Preserving Javanese Language by Translating Traditional Song used in Dieng’s Dreadlock Hair Cutting Tradition to Support Banjarnegara Local Tourism

¹ English Literature Study Program, Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.

Abstract

Language is served as evidence of human being civilization. Through language, culture is shared. When a language goes extinct after its speakers are gone, a culture is also threatened. To preserve a language and the culture embedded in it, language maintenance is needed. One of the ways to do it is by translating the language for foreign visitors in a tourism event. This research shows how the Javanese language is translated in a song containing prayer in a religious-traditional tourism event called Ngruwat, in Dieng, Banjarnegara, Central Java. The data were collected and analyzed using translation theory and methodology. The result shows that translating the old Javanese language means learning the language and exposing it to people who serve as language and culture maintenance.