Inggil is a word in Javanese which means: high or tall.
Henceforth, I use this word not only in the context of "Java," but "universal."
The application of "Inggil" into "language," which forms "bahasa Inggil" ("Inggil language") puts it in one of the levels (altitudes) of the language, and is interpreted as "high-level language."
I do not want to discuss in details the many levels of Javanese language (Ngoko alone is divided into 3: ngoko lugu, ngoko antyabasa, and ngoko basa-antya, and there are also those who divide it into ngoko lugu and ngoko andhap, then ngoko andhap is further divided into ngoko antya-basa and ngoko basa-antya), not to mention the levels above ngoko itself: madya, krama, inggil, even kedaton. This is not my goal and let's focus on the inggil context.
Various levels mentioned above makes the "altitude" of inggil more relative, but from the context of meaning, nilai rasa (feeling value) directs this word more to "soft language" or "polite language" and it is this context that I would like to base my ideas on in this article. .
From here, by separating for a moment "Inggil" from its cauldron of levels, I interprete it as follows:
Inggil (adjective): polite in using language, both spoken and written.
And thus its derivative:
Inggility (noun): degree of politeness in using language, both spoken and written.
I just coined 2 (two) new terms!
It is true that "polite" exists in dictionaries, but this word functions relatively limited if compared to "new inggil."
If this new inggil is accepted, rather than saying "polite in using language," it is enough to say just 1 (one) word: "inggil."
Example:
Eastern speakers are very cautious about the way they speak and to whom they speak, thus they are inggil not only to their parents, but also to the elders, even maintaining their inggility to their friends.
I observed, Japanese people are so inggil that they do not address their colleague with "you," but with -san (Mr., Mrs, or Ms.)
Example:
村田 と 小山 Murata and Koyama
村田: 小山は朝食を喰べましたか。
Murata: Koyama-san wa choushoku o tabemashita ka?
Murata: Mr. Koyama already had breakfast?
小山: はい、喰べました。村田さんは。
Koyama: Hai, tabemashita. Murata-san wa?
Koyama: Yes, I did. Mr. Koyama?
It is my wish that some day these two terms will stay in the dictionary, starting with Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia/KBBI (Indonesian Language Big Dictionary). Thank you Javanese!
Jonggol, 14 April 2021
Johan Japardi
