Understanding Javanese Hybridity: A Study on Sanskrit and Arabic Influence in the Javanese Language

• Published in: 2nd Workshop on Language, Literature and Society for Education
• Main Authors: Ikhsan, Anugrah, Puspitorini, Dwi
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Solo European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) 01.01.2018
• Subjects: Ancient languages; Culture; Poetry; Sanskrit
• ISBN: 1631901761; 9781631901768
• DOI: 10.4108/eai.21-12-2018.2282686

This study aims to examine the hybridity of Javanese culture as reflected in its linguistic hybridity, in order to prove the harmony between Javanese and foreign cultures. To this end, lexical and grammatical analysis was performed on Javanese linguistic units borrowed from Sanskrit and Arabic languages. This study is a qualitative study that uses data from two sources. To analyze the influence of Sanskrit in Javanese, the data was taken from a corpus of Old Javanese texts stored on http://sealang.net/ojed/, which then were processed using the corpus and collocates features available on the web page. Meanwhile, to observe Arabic influence in Javanese, the data was collected from a quite popular Javanese suluk (poetry), titled Suluk Wujil, which then were processed using the concordance feature in antcont app. The analysis reveals that a difference exists between the hybridity that occurred during the Old Javanese and Middle Javanese eras. Despite this difference, the hybridity in Javanese, which have been taking place for centuries, still shows a harmony between the Javanese culture and foreign cultures.