indonesia's westernmost part of ...
References
External links
Javanese writing system
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banyumasan Language
Javanese language