Egalitarian Language Practices in Suroboyoan Dialect in Lara Ati Film

An Anthropolinguistic Study

Abstract

Indonesia is a country with an extraordinary diversity of regional languages, one of which is Javanese, which has many dialects. One of the interesting dialects to study is the Suroboyoan dialect, which is used by the people of Surabaya and reflects egalitarian, open, and straightforward cultural values. This value of equality is seen in language practices, especially the universal use of ngoko regardless of age or social status. Different from the hierarchical traditional Javanese speech structure, this dialect presents a more equal communication model. This study aims to examine the form of egalitarian language in the movie Lara Ati (2022) by Bayu Skak, using an anthropolinguistic approach. The anthropolinguistic approach is used in this study to understand language as a representation of culture, social values, and relations between members of society. The film was chosen as an object because it functions as a cultural text that stores social representations, including linguistic practices that reflect the identity of the speaking community. The method used is descriptive qualitative, with data in the form of speech of the characters in the film transcribed, categorized, analyzed, and contextual interpretation of the dialogues between characters. The results show that egalitarian language in this film not only reflects the open and equal social dynamics of Surabaya society, but also becomes a symbol of Arek Suroboyo's cultural identity.  The findings contribute to the development of anthropolinguistics, especially in understanding egalitarianism through language studies. In practice, this research bolsters preservation efforts by documenting and analyzing the use of the Suroboyoan dialect of Javanese. The egalitarian value reflected in this language symbolizes the identity of the inclusive and dynamic Surabaya community, and can inspire the strengthening of other local cultures in Indonesia. Thus, Lara Ati is not only entertaining, but also an important cultural document worthy of scientific study. These findings strengthen anthropolinguistic studies related to the role of language in representing social and cultural values, and encourage the preservation of local culture through popular media.