Social media as a means of preserving the Batavian language

Rafif Aufa Nanda

In these modern days, social media is indispensable for various activities. As technology
develops, people move their activities from ‘real-world based’ activities to virtual based
activities, including language preservation. People become easily get involved in preserving the
language, especially their native languages, no matter from any background. This facility makes
some Batavian cultural activists participate in the preservation of the Batavian language. 1 Even
though most of them might have no linguistic basis, their efforts seem effective. This essay
commences with a short explanation of the role of the internet, including social media, in
preserving languages. Afterwards, the focus will be on the case of the Batavian language and the
efforts made by some Batavian cultural activists to carry out the obstacles in preserving their
native language within a modern society.

A question that might come to our mind is, ‘How does the internet play a role in language
preservation?’. First of all, we need to understand the role of the internet in language usage.
Surprisingly, the internet has also an effect on the endangerment of a big number of languages,
despite the existence of several online platforms providing a means for using the languages. 2 One
of the reasons is the deficient number of ‘real community of the users of the languages’ who take
part in using their languages instead of several ‘more prestigious’ languages. However, on the
other side, the internet could also be utilised to empower and preserve languages. We have an
example from the revitalisation of the Balinese language through Facebook. 3 Despite the casual
and whimsical topics (not strictly must be related to the traditional cultural topics), at least,
Facebook groups provide a place where they use their native language that often regarded as

1
Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.) Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 24th ed.
(Dallas, Texas: SIL International, 2021), s.v. “Betawi”, https://www.ethnologue.com/language/bew. The Batavian
language (autonym: basè Bĕtawi, basa Bĕtawi) (ISO 639-3: bew) is a language spoken mostly by the Batavian
ethnic group (orang Bĕtawi) in Jakarta and the neighbouring cities. In Ethnologue, this language is classified as ‘6b*
(Threatened)’.

2
András Kornai, “Digital Language Death,” PloS ONE 8, no. 10 (October 2013): 10,
https://doi.org/10.10371/journal.pone.0077056. It is mentioned in the reseach that it is assumed that 95% of the
world’s languages have a very little hope to survive through the digital era.

3
Alissa Joy Stern, “How can Facebook can revitalise local languages: Lessons from Bali,” Journal of Multilingual
and Multicultural Development 38, no.9 (2017): 788–96, http://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2016.1267737.
‘less’ prestigious language, even by the native speakers of the languages. Seeing both of these
phenomena, the internet seems to have two sides of the same coin, on one side it can “kill” less
‘prestigious’ languages, on the other side, it can be used as a means of language preservation.

As for the Batavian language, we need to understand the context of the history of the
Batavian language. The genesis of the Batavian language is indispensable with the long history
of the emergence of the Batavians. After the conquest of Jacatra (Jayakĕrta) in 1619 by the
Dutch East Indies Company, many people came to Batavia (the new name for Jacatra) and
assimilated with each other, until a certain time the identity of orang Bĕtawi (the Batavians, lit.
‘the people of Batavia’) as a cultural identity existed for the first time. 4 They were from various
ethnic groups and races. The Malay language was used as a means of communication with each
other that have strong influences from their native languages, such as Javanese and Sundanese. 5
Later, this variety of Malay became the native language of the Batavian ethnic group, which
become known as basè Bĕtawi/basa Bĕtawi (‘the Batavian language’, lit. ‘the language of
Batavia’).

The Batavian language became essential for most Batavian populations. This language
was not only used as a colloquial language but rather also as a formal and literary language. For
4
Lance Castles, “The Ethnic Profile of Djakarta,” Indonesia, no. 3 (April 1967): 153–204; Jacqueline Knörr, Creole
Identity in Postcolonial Indonesia (New York: Berghaghn Books, 2014), 45–60.

5
James N. Sneddon, The Indonesian Language:its history and role in modern society (Sydney: UNSW Press), 153–
56; Muhadjir, Bahasa Betawi: Sejarah dan Perkemangannya (Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 2000), 68. This is
confirmed by the data of the Batavian lexicon based on Kähler’s Wörterverzeichnis des Omong Djakarta (1966) as
presented in Table 3 in Muhadjir’s Bahasa Betawi (68): 897 Javanese words, 22 Sundanese words, 1.076 Javanese-
Sundanese words, 1.719 Malay words, 768 of other origins (such as Balinese, Sasak, Lampungese, etc.). To read
this data, what is meant by ‘Javanese-Sundanese’ words is the words that are also found in Javanese and Sundanese,
e.g. awak ‘body’. It is indecisive whether these kinds of words are Javanese-borrowing or Sundanese-borrowing
words: either from both languages–as both languages are neighbouring languages, i.e. Javanese in the northeast and
west and Sundanese in the east and south–or as Javanese words that are borrowed by the Sundanese as there are a lot
of Javanese words in Sundanese. Thus, in this case, for example, awak, is a Javanese word–as it exists in the
Javanese language, and it is also a Sundanese word–as it also exists in Sundanese. Thus, if we consider the Javanese
words in circle A and the Sundanese words in circle B in a Venn diagram, the label ‘Javanese-Sundanese’ in the
table means A ∩ B. Thus the number of Javanese words in the Batavian lexicon is 1.973 words and Sundanese is
1.098 words. However, the label ‘Malay’ in the table is not obvious whether it consists only of ‘pure’ Malay words–
which are not found in some other languages–or not. There is also a possibility that there are words counted as
‘Malay’ but it is also found in, for example, Javanese with a slight phonological difference, for example, arĕp [a.rəp]
(Batav.) ‘to want, to desire’, harap [ha.rap] (Mal.), arĕp [a.rəp] (Jav.). It is unclear whether it is borrowed from
Malay with some phonological changes–as there are such other cases since the phonology of Batavian seems closer
to Javanese than to Malay–or from Javanese–as many Javanese equivalents are preferred to Malay ones, for
example, the Batavians prefer bangĕt [ba.ŋət] of Javanese for ‘very’ to sangat [sa.ŋat] of Malay. Other language’s
influences in the Batavian language are not only in the lexical aspect but also phonological and morphosyntactical.
example, the first grammar book of the Batavian language was published in 1884 under the title
Malajoe Batawi: Kitab deri hal perkataän-perkataän Malajoe, hal memetjah oedjar-oedjar
Malajoe, dan hal pernahkan tanda-tanda batja dan hoeroef-hoeroef besar (Batavian Malay: A
guide of Malay morphology, syntax, punctuation and capital letters) by Lie Kim Hok. 6 This book
explains the grammar of the Batavian language–and not the ‘proper Malay’. Here we can see that
the Batavian language used to have an essential role as a written language. Some other examples
were the usage for religious matters. For example, the Batavian language was used for writing
kitābs (religious books) as in several books written by a prominent Batavian mufti Sayyid
ʿUthmān b. ʿAbdullāh of Batavia such as Irshād al-Anām fī tarjamat arkān al-Islam (Guidance
for the People in Understanding the Islamic Pillars), Maslak al-Akhyār fī-l-adʿiya wa-l-adhkār
al-wārida ʿan al-Nabī al-Mukhtār ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallama (The Path of Goodness: The
mentioned prayers and remembrance by the Chosen Prophet–May God convey greetings and
blessings upon him), and a book that was written by a prominent Batavian scholar ʿAbd al-
Mughnī b. Sanūsī titled Tawḍīḥ al-Dalāʾil fī tarjamat ḥadīth al-Shamāʾil (Explanations of the
Argumentations: The translation of the narrations of the Prophet’s characteristics). 7 Hence, it is
understood that the Batavian language once had prestige amongst the Batavian society.

As things evolve, the usage of the Batavian language becomes more pushed aside by the
national language, Indonesian. After the recognition of bahasa Indonesia in 1928s, the
Indonesian language–which was derived from ‘High Malay’–started to be more promoted than
other local languages for the sake of nationalistic reasons. Moreover, in the post-colonial era, the
people from various regions–who have various native languages–come to some bigger cities,
especially Jakarta, to seek a new life. They prefer to use Indonesian to interact with each other.
As the Indonesian language is not the native language of most of them, the form of the
Indonesian language used as a means of spoken communication is not the bahasa baku
(‘standardised language’) or the bahasa resmi (‘official language’), but rather the bahasa sehari-
6
Lie Kim Hok, Malajoe Batawi: Kitab deri hal perkataän-perkataän Malajoe, hal memetjah oedjar-oedjar
Malajoe, dan hal pernahkan tanda-tanda batja dan hoeroef-hoeroef besar (Batavia: W. Bruining & Co., 1884).

7
Sayyid ʿUthmān b. ʿAbdullāh, Irshād al-Anām fī tarjamat arkāna al-Islām (Jakarta: Shirka Maktaba al-Madīna,
n.d.); Sayyid ʿUthmān, Maslak al-Akhyār fī adʿiya wa-l-adhkār al-wārida ʿan al-Nabī al-Mukhtār ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi
wasallama (Jakarta: Shirka Maktaba al-Madīna, n.d.); ʿAbd al-Mughnī b. Sanūsī, Tawḍīḥ al-Dalāʿīl fī tarjamat
ḥadīth al-Shamāʿil (1349 AH [1930 CE]), quoted in Ahmad Lutfi Fathullah, Pribadi Rasulullah Saw Telaah Kitab
Taudhih al-Dalail fi Tarjamat Hadits al-Syama’il karya Guru Mughni Kuningan [1860-1935] (Jakarta: Al-Mughni
Press, 2005). Moreover, in Tawḍīḥ (2) it is clearly stated that the book was “dĕngĕn bahasa Bĕtawi” (‘in the
Batavian language’).
hari (‘everyday language’). This form of the language is highly influenced by several other
languages, such as Batavian–as Jakarta as a melting pot was dominated by Batavian speakers–
and Javanese–the native language of the most numerous ethnic group in Indonesia and one of the
biggest migrant populations in Jakarta.8 People started to deem this form of the language as the
‘more prestigious language’ and to teach it to their younger generations. Nowadays, Indonesian
(the colloquial form) becomes the first language of most Indonesians, especially in most big
cities.9 Thus, the Batavian language started to be set aside by the role of the Indonesian language.

The problem faced in preserving the Batavian language is not language documentation,
but rather empowerment. Batavian is a well-documented local language as it has already several
dictionaries, literary works, traditional plays, etc.10 However, the empowerment of the Batavian
language is mostly only on several traditional occasions and amongst traditional Batavians,
whilst for other usages, this language is not used as it is often misconceived as a ‘low spoken
language’. Moreover, this language is not taught at school–whilst some other languages, e.g.
Javanese, Sundanese, etc. are taught at school. Thus, the younger generation, especially the
Batavian younger generation, start to abandon this language and they do not know their
language, especially the vocabulary.

8
Sneddon, The Indonesian, 10–11; Michael C. Ewing, “Colloquial Indonesian,” in The Austronesian Languages of
Asia and Madagascar, ed. Alexander Adelaar and Nikolaus P. Himmelman (London: Routledge, 2005), 227–28; F.
Wouk, “Dialect contact and koineization in Jakarta, Indonesia,” Language Sciences, no. 21 (1999): 62–3.

9
Fanny Henry Tondo, “Kepunahan Bahasa-Bahasa Daerah: Faktor Penyebab dan Implikasi Etnolinguistis,” Jurnal
Masyarakat & Budaya 11, no. 2 (2009) 289, https://jmb.lipi.go.id/index.php/jmb/article/download/245/223. This
phenomenon does not only happen to the Batavian language–which could be said as being derived from Malay–but
also to the other regional languages.

10
For example, we have the most prominent Batavian-Indonesian dictionary Kamus Dialek Jakarta (2nd ed. in 2009)
by Abdul Chaer.