Te Preservation of the Javanese Language in the Special Region of Yogyakarta Wening Udasmoro, J. Susetyo Edy Yuwono, Sulistyowati, Aprillia Firmonasari Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia ISSN 2354-9114 (online), ISSN 0024-9521 (print) Indonesian Journal of GeographyVol 55, No 1 (2023): 59-68 DOI: 10.22146/ijg.68183 website: htps://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/ijg ©2023 Faculty of Geography UGM and Te Indonesian Geographers Associaton Submit : 2021-08-03 Received: 2021-09-18 Accepted: 2023-01-04 Key words: GIS; mapping; vulnerability; the Javanese language; the Special Region of Yogyakarta Correspondent email: udasmoro@ugm.ac.id Abstract. Te purpose of this study is to map the vulnerable Javanese language in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, namely in the City of Yogyakarta and in the regencies of Sleman, Gunungkidul, Kulon Progo, and Bantul. Furthermore, it seeks to understand the role of diferent agents in preserving the Javanese language in those areas. Due to the dominating use of Indonesian language, the Javanese language has decreased in usage in various modes of communication in schools especially Jawa krama (medium-register variety). Making this language vulnerability mapping is important to locate in the context of the region, the language vulnerability that occurs more than other regions. Tis mapping can be used by the policy makers to strengthen the Javanese language used in the regions. A geographic information system was used to map the language’s vulnerability in this region. Te fndings of this research are, frst, there is an even distribution of the level of language vulnerability throughout the region, especially in the declining usage of Jawa krama. Second, schools no longer serve as agents in the preservation of the usage and competence of the Javanese language, especially Jawa krama. Tird, family and social environments still hold potential for the preservation of the Javanese language, although mostly for Jawa ngoko. ©2023 by the authors. Licensee Indonesian Journal of Geography, Indonesia. Tis article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution(CC BY NC) licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. 1. Introduction Te purpose of this study is to produce maps of the Javanese language’s vulnerability due to the potential declination of the language’s usage in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarya, or DIY) as a result of globalization and cosmopolitanism. Globalization is defned as a condition in which global infuences become part of people’s lives in a broad and universal way (Furqan, 2016; Udasmoro & Setiadi, 2021). In addition, cosmopolitanism is a condition where a group becomes merged with other groups in a complex manner (Kusumaningrum, 2019). Globalization has an impact on the use of foreign languages that is getting stronger, especially in language absorption, such as English. Meanwhile, cosmopolitanism has the efect of increasing the spread of the national language as the language used in everyday life. As a result, Javanese is becoming less desirable, especially by the younger generation. Furthermore, the role of diferent agents in preserving the Javanese language in those areas is taken into account for analysis. As for globalization and cosmopolitanism, these two aspects occur at a macro level in DIY and have become an actual profle of the province (Udasmoro & Anwar, 2019). Tese mixtures include the amalgams of national, racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds, among others. In the context of the Javanese language, there are levels of register, and among them are ngoko (low register), krama (medium register) and krama inggil (high register). In Indonesia thus far, linguistic researchers tend to focus only on structure and linguistic content. In terms of the Javanese language, researchers tend to only study its usage in a particular area (Anggraini, 2012; Kartikasari et al., 2018; Sunarso, 2012) or its cultural functions (Isodarus, 2020; Munandar, 2013). Not many linguistic researchers have been done on language geography but in the national level. Dialect and language geography mapping was carried out in the 1980s and the 1990s by the National Center for Language Development (Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa) of the Ministry of Education and Culture. In the three decades that have followed, the languages must have undergone some highly dynamic developments. Considering Indonesia’s vast territory of 5,193,250km 2 , with more than 700 languages that vary greatly in terms of nature, as well as of the ethnicities that use them from the western to the eastern corners of Indonesia, it is necessary to look at the geographical aspect of those languages. Furthermore, the preservation of the Javanese itself can also be infuenced by the old Javanese tradition and literary theories (Aminullah, 2021). It means that the Javanese can also be learned through any literary work and tradition. For example, through the Lampahan Juměněngipun Nata Dewi Kancana Wungu (LJNDKW) which is a fragment of the legend of Damarwulan, its author wants to communicate how the position of a queen amid the context of patriarchal structure and women leadership (Habibah & Hanidar, 2022). Te readers are provided with the media to learn the Javanese deeper in this case. In another article, readers are encouraged to build their own interpretation between two books, Naked Traveler and Jilbab Traveler (Jaya & Pratama, 2021). It emphasizes that learning and interpreting a language can be efectively conducted through a literary work. In addition, the dynamics of population movement have also been high, as well as the policies that continue to change in linguistic context. Te studies reviewed above generally focused on mapping of the Bahasa Indonesian language. Teir aim was Indonesian Journal of Geography, Vol 54, No. 3 (2022) 463-470 RESEARCH ARTICLE