Politeness in Javanese Krama Inggil: A Study of Daily Conversations in a Transmigration Community in South Sumatra
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52690/jswse.v7i3.1583Keywords:
Daily Conversation, Javanese Krama Inggil, Politeness in LanguageAbstract
This study examines the realization of language politeness in daily conversations using Javanese Krama Inggil in Gunung Terang Village, Madang Suku I District, East OKU Regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia. Using a qualitative descriptive method, data were collected through observation, recording, and note-taking from 27 native Javanese speakers who actively use Krama Inggil in daily interactions. The analysis employed Geoffrey Leech's six politeness maxims: tact, generosity (acceptance), praise, humility, agreement, and sympathy. Of 27 utterances analyzed, 24 (88.9%) adhered to politeness principles, while 3 (11.1%) violated them. The maxim of praise was most frequently observed (6 utterances), followed by the maxim of tact (6 utterances), maxim of generosity (5 utterances), maxim of sympathy (3 utterances), maxim of agreement (2 utterances), and maxim of humility (2 utterances). Violations occurred in the maxims of generosity, praise, humility, and sympathy. The findings indicate that the Gunung Terang community maintains a relatively high level of politeness in Javanese Krama Inggil usage, though generational and social factors contribute to occasional violations. This study contributes to the documentation of Javanese politeness practices in transmigration communities outside Java, an under-researched context. The findings have implications for language preservation efforts and intercultural communication studies.
References
Anggraini, R. (2020). “Spoken Language Politeness of Air Limau Village Officials, Muntok District.” (Undergraduate Thesis, Universitas PGRI Palembang).
Aristiyanto, R., Rizkiana, Y., Arif, S., Warpaatun, W., & Musdalifah, M. (2023). Integrating Javanese Culture in Modern Education: Preserving Traditions in the Modern Era. Lembaran Ilmu Kependidikan, 52(2), 155–163.
Devi, S. (2022). “Principles of Politeness in Conversations in the Film Ustad Millennial.” Undergraduate Thesis. Universitas PGRI Palembang.
Djokowidodo, A. (2022). Speech Levels in Madiun Dialect of Javanese: A Comparative Review of Speech Levels in Jogjakarta Dialect of Javanese. JIIP - Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Pendidikan, 5(4), 1227–1232. https://doi.org/10.54371/jiip.v5i4.550
Elleström, L. (2022). Symbolicity, Language, and Mediality. Semiotica, 2022(247), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2020-0122
Eslami, Z. R., Larina, T. V., & Pashmforoosh, R. (2023). Identity, Politeness and Discursive Practices in a Changing World. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 27(1), 7–38. https://doi.org/10.22363/2687-0088-34051
Halimah. (2015). “Politeness in Speaking of Employees of the Office of the New Sweet Love Joint Business Association Credit Cooperative, KM XI, Air Kumbang District, Banyuasin 1.” (Undergraduate Thesis, Universitas PGRI Palembang).
Harwati, L. N., & Sathian, M. R. (2024). Mitigating Pedagogical Challenges Through Culture-Based Approach: Javanese Language Learning in Rural Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 262–272. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v14i2.74894
Kim, D. (2020). Learning Language, Learning Culture: Teaching Language to the Whole Student. ECNU Review of Education, 3(3), 519–541. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120936693
Mambetniyazova, A., Babaeva, G., Dauletbayeva, R., Paluanova, M., & Abishova, G. (2024). Linguistic and Cultural Analysis of the Concept “Politeness.” Semiotica, 2024(258), 73–91. https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2023-0141
Mills, C. W. (2020). Language, Logic and Culture. In Toward a Sociology of Education Routledge.
Mutiara, E., Ichsan, Y., Fauzi, I., & Ma’ruf, H. (2023). Values of Java Culture. Forum Paedagogik, 13(2), 294–306. https://doi.org/10.24952/paedagogik.v13i2.3922
Perdi. (2015). “Principles of Linguistic Politeness in Buying and Selling Interactions at Sebokor Market KM 18, Air Kumbang District, Banyuasin Regency.” (Undergraduate Thesis, Universitas PGRI Palembang).
Purnomo, B. (2025). Cultural Pragmatics of Politeness: The Role of Javanese Krama Inggil in Indonesian Academic Communication. Journal of Linguistics, Culture and Communication, 3(2), 248–263. https://doi.org/10.61320/jolcc.v3i2.248-263
Puspita, V. G., & Ardianto, A. (2024). Code-Switching and Slang: An Analysis of Language Dynamics in the Everyday Lives of Generation Z. Linguistics Initiative, 4(1), 76–87. https://doi.org/10.53696/27753719.41127
Rahardi, R. K., Rahmat, W., & Kurniawan, Y. (2023). Pseudo-Directive Speech Act in the Javanese Language: Culture-Specific Pragmatic Perspective. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 66(12), 5036–5047. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00223
Ramadhani, M. D., Prayetno, B., Ikhsan, T., Tri Nova, S., & Nazaruddin, N. (2025). The Existence of Javanese Language in Wonomulyo: A Philosophical and Multicultural Study. JBSI: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 5(02), 621–633. https://doi.org/10.47709/jbsi.v5i02.7188
Rohmadi, M., Sudaryanto, M., Andris Susanto, D., Saddhono, K., & Saputra, A. D. (2023). Sociopragmatic Study of Javanese Oral Discourse in Big City Communities as an Effort to Maintain Indigenous Language. Research Journal in Advanced Humanities, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.58256/rjah.v4i4.1290
Sawitri, S., Rahayu, N. T., Fatmawati, E., Zaelani, M., Elihami, E., & Arif, M. (2021). Implementation of Java Cultural Education in Elementary School in Yogyakarta. Linguistics and Culture Review, 5(S3), 1285–1298. https://doi.org/10.21744/lingcure.v5nS3.1905
Setyawan, B. W., Ulya, C., & Hidayah, S. A. N. (2024). Klasterisasi Unggah-Ungguh Basa Jawa dan Fenomena Penggunaannya Pada Masyarakat: Studi Kasus di 5 Kota Besar di Indonesia. Aksara, 36(1), 1–14.
Sianturi, K., & Megasari, A. (2023). The Effectiveness of Communication Messages in Politics. Journal of Social Research, 2(11), 3988–3996. https://doi.org/10.55324/josr.v2i11.1536
Simatupang, M. S., & Naibaho, L. (2021). Language Politeness. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210615.033
Standiford, H. (2024). Voices of Langgam Jawa: Gender, Genre, and Repertoire in Javanese Popular Music. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh).
Syam, C., Seli, S., & Abdu, W. J. (2023). Dynamics of Language Interaction in Multicultural Urban Communities: Analysis of Socio-Cultural Linguistic Environment. Society, 11(2), 575–588. https://doi.org/10.33019/society.v11i2.628
Tarnopolsky, O., Kozhushko, S., Kliuchnyk, R., & Storozhuk, S. (2021). Secondary Language Personality and Principled Pragmatism in Developing that Personality in Foreign Language Education at Tertiary Linguistic Schools. Cogent Education, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.1898736
Wiraman, M., Pravitasari, P. D., Dewi, F. F. E. F., Ishartono, N., & Sukoco, A. (2025). Cultivating Ethical Communicators: Role-Playing as Character Education for Javanese Linguistic Etiquette Mastery. Jurnal Varidika, 76–90. https://doi.org/10.23917/varidika.v37i1.8987
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Siyam Safitri, Dessy Wardiah, Sri Wahyu Indrawati

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






