Dialect and Identity: A Case Study of Javanese Use in WhatsApp and Line

Dialect is an identity of a speaker of a given language because based on the dialect, one can know and recognize from which part of the world the speakers are from. A dialect could be regarded as an identity because it has their own characteristics. Not only found in speech and conversation, a dialect can also be found in Netspeak, a language of the Internet, especially in social media. This paper presents our research on the dialect of Javanese in social media. In written language, especially in language of the Internet, a dialect can be recognized from the characteristic of phonetic, morphology, and words. For example, taktuku and tektuku are used by Javanese speakers. Taktuku shows the dialect of East Java and the Solo dialect, while tektuku shows the Banyumas dialect. Both examples show different dialects of Javanese based on their grapheme transcription. This case will be discussed with data in the form of nine conversations of the Javanese group on instant messenger Line and WhatsApp.