cirebon cullinary 
Japura Lor Village, Pangenan Subdistrict. Cirebon Regency, West Java
Introduction
Javanese is a means of oral and written communication commonly used by Javanese people in Indonesia. In addition, language is one of the important elements in human life. It not only functions as a means of communication, but also becomes a cultural identity attach to certain groups of people. http://wikimapia.org/15465062/Balai-Desa-Japura-Lor as an archipelago with diverse ethnic groups, has a huge wealth of languages. One branch of the local language that is interesting to study is the Cirebon Javanese language, especially that use in Japura Lor Village, Pangenan District, Cirebon Regency, West Java.
https://cirebonprofileandtourism.com/2025/03/10/getting-know-japura-lor-village-a-blend-history-culture-local-potential/Cirebon Javanese, often referred to as the Cirebon Language, is a dialect of Javanese. It developed in the northern coastal areas of West Java. These areas include Indramayu, Cirebon, and parts of Brebes. Although it is classified as a Javanese dialect, the Cirebon language has its own characteristics. These features make it different from the Javanese spoken in Solo or Yogyakarta. Speakers of the language show these characteristics through their phonology (sound), morphology (word form), and lexicon (vocabulary).
The people of Japura Lor Village, as part of the Cirebon cultural region, use this language in their daily lives. However, due to the times and the influx of outside influences such as Indonesian and even Sundanese in the vicinity but in my village only Javanese, variations in language began to appear. These changes or differences are very interesting to study, especially in three linguistic aspects: phonology, morphology, and lexical.
Before we know about phonology, morphology, and lexical, we need to know what is swadesh here. Researchers use the Swadesh basic vocabulary list in comparative language studies to assess the degree of kinship and variation between languages or dialects. In the context of the Cirebon Javanese language in Japura Lor Village, this list shows lexical differences that reflect local variation.
Phonological language variation
Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies the sound system in a language. In the context of the Cirebon language in Japura Lor, phonology covers how local people pronounce words. It includes differences in phonemes, which are the smallest sound units in a language. Phonology also involves sound changes from the standard form or standard language. For example, some community groups pronounce the word “toya” (water) as “banyu.” This shows a clear phonological difference. Others use different stress and intonation on certain words to express different meanings.
| Phonology | Respondent 1 (22 y.o) | Respondent 2 (60 y.o) |
| Apa | Apa | Punapa |
| Kamu | Ira | Sira |
| Air | Banyu | Toya |
Morphological language variation
Morphology is a fielof linguistics that studies the structure and form of words, including the process of word formation through affixation (addition of prefixes, suffixes, inserts, etc.), repetition (reduplication), and fusion. In Cirebon language, morphology can be seen in the form of changes in verbs, nouns, and adjectives. For example, the verb “mateni” (to kill) can change into ‘matiaken’ depending on the speaker and the social context. This variation shows the language creativity of the community and reflects the influence of culture and history on language development.
| Morphology | Respondent 1 (20 y.o) | Respondent 2 (60 y.o) |
| Bagaimana | Priben | Pripun |
| Membunuh | Mateni | Matiaken |
| Memotong | Nugel | Ditugel |
| Memukul | Mukul | Gebug |
Lexical language variation
Lexical or vocabulary refers to the set of words in a language. Lexical analysis involves the study of the choice of words used, their meaning, and their use in various contexts. The Cirebon language has many vocabulary words that are unique and different from standard Javanese. For example, the word “iwak ayam” is used to refer to ‘chicken’, although the word “chicken” itself is also known. Another example is “ngumpet” (hiding) which has an equivalent of “umpetan”.
| Lexical | Respondent 1 (22 y.o) | Respondent 2 (60 y.o) |
| Abu | Areng | Awu |
| Saya | Isun | Kula |
| Ikan ayam | Iwak ayam | Ayam |
| Sembunyi | Ngumpet | Umpetan |
The variety of Cirebon Javanese spoken in Japura Lor Village reflects its cultural richness and distinctive local identity. Through the study of phonology, morphology, and lexis, we can understand how people form and maintain a unique way of speaking while being flexible to changing times. This study is also important to document and preserve local languages as intangible cultural heritage that must be preserved.
