1.1 Background of the Study - A study on the use Javanese among some young speakers in Surabaya - Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya Repository
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study
In a bilingual or multilingual society, there must
be
more
there
than one language spoken by the
must be one language which is
According
and
used
to some researchers' opinion,
language usually is the
related
to
the
people,
and
dominantly.
the
dominant
language of official
business
social
and
economic
progress
achieved iA the community. The people gradually abandon
their native tongue or the regional language, and shift
completely
to the one that is dominantly used
area. This phenomenon has bee11 happening in
especially
of
in
the
Indonesia,
in Java. Javanese is the regional
language
people in East and Central Java. Krama, one of
the
speech levels, is the formal type which nowadays people
in
Surabaya
tend to give up and use
Indonesian,
the
official and the national language. In the past, people
still had the willingness to use the different types of
Javanese based on the addressees' social position. This
situation represents Hymes' opinion in Powesland's book
about
the
dynamic of speech style
(1975:113).
Hymes
stated that a community, wherever it is,or however
condition
is,
speaking.
It
which
used based on the social condition
is
situation.
is
not
limited to
must have another
a
single
variation
way
of
the
of
speech
in
each
2
Susan Gal (1979:19), after observing the same case
in
Oberwart,
shift
found out that the process
of
language
depends on the people's social networks
or
they interact with. Based on her findings, she
who
claimed
that the interaction between older people from the high
status group and the people from the low status one
still
in
speakers
friends
their
and
and
with those whose
point
of
according
the
younger
jobs
in
their
the
new
The native language communication is
to G.od, or in prayers, and to
Trudgill
while
tend to use the official language with
industries.
only
native language,
(1994:47)
language
older
identifies that the
shift is
is
done
generation.
ultimate
language. death.
end
It
to Me Mahon (1994:285), a uselessness
is
of
a
minority language over several generation.
However, factors that lead the speaker of a native
language
to
observed
and
other
other
shift
to another form are
worth
discussed further. There might
factors that make the people
to
be
in
be
some
general
gradually leave their regional language unspoken.
That
is what the writer would like to find out through
this
study.
In conducting this study, the writer tried to find
the
older
way Javanese youngsters in Surabaya talk to
their
and respected family members and the factors
of
the use of certain codes. Beside that, the writer would
like
to
identify the way the youth
use
Javanese
in
3
bilingual
toward
situation, and the older generation
the
problems
younger
speakers'
code
attitude
choice.
come up because nowadays there is a
Those
tendency
that youngsters rarely use the local language when they
communicate
especialy
have
to
their
Yet,
the
to
a conversation with old and respected people.
By
the
speaker
honorific variant, is still
language,
needed
using
the
elders.
honorific type of Javanese
is
or
Krama,
expressing politeness and respect
the
to
the
receiver.
Finally,
additional
Javanese
Beside
this
study
information
Krama
that,
by
it
is
about the
the young
is
held
to
decreasing
speakers
enrich
the
some
give
to
in
use
of
Surabaya.
sociolinguistic
findings about language shift.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
In
line
with
the
condition
that
has
been
discussed, the problem of this study are formulate'd
as
folows:
1. How do Javanese youngsters in Surabaya talk to their
respected family members ?
2. Why
do
respected
they
use
the code
in
talking
to
their
family members ?
3. How do they use Javanese in bilingual situation ?
4. How do the older generation react to the youngsters'
code choice ?
I
4
1.3
The Objective of the Study
In
the
order to answer the above research
writer
young
focussed this study to find
people
family
in Surabaya respond to
members'
questions,
the
their
speech, to explain the
way
the
respected
factors
that
underlie the code varieties use, and to figure out
way
they
addition,
usse
Javanese in
bilingual
the
situation.
the writer also tried to find out the
In
older
generation reaction toward the youngsters' code choice.
1.4
The_Significance of the Study
The findings of this study are meant to enrich the
varieties of sociolinguistic studies, especially
. ..
language use and language shift. Furthermore, the study
was held to provide some information about the
that
lead
youngsters
l
about
is
a
to
the decreasing use
Javanese
among
in Surabaya. After it is proved that
there
tendency of leaving the
of
factors
formal
Javanese,
the
writer would like to propose one way of maintaining the
language.
1.5
Limitation of the Study
Realising
how
broad the discussion
of
language
shift and language use could be, the writer decided
limit
the scope of the study. The object observed
the description
speakers
the
Javanese language use among
in Surabaya. In addition, the writer
subjects
only
to
six
twenties who live in Surabaya.
Javanese
to
was
the young
limited
youngsters
of
5
This
study was held in Surabaya because
sociocultural
change happened in the
city.
there
are so many non-Javanese migrations
parts
of
of
Nowadays,
from
Indonesia, and even immigrants
from
other
abroad
live
temporarily in Surabaya. This situation will
give
Javanese
Krama
Poedjosoedarmo
an opportunity
observed
(1982:9),
to
the
not
survive.
As
staying
in
while
Surabaya or other Javanese speaking areas, they do
not
habitually
the
only
use the local language. Indonesian
choice
for
them to
communicate
is
with
Javanese
people. Furthermore, because of the global era, foreign
language speaking is the strongest motivation to
leave
the regional language.
1.6
Theoretical Framework
The main theory of this study is social factors of
language
use
which
gives
brief
explanation
choosing certain code in different situation.
to
give clearer description about
In order
Javanese
language,
the writer includes a theory of Javanese speech
In
addition,
reviewed
to
language
use
a theory of language
support
the idea
shift
about
that tends to shift from
is
the
about
level.
briefly
youngsters
Indonesian
to
Javanese Ngoko.
Sapir
for
(1974:46) claimed that language
communication.
social
It is the important
is
tool
interaction for no group of people can
mainly
in
any
express
6
their
feeling, opinion, or talk to each other
without
language. Moreover, Sapir pointed out that language has
a symbolic system. It expresses the content of
culture
in
culture
the way people speak, so it also acts as a
preserving instrument for a community. Since this study
was
observing the decreasing use of Krama, the
added
writer
more explanation about Javanese stylistic
that
indicates
the social position of
the
level
speakers.
According to Poedjosoedarmo (1982:131), there are three
basic
levels
th~e
These
of Javanese: Krama,
Madya,
speech styles seem to
prove
and
Ngoko.
Powesland's
quotation of Ervin-Tripp's statement about the existing
speech variation in a community (1975:114). It is
that
speakers
repertoire
according
three
of any language community must
of
speech
to
alternatives
which
~eigboh
As
quoted
a
used
of
those
the social situation. The use
in_the __
have
are
levels is very much determined by the
status
said
speakers'
by
Hudson
(1980:127), Geertz said that the lowest class people or
those
-I
who
are
less educated cannot
Javanese
or
able
apply the three
to
use
Krama, while the high status
different
the
formal
people
levels.
are
However,
Geertz
point
of view is not reliable anymore
in
the
recent
situation. In the past, people who did not
get
chance
to have further study could not use the
variants of Javanese. Now, those who are well
and
socially settled are the people who are
formal
educated
incapable
7
of conversing in the Javanese honorific variants.
situation,
by
according to Ngadiman (1997:37), is
caused
modern education that emphasizes Indonesian
rather
than traditional Javanese values. Beside that,
and
This
older relatives prefer having closer
parents
relationship
with the children by using Ngoko or Indonesian
instead
of Krama.
The
phenomenon indicates that the
undergone
language
shift.
Gal
community
(1979:17)
has
defines
language shift as a kind of linguistic change. It is
situation
to
in which people of a certain language
a
shift
another one to communicate. It happens because
the
other language becomes the official one in the country,
and
therefore people use it for most purposes. On
the
other hand, the native language becomes the minor
form
in the society.
As the comparative research, the writer added some
previous
studies
related the problem of
this
study.
Some of the studies discusses Javanese language and its
problems, while the other is about the case of language
shift in Oberwart, Germany.
1.7
Definition of Key Terms
To
avoid misunderstanding, it would be useful
define several key terms which are used in this
Hopefully,
the readers can have a clear picture
what is presented in this study.
to
study.
about
8
Indonesian : The national and official language in
Indonesia.
People
use
it without
commiting
to
any
particular ethnic (Wardaugh, 1986:101).
Javanese
Indonesia
One
of the
regional
languages
It is the language of those who
live
in
in
East and Central Java (Poedjosoedarmo, 1982:12).
Krama
used
to
The formal style of Javanese
address a respected
person
which
is
(Poedjosoedarmo,
1982:131).
Madya
The middle style of Javanese
which
is
less formal than Krama.
Language
language
is
shift
A condition in which
gradually
displaced
by
a
a
minor
language
of
majority through the process of bilingualism (Trudgill,
1992:47).
National
unite
people
Language
who
: A language which is used'
have different
languages,
to
and
to
used
in
: A language which is used
in
symbolize national identity (Holmes, 1982:105).
Ngoko
evr~day
The informal style of Javanese
conversation.
Official
formal
language
business such as education, mass media,
formal
gatherings, etc (Holmes, 1982:131).
Speech level
: A stage ·of language style each
which indicates the social position of the speaker
the addressee (Poedjosoedarmo, 1982:131).
of
and
9
1.8
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter
presents
background
problem,
objective
of the study,
of the study,
one
statement
of
the
limitation
of
the
study, theoretical framework, definition of key
terms,
and organization of the thesis.
Chapter
literature,
two
while
methodology.
interpretation
chapter
five,
suggestion.
deals
chapter
Chapter
of
with
three
four
findings,
presents
review
is.
presents
and
summary,
of
related
about
research
findings
the
last
and
chapter,
conclusion,
and
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study
In a bilingual or multilingual society, there must
be
more
there
than one language spoken by the
must be one language which is
According
and
used
to some researchers' opinion,
language usually is the
related
to
the
people,
and
dominantly.
the
dominant
language of official
business
social
and
economic
progress
achieved iA the community. The people gradually abandon
their native tongue or the regional language, and shift
completely
to the one that is dominantly used
area. This phenomenon has bee11 happening in
especially
of
in
the
Indonesia,
in Java. Javanese is the regional
language
people in East and Central Java. Krama, one of
the
speech levels, is the formal type which nowadays people
in
Surabaya
tend to give up and use
Indonesian,
the
official and the national language. In the past, people
still had the willingness to use the different types of
Javanese based on the addressees' social position. This
situation represents Hymes' opinion in Powesland's book
about
the
dynamic of speech style
(1975:113).
Hymes
stated that a community, wherever it is,or however
condition
is,
speaking.
It
which
used based on the social condition
is
situation.
is
not
limited to
must have another
a
single
variation
way
of
the
of
speech
in
each
2
Susan Gal (1979:19), after observing the same case
in
Oberwart,
shift
found out that the process
of
language
depends on the people's social networks
or
they interact with. Based on her findings, she
who
claimed
that the interaction between older people from the high
status group and the people from the low status one
still
in
speakers
friends
their
and
and
with those whose
point
of
according
the
younger
jobs
in
their
the
new
The native language communication is
to G.od, or in prayers, and to
Trudgill
while
tend to use the official language with
industries.
only
native language,
(1994:47)
language
older
identifies that the
shift is
is
done
generation.
ultimate
language. death.
end
It
to Me Mahon (1994:285), a uselessness
is
of
a
minority language over several generation.
However, factors that lead the speaker of a native
language
to
observed
and
other
other
shift
to another form are
worth
discussed further. There might
factors that make the people
to
be
in
be
some
general
gradually leave their regional language unspoken.
That
is what the writer would like to find out through
this
study.
In conducting this study, the writer tried to find
the
older
way Javanese youngsters in Surabaya talk to
their
and respected family members and the factors
of
the use of certain codes. Beside that, the writer would
like
to
identify the way the youth
use
Javanese
in
3
bilingual
toward
situation, and the older generation
the
problems
younger
speakers'
code
attitude
choice.
come up because nowadays there is a
Those
tendency
that youngsters rarely use the local language when they
communicate
especialy
have
to
their
Yet,
the
to
a conversation with old and respected people.
By
the
speaker
honorific variant, is still
language,
needed
using
the
elders.
honorific type of Javanese
is
or
Krama,
expressing politeness and respect
the
to
the
receiver.
Finally,
additional
Javanese
Beside
this
study
information
Krama
that,
by
it
is
about the
the young
is
held
to
decreasing
speakers
enrich
the
some
give
to
in
use
of
Surabaya.
sociolinguistic
findings about language shift.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
In
line
with
the
condition
that
has
been
discussed, the problem of this study are formulate'd
as
folows:
1. How do Javanese youngsters in Surabaya talk to their
respected family members ?
2. Why
do
respected
they
use
the code
in
talking
to
their
family members ?
3. How do they use Javanese in bilingual situation ?
4. How do the older generation react to the youngsters'
code choice ?
I
4
1.3
The Objective of the Study
In
the
order to answer the above research
writer
young
focussed this study to find
people
family
in Surabaya respond to
members'
questions,
the
their
speech, to explain the
way
the
respected
factors
that
underlie the code varieties use, and to figure out
way
they
addition,
usse
Javanese in
bilingual
the
situation.
the writer also tried to find out the
In
older
generation reaction toward the youngsters' code choice.
1.4
The_Significance of the Study
The findings of this study are meant to enrich the
varieties of sociolinguistic studies, especially
. ..
language use and language shift. Furthermore, the study
was held to provide some information about the
that
lead
youngsters
l
about
is
a
to
the decreasing use
Javanese
among
in Surabaya. After it is proved that
there
tendency of leaving the
of
factors
formal
Javanese,
the
writer would like to propose one way of maintaining the
language.
1.5
Limitation of the Study
Realising
how
broad the discussion
of
language
shift and language use could be, the writer decided
limit
the scope of the study. The object observed
the description
speakers
the
Javanese language use among
in Surabaya. In addition, the writer
subjects
only
to
six
twenties who live in Surabaya.
Javanese
to
was
the young
limited
youngsters
of
5
This
study was held in Surabaya because
sociocultural
change happened in the
city.
there
are so many non-Javanese migrations
parts
of
of
Nowadays,
from
Indonesia, and even immigrants
from
other
abroad
live
temporarily in Surabaya. This situation will
give
Javanese
Krama
Poedjosoedarmo
an opportunity
observed
(1982:9),
to
the
not
survive.
As
staying
in
while
Surabaya or other Javanese speaking areas, they do
not
habitually
the
only
use the local language. Indonesian
choice
for
them to
communicate
is
with
Javanese
people. Furthermore, because of the global era, foreign
language speaking is the strongest motivation to
leave
the regional language.
1.6
Theoretical Framework
The main theory of this study is social factors of
language
use
which
gives
brief
explanation
choosing certain code in different situation.
to
give clearer description about
In order
Javanese
language,
the writer includes a theory of Javanese speech
In
addition,
reviewed
to
language
use
a theory of language
support
the idea
shift
about
that tends to shift from
is
the
about
level.
briefly
youngsters
Indonesian
to
Javanese Ngoko.
Sapir
for
(1974:46) claimed that language
communication.
social
It is the important
is
tool
interaction for no group of people can
mainly
in
any
express
6
their
feeling, opinion, or talk to each other
without
language. Moreover, Sapir pointed out that language has
a symbolic system. It expresses the content of
culture
in
culture
the way people speak, so it also acts as a
preserving instrument for a community. Since this study
was
observing the decreasing use of Krama, the
added
writer
more explanation about Javanese stylistic
that
indicates
the social position of
the
level
speakers.
According to Poedjosoedarmo (1982:131), there are three
basic
levels
th~e
These
of Javanese: Krama,
Madya,
speech styles seem to
prove
and
Ngoko.
Powesland's
quotation of Ervin-Tripp's statement about the existing
speech variation in a community (1975:114). It is
that
speakers
repertoire
according
three
of any language community must
of
speech
to
alternatives
which
~eigboh
As
quoted
a
used
of
those
the social situation. The use
in_the __
have
are
levels is very much determined by the
status
said
speakers'
by
Hudson
(1980:127), Geertz said that the lowest class people or
those
-I
who
are
less educated cannot
Javanese
or
able
apply the three
to
use
Krama, while the high status
different
the
formal
people
levels.
are
However,
Geertz
point
of view is not reliable anymore
in
the
recent
situation. In the past, people who did not
get
chance
to have further study could not use the
variants of Javanese. Now, those who are well
and
socially settled are the people who are
formal
educated
incapable
7
of conversing in the Javanese honorific variants.
situation,
by
according to Ngadiman (1997:37), is
caused
modern education that emphasizes Indonesian
rather
than traditional Javanese values. Beside that,
and
This
older relatives prefer having closer
parents
relationship
with the children by using Ngoko or Indonesian
instead
of Krama.
The
phenomenon indicates that the
undergone
language
shift.
Gal
community
(1979:17)
has
defines
language shift as a kind of linguistic change. It is
situation
to
in which people of a certain language
a
shift
another one to communicate. It happens because
the
other language becomes the official one in the country,
and
therefore people use it for most purposes. On
the
other hand, the native language becomes the minor
form
in the society.
As the comparative research, the writer added some
previous
studies
related the problem of
this
study.
Some of the studies discusses Javanese language and its
problems, while the other is about the case of language
shift in Oberwart, Germany.
1.7
Definition of Key Terms
To
avoid misunderstanding, it would be useful
define several key terms which are used in this
Hopefully,
the readers can have a clear picture
what is presented in this study.
to
study.
about
8
Indonesian : The national and official language in
Indonesia.
People
use
it without
commiting
to
any
particular ethnic (Wardaugh, 1986:101).
Javanese
Indonesia
One
of the
regional
languages
It is the language of those who
live
in
in
East and Central Java (Poedjosoedarmo, 1982:12).
Krama
used
to
The formal style of Javanese
address a respected
person
which
is
(Poedjosoedarmo,
1982:131).
Madya
The middle style of Javanese
which
is
less formal than Krama.
Language
language
is
shift
A condition in which
gradually
displaced
by
a
a
minor
language
of
majority through the process of bilingualism (Trudgill,
1992:47).
National
unite
people
Language
who
: A language which is used'
have different
languages,
to
and
to
used
in
: A language which is used
in
symbolize national identity (Holmes, 1982:105).
Ngoko
evr~day
The informal style of Javanese
conversation.
Official
formal
language
business such as education, mass media,
formal
gatherings, etc (Holmes, 1982:131).
Speech level
: A stage ·of language style each
which indicates the social position of the speaker
the addressee (Poedjosoedarmo, 1982:131).
of
and
9
1.8
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter
presents
background
problem,
objective
of the study,
of the study,
one
statement
of
the
limitation
of
the
study, theoretical framework, definition of key
terms,
and organization of the thesis.
Chapter
literature,
two
while
methodology.
interpretation
chapter
five,
suggestion.
deals
chapter
Chapter
of
with
three
four
findings,
presents
review
is.
presents
and
summary,
of
related
about
research
findings
the
last
and
chapter,
conclusion,
and