30 Minutes with My SDI – Cultural Assimilation

In this edition, the topic discussed is cultural assimilation, which is related to several manners in the Javanese ethnic group, especially in communicating. This is due to the diversity of employees at the BPS-Statistics Sulawesi Utara Province who come from various ethnic groups, such as Minahasa, Sangihe, Java, Batak, Bugis, and so on. This topic was sweetly discussed by speakers Daniel and Anton, who are Javanese employees.

In Javanese customs, there are several ethics of politeness/manners/rules of attitude and behavior that usually apply in society. Especially in language, Javanese has several unique features, including:

1. Javanese has its own letters, or commonly called Javanese script
2. Javanese has language levels. Among them are Javanese social language (ngoko lugu), Javanese Ngoko, and Javanese Kromo Inggil.
3. Javanese has many meanings/significances. The same word can be said with different intonations and will give different meanings
4. Javanese is included in Google Translate, although there are still some limitations

In speaking Javanese, usually the type of Javanese used will adjust to the person you are talking to. Talking to a friend of the same age will be different from talking to someone older. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the person you are talking to in order to use proper Javanese grammar.