THE LINGUISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF JAVANESE NAMES: A CASE STUDY IN SURAKARTA, CENTRAL JAVA

The aim of this research is to discover the linguistic characteristics which appear through the distribution of vowels and consonants in Javanese names, based on a close look at the form, position, and distribution of vowels and consonants. This research was deemed important in order to help avoid making mistakes in pronouncing Javanese names, in particular by people from outside the ethnic Javanese community, since there is a wide variety of vowels and consonants in the Javanese language system. A qualitative descriptiveresearch method was used. The data was collected from a list of names from the Department of Demography in the city of Surakarta. From the analysis that was carried out into the linguistic construction, it was discovered which variations of vowels were more prominent. Based on the position of the vowels in Javanese names, eleven vocoid phones were identified at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of Javanese names. An analysis of the consonants showed that there was a tendency towards a systemized used of prothesis, epenthesis, and paragogue. All three apply to both modern and traditional (old) Javanese names. It is hoped that this study of the linguistic characteristics of Javanese names will help to set straight a number of views from the past which need to be re-examined in order to gain a clearer picture of the everchanging development of ideas and cultural taste inthe Javanese community.