Laughing the Pain Away

UnderstandingSambatPractice among Javanese Youth

Bibliographic Data

ID2175174
AuthorsUdiana Puspa Dewi (0000-0002-2125-665X, Corvinus University of Budapest, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume25
Issue1
Pages27-48
Publication date2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanberra Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0314-9099 • E-ISSN: 1740-9314
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14442213.2024.2313227
OpenAlexW4391974047
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited27

In recent years, a verbal act of jokingly sharing grievances among Javanese youth labelled as sambat has become increasingly visible and audible both in social media and local radio. Sambat is a practice among Javanese youth where Javanese language is mixed with non-linguistic comedic touches to express a collective identity of being young, struggling with life’s problems, and feeling broken-hearted. This paper seeks to understand the emergence of sambat practice among Javanese youth on the internet and its traditional continuity within Javanese society. It explores the relation between language, emotion, and cultural practice through the lens of linguistic anthropology. The central argument is that the popularity of sambat on the internet has shifted the value of Javanese language from its traditional association with hierarchy to a comedic language that symbolises sadness, pain, and the persona of heartbroken youth

Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis · Art · Closeness · Feeling · Hierarchy · Identity (music · Linguistics · Media studies · Political science · Popularity · Relation (database · Sociology · The Internet · Value (mathematics · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism

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