Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo has said all government events every Thursday should be be conducted entirely in Javanese language in an effort to prevent its diminishing use.
The governor also urged employees in Central Java to dress up in ethnic clothing on the 15th of every month He was speaking at a Javanese Language conference in Java's Yogyakarta city.
It is reported that the governor is worried about the diminishing use of the Javanese language for everyday communication. He also expressed concern that the future generations of Javanese people will not be able to understand and speak their own mother tongue.
Ganjar, while speaking at the 6th Javanese Language Congress in Yogyakarta on 9 November, said that he has noticed several people struggling to pronounce or understand texts written in Javanese, particularly kromo inggil.
"Javanese has almost faded away because it is beginning to be spoken very rarely," said Ganjar as reported by Antaranews agency.
The leader pointed out that people in Suriname speak comparatively better Javanese. "When I speak in Javanese, they understand, even some of them reply in kromo inggil," he added saying that they have a strong grip as they speak the language regularly.
Wednesday's event in Yogyakarta was organised by Javanese Language Congress which looks after Javanese language and culture and the programme. The event is also held in turns between Central Java, East Java and Yogyakarta, reported The Jakarta Post.
