Get to know the Regional West Javanese language that is often used
The regional language of West Java has very unique features and is interesting to learn. Even if you don’t know the language used by the inhabitants of West Java, you surely know its unique accent, for example hearing celebrities from West Java or you have Sundanese friends.
For us ordinary people, it must be very interesting to demonstrate the language or accent of West Java. Basically, each region has different linguistic characteristics, be it Central Java, Moluccas, East Java, Sumatra and so on. Similarly with the West Java language that we are going to discuss.
Hearing only the accent, we had to guess if it is a West Java language or not. But, it is difficult for us to know the meaning of what is said if we do not know or understand the language of West Java. That’s why it seems fun to learn West Java.
In this article, we discuss not only the languages often used by the inhabitants of West Java, but also linguistic variations, the history and spread of languages, from linguistic writing systems to the West Javanese language, which is certainly very interesting to learn.
Regional languages spoken
The Sundanese are the most commonly found tribe in West Java, so it’s no wonder that the most commonly spoken regional language is Sundanese. Despite this, there are other languages that are also spoken by the inhabitants of West Java, such as Cirebon for the inhabitants of the regency or the city of Cirebon.
The Cirebon language is almost the same as the Banyumasan language, using only the typical Brebes dialect which is very unique. These two regional languages of West Java , namely Sundanese and Cirebon, are the most widely spoken languages in everyday life, both in the regions of Cirebon, Priangan and so on.
Compared to Cirebon, Sundanese is more widely spoken by the inhabitants of West Java. One of the reasons is that Sundanese culture is so attached and has spread to various parts of West Java. This is inseparable from the history of the ancient kingdom of Mataram that conquered West Java.
That is why, in this review , wewill discuss the more Sundanese language, as it is more often used by the inhabitants of West Java. You will find various interesting facts about the Sundanese language and better understand what you need to know about the West Javanese language.
Variations in Sundanese
In general, the Sundanese language has a variety of variations, ranging from the Central Sundanese-Javanese dialect to the Sundanese-Banten dialect with different characteristics. In addition to these two dialects, who would have thought that there are still some dialectal variations that are often found in the middle of Sundanese culture in everyday life.
Many experts distinguish the Sundanese language into 6 different dialects, namely the Western dialect, the Northern dialect, the Southern dialect, the Middle Eastern dialect, the Northeast dialect and the Southeast dialect. Each dialect has a different style and the regions that use it are also different, depending on the mix of languages.
For example, the regional language of West Java with a Western dialect commonly used by the inhabitants of the Pandeglang and Lebak regions, with the exception of South Tangerang, the city of Tangerang and the regency of Tangerang. Unlike the southeastern dialect which is often spoken by the inhabitants of Banjar, Cilacap, Pangandaran, Ciamis in the western part of Banyumas.
Before the existence of the Sundanese language as it is today, there was an ancient Sundanese language that was often found in some written records, such as those found on dry leaf leaves and stones. So far, it is not known how the old Sundanese language became a modern Sundanese language.
History and spread of the Sundanese language
In addition to getting to know the variations of the Sundanese language, it is also interesting to discuss the history and spread of the Sundanese language in West Java. Sundanese is a language spoken by the inhabitants of the west of the island of Java or precisely in the Pashtun or Tatar Sunda (formerly the name West Java).
In fact, this West Javanese language is also spoken in the western part of Central Java, such as the regions of Ci lacap and Brebes because these two regions were once part of the Kingdom of Galuh. No wonder there are many regional names in Cilacap that sound like Sundanese, like Dayeuhluhur District.
According to history, around the 6th century, the Sundanese language reached its narrative zone as far as the Dieng Plateau in Central Java. The name Dieng also comes from the Sundanese language, which is Dihyang whichmeans old Sundanese language. Only then was there a transmigration and immigration of the Sundanese ethnic group to various regions outside Java.
Some of the regions that are the destinations of the Sundanese ethnic group, including West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Southeast Sulawesi, Riau, Lampung, in Jambi. In addition, there are actually many other areas visited by the Sundanese ethnic group, but some of the areas already mentioned are the main areas.
Sundanese writing system
In the Sundanese writing system, you will get to know the Sundanese script, the Sundanese alphabet, the cacarakan and the Sundanese pedon alphabet. In the past, the Sundanese language was written using the Sundanese script as a Brahmi family script derived from the Pallawa script through the Kawi script. You can see proof of this writing from the inscription.
On November 3, 1705, the ancient Sundanese script and Cirebon Rikasara began to die out after the VOC issued its ultimatum. At that time, people were only allowed to write with the Pegon alphabet, Latin script and Latin alphabet for Javanese and Sundanese, and then the Latin alphabet was intensified to transcribe Sundanese works.
In addition, the writing of the West Javanese or Sundanese language is also related to the cacarakan as a Javanese script to write the Sundanese language at that time. This script has already been used after the voc ultimatum was issued. So far, the cacarakan script has been used for over 300 years and is still maintained today.
The Sundanese Pegon alphabet is also the script used to write the ancient Sundanese language. The writing of the Pegon alphabet contains standard Arabic letters and new drawings. Although some are made up of standard Arabic letters, Arabs would not be able to understand them if they did not master the Sundanese language.
Undak-Usuk Sundanese
In the 17th century, the Region of West Java was under the rule of the Kingdom of Mataram, so the Javanese language also influenced the use of the Sundanese language in West Java. This is what creates the existence of undak-usuk basa in the regional language of West Java. So what is meant by this base?
The use of the Sundanese language must be adapted to the social level and this is called undak-usuk basa. As a result of the basics, several terms appear that must be understood, namely rough, medium lemes, very rough (Cohag or rough pisan) and very fine (sublime lemmas or pisan).
Subtle language is usually used when we converse with newly recognized people, parents, officials or public figures. Meanwhile, abusive language is usually used when talking to peers or close friends, so it looks more familiar if you use rather rough language.
The Sundanese language has its own uniqueness that makes anyone interested in learning it. Especially with the typical dialect that makes the Sundanese language even more pleasant to hearing. For more details, you need to know more about the West Javanese language.