Change of Meaning in the East Javanese Language
Nurul Nisfu Syahriy, Churmatin Nasoichah, Kamilatun Baroroh, Nisa Azhari Saragih, Dwi Widayati
Department of Linguistics, University of Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
Keywords: Change of meaning, East Javanese language, Proto-Austronesian.
Abstract: The East Javanese language as a Proto-Austronesian (PAN) derivative has inherited a series of original
features from its ancestor but has undergone changes not only in lexical form but also in meaning.
Therefore, the formulation of the problem proposed is how the meaning of the East Javanese language
changes when compared to the original language, namely the Proto-Austronesian language. Furthermore,
data collection was carried out through field research (oral data). Field data were obtained using
participative conversation method along with stimulating technique, followed by recording and noting
techniques. Based on the results of the analysis, there are several patterns of change of meaning occurring in
the East Javanese, namely narrowing, broadening and shifting. It was also found that these changes were
influenced by several factors such as linguistic causes, historical causes, social causes, and psychological
causes.
1 INTRODUCTION
Language is a system of arbitrary sound symbols
used by members of social groups to collaborate,
communicate, and identify themselves
(Kridalaksana, 2008). Language is passed down
from generation to generation through a long and
continuous process. The long duration process in a
language then led to the emergence of language
evolution. Evolution in KBBI(2016) (Kamus Besar
Bahasa Indonesia 'The Great Dictionary of
Indonesian Language') means changes (growth;
development) gradually and slowly (little by little)
and over a long time. The combination of language
definitions and evolution shows that language is a
dynamic and non-static symbol system. So, as long
as the language is used by the speakers, the language
will continue to develop and change in line withthe
development of the language-speaking community.
Several languages in Indonesia were derived
from Proto-Austronesian languages. Proto-
Austronesian language is the surname of a language
found in Southeast Asia Pacific, which is also
related to another family language that is found in
Southeast Asia, namely the Austro-Asian family.
The grouping of Austronesian languages can be seen
as follows: (West Austronesian Languages
(including Malagasy, Formosan, Bisaya, Minahasa,
Acehnese, Gayo, Bataknese, Nias, Javanese,
Sundanese, Madurese, Dayak, and Minangkabau)
and Polynesian Malay Languages (including the
languages of Timor-Ambon, Sula-Bacan, and South
Halmahera-West Irian) and the East Austronesian
languages (Keraf, 1996).
The change of the Proto-Austronesian language
occurs because of internal and external factors. In
the internal level, geographical factors are the main
cause of these language changes. This is in
accordance with the research conducted by Daiu
(2015) and Adhiti (2019) which proves that the
development of proto-language is caused by
historical factors or cultural changes, social and
psychological factors as well as time and place
factors, which then led the proto-language, develop
into derivative languages. Next, in the external level,
language changes occur because of the contact
between languages. The influence of the language of
other families is due to migration that occurs
because of the conquest of power or territory, the
spread of religion, and marriage. Over time, the
Proto-Austronesian language has changed
morphologically, phonologically, syntactically, and
lexically. These changes occur in a long period time,
so that these changes are slowly undergoing a shift
both in form and meaning. In the grammatical level,
changes occur slowly, both in morphological and
syntactic, while in the lexicon level the changes
occur faster.
Syahriy, N., Nasoichah, C., Baroroh, K., Saragih, N. and Widayati, D.
Change of Meaning in the East Javanese Language.
DOI: 10.5220/0010306300003051
In Proceedings of the International Conference on Culture Heritage, Education, Sustainable Tourism, and Innovation Technologies (CESIT 2020), pages 219-228
ISBN: 978-989-758-501-2
Copyright
c
 2022 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
219

In addition to lexicon changes as a result of
sound changes, changes of meaning occur in every
language, as in the case in the East Javanese. As a
language that lives, develops, and changes in a time
dimension, it can be assumed that the Javanese
language, especially the East Javanese, experienced
changes in the meaning of the lexicon as well as the
languages of other relatives in Indonesia and other
languages that are cognate in various parts of the
world.
From this background, the formulation of the
problem raised is how is the change in the meaning
of the East Javanese language when compared to its
native language, namely the Proto-Austronesian
language. The purpose of this research is to find out
the changes in the meaning of the East Javanese
when compared to the original language, the Proto-
Austronesian.
Historical Comparative Linguistics (HCL) is a
branch of linguistics that studies language related to
time field, as well as changes in language elements
that occur in that time field. Historical Comparative
Linguistics studies data from one or more languages
for at least two periods. The data from two or more
periods are compared carefully to obtain the rules of
change that occur in that language and the same
thing can also be done with two or more languages
(Keraf, 1996). Historical Comparative Linguistics
focuses on studying and determining the
classification of languages kinship in the world. This
branch of linguistics generally has two major roles
namely, (1) grouping languages into large and small
families, and (2) reconstructing one or several
ancient languages that inherit modern languages
(Parera, 1991).
Analyzing the extent of language change
symptoms at the semantic level is indeed difficult to
obtain high certainty. This diachronic study does use
the PAN etymon with the structures of meaning that
are built comparatively over some major languages
(Javanese, Bataknese, Balinese and Formosan
languages). However, it is methodologically
believed that the similarity in form and meaning of
etymon recorded on the relative words (cognatesets)
that reconstructed based on the sound equivalence, is
the supporting evidence of the theoretical pillar and
hypothesis about the PAN etymons. The theoretical
construction of the hypothesis was accepted as an
ancient language system (and of course the proto-
phoneme system) (Bynon, 1977). Proto-language is
notreal reality, because proto-language has indeed
disappeared over time, but the reality of today’s
language is believed to be a continuation of the
development of the past and these languages are the
result of historical processes. Surely, the reality of
the current time can be used as a basis foothold for
tracking changes that are assumed to have occurred
in the past.
Changes in the level of meaning of words, in
particular, are universal. Based on the symptoms of
change found, it turns out that changes in meaning
can be categorized into several: (1) narrowing of
meaning (narrowing), (2) expansion of meaning
(broadening), (3) fraction of meaning (split,
bifurcation), and (4) replacement or total change
(shift), (Crowley, 1975). Then, it is known that the
meaning as a result of the classification of change in
meaning as mentioned before, whether it is
narrowing, broadening, split, bifurcation, as well as
shifting of meaning when compared to the original
meaning will reflect the historical symptom of the
language that is interesting to study.
In this case, there are some studies related to
change in meaning in Javanese language and one of
it is a research conducted by Maemunah (2017). In
her research, she found that there was a Javanese
vocabulary “jatuh" 'falling' that had a change in
meaning both expansion of meaning/broadening
(found in borojo l [brɔjɔl]
, tiba [tibɔ], and utah) and
narrowing of meaning (found in sandung [sanduŋ],
and ceblok [cǝblok]).
Then, in another study, Heriyanto (2020)
examines the Javanese swearing words that
experience a total change in meaning (shifting).
Through this research, it is known that the Javanese
swearing words can be classified based on their
references namely, animals, conditions, fruits and
vegetables, parts of body, kinships, activities, and
names of ghosts.
In a research on other languages, Hasan (2015)
revealed the semantic changes in several Arabic
loanwords in Bengali and found that there were
changes in meaning in the form of broadening,
narrowing and shifting of elaborative perceptions
either positively or negatively. The same topic of
semantic change of loanwords, Anam & Nirmala
(2019) conducted a study of meaning changes and
found narrowing and broadening in the headlines of
Radar Kediri newspaper.
Based on these studies related to change in
meaning, Marra (2020) reveals the use of lexicons is
currently experiencing developments that are in line
with the daily experiences of the speaking
community, for example, through the way they see
objects or how they feel something. However, along
with these developments, several other lexicons also
change in meaning or even disappear over time. It
does not stop there, Giulianelli, et al. (2020) added,
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220

that for a large number of words, the emergence of
new types of use (i.e., ‘broadening’ its use) may be
due to certain historical and technological progress
event.
In addition, Bowern (2019) specifically
highlights the importance of variation in studying
changes in meaning in language over time. It was
also found that the changes in the meaning of a word
could occur when the frequency of use is low or
when the speakers have insufficient information
about the meaning of the word. Other than that
words could also change if they have high polysemy
(capacity for words to have multiple meanings).
Another factor that emerges that causes a change
or shift in meaning is context. Narawaty (2017)
reveals this by proving in his research that context
can influence the way speakers use language,
causing the meaning of language to change or shift.
Based on some of these studies, it is known that
several studies prove that the Javanese language
continues to develop from time to time. Some of the
developments resulted in changes in the original
meaning of the term such as changes in the form of
broadening and shifting. However, it can be seen
that the researches that have been carried out only
focuses on one or two forms of change of meaning,
so it is necessary to investigate further other forms
of change in meaning that may occur in the Javanese
terms. Hereinafter, with this research, it is hoped that
the development of the Javanese language can be
traced because language is a dynamic aspect that
will continue to change along with the development
of its use.
2 RESEARCH METHOD
Data collection was obtained through field research
(oral data). In collecting the data, the method used
iscakap method (participative conversation
method)along with pancing and cakapsemuka
techniques (stimulating and conversation
techniques), followed by rekam and catat techniques
(recording and noting techniques)(Sudaryanto,
1993). In the process of using cakap method, the
conversations are held between the researcher and
the speaker as the resource person. The process was
carried out by visiting the research location and
continued with a conversation between the
researcher and theEast Javanese speaker. The
researcher creates a conversation with the resource
person with several questions.
Furthermore, researchers conducted rekam and
catat techniques to record all spoken data by the
informants. This is done to observe and get accurate
data from the informants. After all of the data
needed are collected, then an analysis is conducted
to solve the research problem. The steps of data
analysis in this research are comparing some words
in the East Javanese with the PAN dictionary related
to the changes in the meaning of words.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A word, whether inthe Javanese language or other
languages in the world, may not only have one
meaning but also has several possible meanings.
Hock(1988)and Crowley(1975)categorize changes in
lexical meaning into several categories, including:
(1) narrowing, (2) broadening or generalization, (3)
total change or shift, (4) pejoration (leads to negative
meaning), (6) amelioration (leads to positive
meaning), and others.
Based on the results of research on speakers of
the East Javanese language, there are numbers of
words that experience a change in meaning
semantically. The following is an analysis of the
types of changes in theEast Javanese language based
on their categories.
3.1 Narrowing
Narrowing in semantics is the opposite of
broadening. It occurs when a word refers to only a
part of its original meaning. The history of the
English word "hound" neatly describes this process.
Initially, the word "hound" was pronounced "hund"
in English, and it was a common word for all types
of dogs. In Germany, the word "hund" still retains its
original meaning of 'dog'. However, the meaning of
"hund" in English has been limited to dogs that are
used to chase prey in hunting, such as beagles.
From the results of the analysis related to the
change of the original meaning becomes narrowed,
these are several words of the East Javanese
language that have narrowed, including as shown in
the Table 1:
Change of Meaning in the East Javanese Language
221

Table 1: Narrowing of meaning in the East Javanese
language.
No. PAN
Original
Meaning
East
Javanese
language
Changed
Meaning
1. */pulut/ glue /pulut/
plant sap that
functions as
an adhesive
2. */papag/ meeting /papag/
pick up; meet
to pick up
3. */kǝntaŋ/
vegetable
root
/kǝntaŋ/
the name of a
certain
vegetable,
whose fruit is
at the root
(Solanumtuber
osum /
p
otato)
4. */gaḍuŋ/
vegetable
root
/gaḍuŋ/
the name of a
certain
vegetable,
whose fruit is
at the root
(Dioscoreahis
p
ida)
5. */talǝs/
vegetable
root
/talǝs/
the name of a
certain
vegetable,
whose fruit is
at the root
(Colocasiaesc
ulenta
/taro)
6. */balay/
house;
building
/bale/
particular
house/building
as a meeting
p
lace
7. */sunDul/ Push /sundul/
push, specifi-
cally for the
head that
pushes objects
up
8. */inǝp/ sleep /inǝp/
sleeping in
someone
else’s house
9. */pidak/ step /pidak/
step over
something
10. */lepe(Ct)/
banana
leaf wrap-
per
/lepet/
banana leaf
wrap-per but
specifi-cally
for type of
food made
from glutinous
rice and
coconut mil
k
11. */deReS/ fast /deres/
fast but only
used for
something that
flows or
related to
wate
r
The word /pulut/ in the East Javanese has a form
of PAN */pulut/ 'glue' (Wurm& Wilson, 1975). In its
development in the PAN form, the word /pulut/ does
not undergo a process of sound change or is called a
linear inheritance (Keraf, 1996). The shape of the
process of sound change is read as follows:
*/pulut/ → /pulut/
p u l u t
p u l u t
In the PAN language, the word */pulut/ 'glue' has
developed in the East Javanese and experience a
narrowing of meaning to be 'plant sap that sticky or
can be used as an adhesive'. So the word /pulut/ in
the East Javanese is only used for mentioning certain
plant sap that can be used to attach something.
The word /papag/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */papag/ 'meeting' (Wurm& Wilson,
1975). In its development from the form of PAN, the
word /papag/ does not undergo a process of sound
change or is referred to as linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996). The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/papag/ → /papag/
p a p a g
p a p a g
In the PAN language, the word */papag/
'meeting' in the development in the East Javanese
language has narrowed its meaning to be 'pick up'.
So the word /papag/ in the East Javanese is only
used for meeting someone in orderto pick him/her
up.Meanwhile the term which means 'meeting' itself
in the East Javanese language is used by the etymon
*/tǝmu/.
From table 1, it is known that there are terms for
parts of plants with the same original meaning, even
though they are part of different plants, so that they
experience a narrowing of meaning by obtaining
different specific meanings. Initially, several types
of edible root vegetables such as kǝntaŋ (potato),
gaḍuŋ, and talǝs (taro) get the same meaning which
is 'root of a vegetable' and then, the East Javanese
speaker gives specific meanings to make it easier to
distinguish.
The word /kentang/ (potato)in the East Javanese
has the form of PAN */kǝṇṭaŋ/ ‘root of vegetables'
(Wurm& Wilson, 1975). In its development of the
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222

PAN form, the word /kentang/ does not undergo a
process of sound change or is called a linear
inheritance (Keraf, 1996). The shape of the process
of change is read as follows:
*/kǝṇṭaŋ/ → /kentang/
k ǝ ṇ ṭ a ŋ
k e n t a ng
In the PAN language, the word */kǝṇṭaŋ/‘root
vegetable’ in the development in the East Javanese
experience a narrowing of meaning to be 'the name
of a particular vegetable, whose fruit is at the root'.
The word /kentang/ has the Latin Solanum
tuberosum, one of the species of plant whose fruit is
at the root.
The word /gadung/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */gaḍuŋ/ ‘root of vegetable’, (Wurm&
Wilson, 1975). In its development of the PAN form,
the word /gadung/ does not undergo a process of
sound change or is referred to as linear inheritance
(Keraf, 1996). The shape of the process of change
reads as follows:
*/gaḍuŋ/ → /gadung/
g a ḍ u ŋ
g a d u ng
In the PAN language, the word */gaḍuŋ/ ‘root of
vegetable’ has a narrowing of meaning in the
Javanese language to be 'the name of a particular
vegetable whose fruit is at the root'. The word
/gadung/ has the Latin Dioscorea hispida which is
one of the plant species whose fruit is at the root.
The word /tales/ (taro) in the East Javanese has
the form of PAN */tales/ ‘root of vegetables'
(Wurm& Wilson, 1975). In its development of the
form of PAN, the word /tales/ does not undergo a
process of sound change or referred to as linear
inheritance (Keraf, 1996). The shape of the process
of change is read as follows:
*/tales/ → /tales/
t a l e s
t a l e s
In the PAN language, the word */tales/ ‘root of
vegetable’has a narrowing of meaning in the East
Javanese, namely 'the name of a particular vegetable,
whose fruit is at the root'. The word /tales/ has the
Latin Colocasia esculenta which is a species of plant
whose fruit is at the root.
The word /bale/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */balay/ 'house/building' (Wurm&
Wilson, 1975). In the development in the PAN form,
the word /bale/ has been assimilated, namely the
process of changing the sound of one sound that
changes to be like another nearby sound, namely in
the phoneme 'ay' which then turned into the
phoneme of 'e' (Keraf, 1996). The shape of the
process of change is read as follows:
*/balay/ → /bale/
b a l ay
b a l e
In the PAN language, the word */balay/ ‘house/
building’ has developed in the East Javanese and
hasnarrowed its meaning to be ‘house/building
specifically used for the meeting place’.
The word /sundul/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */sunDul/ 'push' (Wurm & Wilson,
1975). In its development of the PAN form, the
word /sundul/ does not undergo a process of sound
change or is called a linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996). The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/sunDul/ → /sundul/
s u n D u l
s u n d u l
Based on the PAN language, the word */sunDul/
‘push’ has developed in the Javanese. The meaning
is narrowed to be ‘push, but specifically for the head
pushing the object up', for example, “a soccer player
who heads the ball with his head”.
The word /inep/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */'inǝp/‘sleep' (Wurm & Wilson,
1975). In its development of the form of PAN, the
word /inep/ does not undergo a process of sound
change or is referred to as linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996). The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/’inǝp/ → /inep/
‘i n ǝ p
i n e p
Change of Meaning in the East Javanese Language
223

In the PAN language, the word */inǝp/ ‘sleep’
has a narrowing of meaning in the East Javanese,
meaning ‘sleep or stay at someone else's place or not
in his/her own house’.
The word /pidak/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */pid`ak/ ‘step’ (Wurm& Wilson,
1975). In its development in the PAN form, the word
/pidak/ does not undergo a process of sound change
or is called a linear inheritance (Keraf, 1996). The
shape of the process of change reads as follows:
*/pid’ak/ → /pidak/
p i d ‘a k
p i d a k
In the PAN language, the word */pid'ak/ ‘step'
has developed in the East Javanese and experience a
narrowing of meaning to be 'stepping on something'.
The word /lepet/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */lepe (Ct)/ ‘banana leaf wrapper’
(Wurm & Wilson, 1975). In its development in the
PAN form, the word /lepet/ does not undergo a
process of sound change or is referred to as linear
inheritance (Keraf, 1996).
The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/lepe(Ct)/ → /lepet/
l e p e (Ct)
l e p e t
In the PAN language, the word */lepe(Ct)/
'banana leaf wrapper' has developed in the East
Javanese and has narrowed the meaning which
originally meant all foods wrapped in banana leaves
applies to all types of food whether it is a snacks or a
side dish,but in the East Javanese language, it is only
used for one type of food that is a snack made from
glutinous rice topped with coconut milk and
wrapped in banana or janur leaves (young coconut
leaves).
The word /deres/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */deReS/ 'fast' (Wurm & Wilson,
1975). In its development of the PAN form, the
word /deres/ does not undergo a process of sound
change or is called a linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996). The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/deReS/ → /deres/
d e R e S
d e r e s
In the PAN language, the word */deReS/ ‘fast'
has developed in the East Javanese and experiences
a narrowing of meaning to be‘fast but is only used
for something that flows or is related to water’, for
example, “ujan deres”(heavy rain) and “banyu
kaline deres” (the flow of the river is swift).
3.2 Broadening
According to Hock (1988) and Crowley (2010),
broadening is the expansion of meaning of a word
that exceeds the object it presents and the ideas
referenced. Based on these limitations, several East
Javanese words in many categories experience
development or expansion of meaning, as follows.
The word /bapak/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */bapa’/ ‘male parents’ (father),
(Wurm& Wilson, 1975). In its development of the
PAN form, the word /bapak/ undergoes a process of
sound change by the addition of phonemes at the end
of the word or called paragog (Keraf, 1996). The
shape of the process of change is read as follows:
*/bapa’/ → /bapak/
b a p a’ø
b a p a k
In the PAN language, the word */bapa'/‘male
parents’ (father) in the East Javanese language has
developedand has expanded its meaning with the
addition of meaning to be not only‘male parent’, but
is also used as an honorific or a title showing
politeness, courtesy or respect for man.
The word /ibu/ in the East Javanese has the form
of PAN */'ibu'/ ‘female parent’ (mother), (Wurm &
Wilson, 1975). In its development in the form of
PAN, the word /ibu/ does not undergo a process of
sound change or is referred to as linear inheritance
(Keraf, 1996). The shape of the process of change
reads as follows:
*/’ibu’/ → /ibu/
‘i b u’
i b u
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In the PAN language, the word */'ibu'/ 'female
parent’ (mother) has developed in the East Javanese
andhas expanded its meaning with the addition of
meaning that does not only refer to female
parentsbut is also used to refer as an honorific or a
title showing politeness, courtesy or respect for
woman.
The word /tanek/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */tanek/ 'cooking/cooking rice' (Wurm
& Wilson, 1975). In its development of the PAN
form, the word /tanek/ does not undergo a process of
sound change or is called a linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996). The shape of the process of change is reads\
as follows:
*/tanek/ → /tanek/
t a n e k
t a n e k
In the PAN language, the word */tanek/
‘cook/cook rice’ in its development in the East
Javanese has an extension of meaning, so that it
changes to ‘cooking insufficient time and has the
right level of doneness’. Meanwhile,the meaning of
'cooking' itself in the East Javanese uses the word
/masak/, while for the meaning of 'cooking rice' uses
the word /adang/.
The word /embah/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */eŋbaq/ 'grandfather, grandmother'
(Wurm& Wilson, 1975). In its development from the
form of PAN, the word /embah/ was undergoing a
process of sound change or called the inheritance of
innovation (Keraf, 1996). The shape of the process
of change is read as follows:
*/eŋbaq/ → /embah/
e ŋ b a q
e m b a h
In the PAN language, the word */eŋbaq/
‘grandfather; grandmother', in its development in the
East Javanese language, it has expanded its meaning
to be‘a call for all those who are elderly whether
there is kinship ties or not’.
The word /merem/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */peZem/ 'sleep' (Wurm & Wilson,
1975). In its development of the form of PAN, the
word /merem/ was undergoing a process of sound
change or called the inheritance of innovation
(Keraf, 1996). The shape of the process of change is
read as follows:
*/peZem/ → /merem/
p e Z e m
m e r e m
In the PAN language, the word */
peZem/ ‘sleep’
is developing in the East Javanese language and has
expanded its meaning into ‘all blindfolded
activities’. Based on the analysis above, the
following table can be made:
Table 2: Broadening of meaning in the East Javanese
language
N
o.
PAN
Original
Meaning
East
Javanese
language
Changed
Meaning
1. */bapa’/ father /bapak/
father; a
call to
show
respect for
a man
2. */’ibu’/ mother /ibu/
mother; a
call to
show
respect for
a woman
3. */tanek/
cooking/
cooking
rice
/tanek/
cooking
anything
insuffici-
ent time
and have
the right
level of
doneness
4. */eŋbaq/
grand-
father;
grand-
mother
/embah/
a call for
all people
who are
elderly
whether
there are
kinship
ties or not
5.
*/peZem
/
sleeping /merem/
all blind-
folded
activities
From the table above, it is known that there are
severalnumbers of words in the East Javanese that
have broadening of meaning including the words
bapak, ibu, tanek, embah and merem.
3.3 Shifting
Shifting is the total change in meaning of a word
when compared to its original meaning (Chaer,
2003). According to Chaer (2003), although there
Change of Meaning in the East Javanese Language
225

might still be a connection of meaning, the
connection between the meanings is already far from
the original meaning. Change or replacement of the
original meaning (shift)can occur in the direction of
a neutral, positive (amelioration), or negative
(pejoration) meaning (Hock, 1988). From the results
of the analysis related to the original meaning which
experiences a total change of meaning (shifting),
there were found several words in the East Javanese,
including as follow:
The word /bakul/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */bakul/ 'basket' (Wurm & Wilson,
1975). In its development of the form of PAN, the
word /bakul/ does not undergo a process of sound
change or referred to as linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996: 80). The shape of the process of change is
read as follows:
*/bakul/ → /bakul/
b a k u l
b a k u l
In the PAN language, the word */bakul/ 'basket’'
in the development in the East Javanese language
has shifted its meaning into 'seller'. The meaning of
'seller' was obtained from the habits of the seller in
ancient times that used the basket as a place to sell
goods. Whereas the word ‘basket’ itself now in the
East Javanese society has changed to /wakul/ which
means 'place of rice'.
The word /dulang/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */dulaŋ/ ‘bowl or concave-shaped
container'(Wurm & Wilson, 1975). In its
development in the PAN form, the word /dulang/
does not undergo a process of sound change or is
called linear inheritance (Keraf, 1996).
The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/dulaŋ/ → /dulang/
d u l a ŋ
d u l a ng
In the PAN language, the word */dulaŋ/ ‘bowl or
a concave-shaped container' in the development in
the East Javanese, has experienced a shift in
meaning to be 'feed food into the mouth'. The word
*/dulaŋ/ which was originally an object used for
food containers is currently inherited in the East
Javanese as a verb form. Although it is still the same
as referring to food, the meaning is far different.
The word /tilem/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */tilem/ ‘bed'(Wurm & Wilson, 1975).
In its development in the form of PAN, the word
/tilem/ does not undergo a process of sound change
or referred to as linear inheritance (Keraf, 1996).
The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/tilem/ → /tilem/
t i l e m
t i l e m
In PAN, the word */tilem/ ‘bed' in its
development in the East Javanese has shifted its
meaning to 'sleep'. The word */tilem/ which was
originally a noun used for “sleep” is now inherited in
the East Javanese as a verb form. Although it is still
related to sleep, the meaning is far different.
The word /benik/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */beniq/ ‘seed’ (Wurm & Wilson,
1975). In its development in the PAN form, the word
/benik/ does not undergo a process of sound change
or is called linear inheritance (Keraf, 1996).
The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/beniq/ → /benik/
b e n i q
b e n i k
In the PAN language, the word */beniq/ 'seed', in
its development in the East Javanese, has shifted its
meaning to 'button of clothes'. As a comparison of
the similarity in form and meaning to the form of
PAN */beniq/ 'seed', there is one word in the East
Javanese that inherits it with a slight change in the
vocal assimilation of the word, namely /winih/ 'seed'.
The word /embun/ (dew) in the East Javanese has
the form of PAN */'e(m)bun/' ‘cloud’(Wurm &
Wilson, 1975). In its development inthe PAN form,
the word /embun/ does not undergo a process of
sound change or is called a linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996). The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/’e(m)bun/ → /embun/
‘e (m) b u n
e m b u n
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226

In the PAN language, the word */'e(m)bun/'
‘cloud' in the development in the East Javanese has
experienced a shift in meaning to ‘drops of water
that appear in the morning as a process of
sublimation’.
The word /tulung/ in the East Javanese has the
form of PAN */t’uluŋ/ ‘pushes forward’ (Wurm &
Wilson, 1975). In its development in the PAN form,
the word /tulung/ does not undergo a process of
sound change or is called linear inheritance (Keraf,
1996). The shape of the process of change is read as
follows:
*/t’uluŋ/ → /tulung/
‘t ‘u l u ŋ
t u l u ng
In the PAN language, the word */t’uluŋ/ ‘pushes
forward’ in its development in the East Javanese has
shifted its meaning to 'help; ask for help'. Based on
the analysis above, the following table can be made:
Table 3: Shifting of meaning in the East Javanese
language
N
o.
PAN
Original
Meaning
East
Javanese
lan
g
ua
g
e
Changed
Meaning
1. */bakul
/
b
asket /bakul
/
selle
r
2.
*/dulaŋ/
bowl;
concave-
shaped
containe
r
/dulang/
feeding
food to
the
mouth
3. */tilem
/
b
e
d
/tilem
/
Sleeping
4. */beniq/ seed /benik/
button of
clothes
5. */’e(m)bun/ cloud /embun/
drops of
water
that
appear
in the
morning
as
aprocess
of
sublima-
tion
6.
*/t’uluŋ/
push
forward
/tulung/
help;
asking
for help
From the table above, it is known that there are
several words in the East Javanese language that
have shifted meaning including bakul, dulang, tilem,
benik, embun, and tulung.
4 CONCLUSIONS
From the results of this analysis, it is known that the
East Javanese language as a derivative of Proto-
Austronesian language indeed inherits its original
characteristics, both in form and meaning of words.
It is known that there are several changes in the
meaning of words including narrowing of meaning
(narrowing) found in 11 words, i.e. /pulut/,/papag/,
/kǝntaŋ/, /gaḍuŋ/, /talǝs/, /bale/, /sundul/, /inǝp/,
/pidak/, /lepet/ and /deres/; expansion of meaning
(broadening) found in 5 words, i.e. /bapak/, /ibu/,
/tanek/, /embah/ and /merem/; as well as total
replacement or change of meaning (shift) found in 6
words.i.e. /bakul/, /dulang/, /tilem/, /benik/, /embun/,
and /tulung/. Assessment of symptoms of changes in
the meaning of words, especially in the perspective
of the historical language is still rare. Synchronic
descriptions can be used to explore the original
meaning. Moreover, the reconstruction of the
lexicon of Proto-Austronesian language as has been
produced by previous experts is the basis of a
working hypothesis that deserves to be a reference.
Furthermore, language-related research has
several of benefits, one of which will have an impact
on the tourism sector. These benefits can be in the
form of indirect benefits for tourist so that they can
learn and understand about knowledge of the
Javanese language and other aspects of Javanese
culture.
Vice versa, with the development of the tourism
sector, it will bring and establish language
interactions between tourists and local residents. The
interaction that occurs between the two parties will
then bring understanding between two or more
different cultures, so that it will affect language
development as well.
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