UGM Language Centre through Foreign Languages Learning Services (Fellas) is now offering English and other foreign language preparation test courses online. This initiative not only provides flexibility for participants, but also opens up learning opportunities without time limits.

By joining the online course at Fellas UGM, participants will receive recordings of each class session. These recordings can be accessed for life, allowing participants to repeat the material at any time as per their needs. This is one of the ways Fellas UGM ensures that the learning process continues even after the course is over.

The benefits of this lifetime access include:

1. Time Flexibility: Participants can study anytime and anywhere without time constraints.
2. Repetition of Material: Opportunity to repeat material that is difficult to understand or in preparation for exams.
3. Ongoing Support: Participants can continue to update and improve their language skills even after the course is completed.

With a commitment to provide quality language education services, UGM Language Centre through Fellas is always innovating to meet the needs of participants.

For more information, visit our website at pusatbahasa.ugm.ac.id and follow us on Instagram @fellasugm.

[Public Relations of Fellas UGM, Sabik Hikami]

On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, the Master of Arabic Language Education (PBA) of Universitas Darussalam Gontor visited the Master of Middle Eastern Cultural Studies (KBTT) of Universitas Gadjah Mada for a comparative study at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Soegondo Building 7th Floor. This activity was attended by the Professor of Arabic Linguistics, Prof. Dr. Syamsul Hadi, S.U., Chairperson of the Department of Intercultural Studies UGM, Prof. Dr. Sangidu, M.Hum., Secretary of the Department of Intercultural Studies UGM, Dr. Mahmudah M.Hum., Chairperson of the Master of Arabic Language Education Study Program of Universitas Darussalam Gontor, Dr. Agus Yasin, M.Pd.I. and involved 100 students from both study programs. In his speech, Prof. Sangidu said that UGM and Unida have a long-standing kinship. This cooperation can be utilized to support the tri dharma of higher education, namely education and teaching, research and community service.

The event continued with curriculum presentation from both study programs. The KBTT Master’s curriculum was presented by Dr. Mahmudah M.Hum., while Unida’s PBA Master was represented by Dr. Agus Yasin, M.Pd.I. The Chairperson of Unida’s PBA Study Program said that the vision of the PBA Master is “To become a Master of Arabic Language Education study program with national and international reputation in the development of Arabic language learning methodologies based on the Islamization of knowledge with the pesantren college system”. This presentation opened insights and active discussions between students, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of the event participants. The visit ended with a lecture by Unida students taught by Prof. Dr. Syamsul Hadi, S.U., in Arabic Language and Prof. Dr. Sangidu, M.Hum. in Arabic Literature.

The Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), held another Macapatan Jumat Legen event on Thursday, June 27th, 2024. This event took place at the Javanese Studies Center (Pusaka Jawa) and raised a popular Javanese literary work, namely Serat Wedhatama.

Serat Wedhatama, a literary work written by Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Arya Adipati (KGPAA) Mangkunagara IV, is a work full of piwulang about the concept of divinity and moral teachings in life and society. The manuscript of Serat Wedhatama kept at the Mangkunegaran Palace Library in Surakarta consists of 100 stanzas and is divided into several pupuhs, namely:

1. Pupuh Pangkur: 14 pada (stanzas)
2. Pupuh Sinom: 18 pada (stanzas)
3. Pupuh Pocung: 15 pada (stanzas)
4. Pupuh Gambuh: 35 pada (stanzas)
5. Pupuh Kinanthi: 18 pada (stanzas)

The event presented Prof. Dr. Hendrokumoro, M.Hum., as the speaker, and was attended by participants from various circles. In addition, Dr. Rudy Wiratama, S.I.P., M.A., participated in developing Serat Wedhatama in the opening ceremony and several students of the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program participated in playing gamelan, adding to the solemn atmosphere of the event. The liveliness of the participants in reading and developing Serat Wedhatama created an atmosphere full of beauty.

Prof. Dr. Hendrokumoro, M.Hum, on the occasion, emphasized that Serat Wedhatama, with its philosophical values and moral messages, can be applied in daily life. However, the actualization needs to be considered so that it can be relevant to the current conditions.

Macapatan Jumat Legen aims to revive the Macapatan tradition and preserve this tradition for the younger generation. Preserving this tradition and extracting information from literary works such as Serat Wedhatama is an important step in improving the quality of public education. The collaboration of various parties, such as between the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program and the Pusaka Jawa UGM, is an effort to maximize these preservation efforts. Thus, the organization of Macapatan Jumat Legen is in line with the 4th and 17th points in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).

Author : Haryo Untoro

A varied dialect within a multilingual country might emerge as a phenomenon where the people speak the same language but still can’t understand what other people say from another area. For instance, the Javanese people who live in the Special Region of Yogyakarta and East Java speak and hold Javanese culture. However, they might be confused or clueless about what the listener says in a conversation. Thanks to the language variation that brought so-called dialect.

Dialectology, a linguistics study focusing on how language differs based on geography and social factors, comes to assist in answering the question. In this case, 14 students from dialectology class attempted to study vocabulary (words or phrases) variation specific to certain regions. They went to Jombang, East Java on May 10-11, 2024, to find the vocabulary variation of the Javanese language.

“There are 14 students in our class and they spread into 5 groups. Each group went to different sub-districts, which were Perak, Wonosalam, Diwek, and Peterongan. We brought 200 Swadesh word lists to find out the changes from the Javanese standard by interviewing an informant in each sub-district,” Eduar explained. Those sub-districts were chosen based on their hypothesis. “Diwek and Perak are in the west of Jombang, so we predict that the people still use the Mataraman dialect while Wonosalam and Petarongan are in the east. Thus, the people are most likely to use the Surabayanan dialect,” Dina added. From the data gathered, they compared and mapped the changes.

The students said that this field trip was a priceless experience. It gave a clear picture of how a linguist collects the data such as planning the program, coordinating with the locals, and interacting as well as interviewing them. “It was fun and always be a valuable experience for me. As a Javanese native speaker, I learned a lot from this experience. For instance, I didn’t know that the word kenceng means lurus (go straight on) in their dialect. All I know kenceng is banter or kencang (fast). It, of course, enhances my knowledge,” Dinda illustrated what she felt.

“I think it would be fantastic if we could continue to hold field trips like this in the future. We learned a lot. I hope the department, the faculty, or the parties involved will always support this sort of activity,” said Ningrum.

On Saturday, May 4th, 2024, the anthropology linguistics class held a field trip to Cilacap in order to get to know the locals, in particular the people who live in the coastal area. Approximately 65 students joined the field trip. They were divided into two classes, which were Class A and Class B. Class A focused on the people and the place around Teluk Penyu Beach such as how people communicate in a particular situation and the toponym around the town. Meanwhile, class B tried to picture the people and its culture. For instance, some groups observed how the locals present their gratitude through sedekah laut and how the people who are fishermen use the equipment, particularly the people in Tegalkamulyan village.

“We were intrigued by the event that they called sedekah laut, a special event only held by people in Cilacap,” said Fandi, a student from class B. He further explained that people in Cilacap deliver their gratitude towards the Almighty by serving some offerings. “ We were dumbfounded that they use more than 100 kinds of things as the offering where each symbolizes a certain idea,” Fandi stated.

Another group from class B tried to describe the equipment used by the local fishermen where they discovered that naming the equipment based on its appearance such as its size and its shape. A similar topic also was discussed by a group from class A. Auna explained that his group tried to illustrate the toponym around the town. On the other hand, Dila and her group took ethnographic communication to observe the interaction between fish traders and the buyers in TPI (Fish Auction Place). “We should’ve visited the TPI but unfortunately we came a little bit too late and the weather wasn’t that good which made them close the TPI. However, we still got the data in particular about the type of communication by interviewing several fishermen,” Lova added.

This field trip was initiated to implement what the students have learned in class and also to get more information from the experts as Dr. Suhandano delivered his remarks to officially open the activity. “The field trip was fun and insightful. We didn’t not only learn about the linguistics aspect but also tried to dig deeper to understand the culture that will enhance the analysis,” Ulfa said.

This field trip was held in cooperation between the Master’s Program in Linguistics and the fishermen organization, Himpunan Nelayan Seluruh Indonesia Kabupaten Cilacap. “We do hope that such an activity like this will always be conducted. It gave us the real picture of being a researcher and also created a strong collaboration with organizations and the people,” said Imam.