member of the Western, or Indonesian, branch of the Austronesian (Austronesian languages) (Malayo-Polynesian) language family, spoken as a native language by more than 68 million persons living primarily on the island of Java. The largest of the Austronesian languages in number of speakers, Javanese has several regional dialects and a number of clearly distinct status styles. Of the latter the greatest difference is between the ngoko (informal) and the krama (deferential) styles. When neither of these is suitable, the madya (middle) style is used; other styles, less often used, are the krama inggil (highly deferential) and the basa kedaton (palace language).

Javanese has a written tradition dating from about 750, influenced by Indian and Islāmic literatures and in turn influencing Malay, Balinese, and other Indonesian literatures. It is written in an alphabet derived from the southern Pallava script. Little has been published in Javanese because of efforts to develop literature in Bahasa Indonesia (Malay), after its adoption as the national language of the Republic of Indonesia, of which Java is a part.