There are speakers of Javanese in Malaysia (concentrated in the West Coast part of the states of Selangor and Johor) and Singapore.

It was the court language in Palembang, South Sumatra, until the palace was sacked by the Dutch in the late 18th century.

[12] The rest of the population mainly speaks Sundanese and Indonesian, since this province borders directly on Jakarta.

Using the lexicostatistical method, Isidore Dyen classified Javanese as part of the "Javo-Sumatra Hesion", which also includes the Sundanese and "Malayic" languages.

[g][14][15] This grouping is also called "Malayo-Javanic" by linguist Berndt Nothofer, who was the first to attempt a reconstruction of it based on only four languages with the best attestation at the time (Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, and Malay).

[17][18] Alexander Adelaar does not include Javanese in his proposed Malayo-Sumbawan grouping (which also covers Malayic, Sundanese, and Madurese languages).

[18][19] Robert Blust also does not include Javanese in the Greater North Borneo subgroup, which he proposes as an alternative to Malayo-Sumbawan grouping.

A preliminary general classification of Javanese dialects given by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Department of Linguistics is as follows.

[28] Central Javanese (Jawa Tengahan) is founded on the speech of Surakarta[h] and to a lesser extent of Yogyakarta.

There are many lower-level dialects such as Kedu ( bit influenced by banyumasan) , Muria and Semarangan, as well as Surakarta and Yogyakarta themselves.

Probably Sundanese, Madurese or Malay speaking immigrants were forced to learn Javanese during their stay in Suriname to adapt.

The influence of the latter language, which is not spoken in Suriname, can be attributed to the Indonesian embassy and Islamic teachers from Indonesia.

They report a low preference for the language in interaction with family members, including their parents, with the exception of their grandparents.

Western Javanese tends to add a glottal stop at the end of word-final vowels, e.g.: Ana apa?

[19][34] The earliest attested form of Old Javanese can be found on the Sukabumi inscription at Kediri regency, East Java which dates from 804 CE.

This language variety is also called kawi or 'of poets, poetical's, although this term could also be used to refer to the archaic elements of New Javanese literature.

However, Old Javanese works and poetic tradition continue to be preserved in the Javanese-influenced Bali, and the variety is also used for religious purposes.

[34][37] The rise of Mataram in the 17th century shifted the main literary form of Javanese to be based on the inland variety.

Today, it is used in media, ranging from books to TV programs, and the language is also taught at schools in primarily Javanese areas.

[2] Previously, Central Java promulgated a similar regulation—Regional Regulation 9/2012[39]—but this did not imply an official status for the language.

Javanese-language magazines include Panjebar Semangat, Jaka Lodhang, Jaya Baya, Damar Jati, and Mekar Sari.

Since 2003, an East Java local television station (JTV) has broadcast some of its programmes in the Surabayan (Suroboyoan) dialect, including Pojok Kampung [id] ("Village Corner", main newscast), Kuis RT/RW ("RT/RW Quiz"), and Pojok Perkoro ("Case Corner", a crime newscast).

In later broadcasts, JTV offers programmes in the Central Javanese dialect (called by them basa kulonan, "the western language") and Madurese.

[43] Although Javanese enjoys a large quantity of speaker base, it is not immune from pressures from other languages like Indonesian and English.

Apart from Madurese, Javanese is the only language of Western Indonesia to possess a distinction between dental and retroflex phonemes.

[44] The latter sounds are transcribed as "th" and "dh" in the modern Roman script, but previously by the use of an underdot: "ṭ" and "ḍ".

However, in general the structure of Javanese sentences both Old and Modern can be described using the topic–comment model, without having to refer to conventional grammatical categories.

So the example sentence has a simpler description: Dhèwèké = topic; teka = comment; ing karaton = setting.

[52] Such a high number is no measure of usage, but it does suggest the extent to which the language adopted Sanskrit words for formal purposes.

But it is forbidden to use these most polite words for oneself, except when talking with someone of lower status; and in this case, ngoko style is used.