Editing Jakarta (section)

===Language===
{{see also|Betawi language|Indonesian slang}}
[[File:Bahasa Betawi.jpg|thumb|[[Betawi language]], a [[Malay language|Malay]] [[Creole language|creole]] born in [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]].]]
[[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] is the official and dominant language of Jakarta, while many elderly people speak [[Dutch language|Dutch]] or [[Chinese language|Chinese]], depending on their upbringing. [[English language|English]] is used for communication, especially in Central and South Jakarta.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26indo.html |title=As English Spreads, Indonesians Fear for Their Language |newspaper=The New York Times |date=26 July 2010 |access-date=11 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811160323/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/world/asia/26indo.html |archive-date=11 August 2019 |url-status=live|last1=Onishi |first1=Norimitsu }}</ref> Each of the ethnic groups uses their mother tongue at home, such as [[Betawi language|Betawi]], [[Javanese language|Javanese]], and [[Sundanese language|Sundanese]]. The [[Betawi language]] is distinct from those of the [[Sundanese people|Sundanese]] or [[Javanese people|Javanese]], forming itself as a [[language island]] in the surrounding area. It is mostly based on the East [[Old Malay|Malay]] dialect and enriched by [[loan word]]s from [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Sundanese language|Sundanese]], [[Javanese language|Javanese]], [[Hokkien language|Chinese]], and [[Arabic]]. Over time, many Betawi words and phrases became integrated into Indonesian as Jakartan [[slang]] and are used by most people regardless of their ethnic background. It is now popular not only in Jakarta, but all over Indonesia.

The Chinese in Jakarta mainly speak Indonesian and English due to a strict language ban during the [[Soeharto]] [[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]] era; older people may be fluent in [[Hokkien dialect]] and [[Mandarin language|Mandarin]], meanwhile the younger generation are fluent in Indonesian and English, some educated in Mandarin. With the recent urbanisation of Chinese communities from several rural areas in Indonesia, other Chinese dialects have been brought into the Chinese community in Jakarta, such as [[Hakka language|Hakka]], [[Teochew language|Teochew]] and [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]]. [[Hokkien]], which is mainly from Sumatra ([[Medan]], [[Bagansiapiapi]], [[Batam]]) is mostly spoken in Northern Jakarta, such as in [[Pantai Indah Kapuk]], [[Pluit]], and [[Kelapa Gading]], meanwhile Hakka and Teochew, which are derived from the Chinese communities in [[Pontianak]] and [[Singkawang]], are mainly spoken in West Jakarta, like in [[Tambora, Jakarta|Tambora]] and [[Grogol Petamburan]]. The Batak in Jakarta mostly speak Indonesian, while the older generation tend to speak their native languages, such as [[Batak language|Batak Toba]], [[Mandailing language|Mandailing]], and [[Karo language (Indonesia)|Karo]], depending on which ancestral towns and places in [[North Sumatra]] they came from. The Minangkabau mainly speak [[Minangkabau language|Minangkabau]] together with Indonesian.