| Population |
75,200,000 in Indonesia, 42% of the population (1989), including 500,000 Banten, 2,500,000 Cirebon. About 25,000 in south Sulawesi. Population total all countries 75,500,800. |
| Region |
Central Java, eastern third of west Java, southwestern half of east Java. Also resettlements in Irian Jaya, Sulawesi, Maluku, Kalimantan, and Sumatra. Also spoken in Malaysia (Sabah), Netherlands, Singapore. |
| Alternate names |
JAWA, DJAWA |
| Dialects |
JAWA HALUS, CIREBON (TJIREBON, CHERIBON), TEGAL, INDRAMAYU, SOLO, TEMBUNG, PASISIR, SURABAYA, MALANG-PASURUAN, BANTEN, MANUK. |
| Classification |
Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Western Malayo-Polynesian, Sundic, Javanese. |
| Comments |
West Javanese dialects: Banten, Cirebon, Tegal; central Javanese dialect: Solo in Yogyakarta; East Javanese dialects: Surabaya, Malang-Pasuruan. High Javanese (Jawa Halus) is the language of religion, but the number of people that can control that form is diminishing. The Javanese in Suriname and that in New Caledonia have changed sufficiently to be only partially intelligible with difficulty. Javanese in New Caledonia are reported to not be able to use High Javanese (Koentjaraninggrat). Investigation needed: intelligibility with Cirebon. SVO. Traditional Javanese script. Muslim, Christian. Bible 1854-1994. |
