Use of the vocabularies 473
‘drink’ dha'ar. These distinctions and commonalities are apparent in examples
that follow.
2. Use of the vocabularies
It is often the case that the manner in which a system is designed to function and
the way in which that system is implemented do not match perfectly. This is
true of the specialized vocabularies of Madurese. However, in this section, the
appropriate use of the various vocabularies is presented in an idealized manner.
Discussion of the ways that actual use diverged from the ideal and are used
today is taken up in section 2.
2.1 Kasar, tengnga'an and alos
As is true of the other Indonesian languages containing the specialized vocabu-
laries, the use of kasar, tengnga'an, and alos is determined by the social status of
the interlocutors. Kasar is used between persons of equal social status and by
people of a superior status to those of a lower status. Typically intimate friends,
siblings, and persons of low but equal social status (such as farmers, laborers,
domestic employees, and so on) speak kasar with one another. Kasar is also to
be used by parents to their children, older people to younger people when there
are no other class distinctions that might complicate the situation, and at times
bosses to workers. As pointed out by Muakmam (2007), in the past, kasar was
also used by kings, their ministers, and other nobility to persons of lower status.
Tengnga'an is to be used between social equals who are not well acquainted,
husbands to their wives, parents-in-law to their sons- and daughters-in-law, and
between buyer and seller in the market; it may also be used among friends and
family. It may also be used when an older person addresses a younger person
but wants to show some respect due to the relative higher social status of the
younger addressee. Alos is used by people of lower status when addressing
people of higher status. Alos should be used by students when addressing their
teachers, santri when addressing their kiai, wives when addressing their hus-
bands, children when addressing their parents and other older people, younger
to older siblings, and in past times, commoner to nobility and all when address-
ing royalty.
The sentences in (5-7), which are propositionally equivalent illustrate
each of the specific speech levels.