Murtisari, Elisabet Titik (2013). Some traditional Javanese values in NSM: From God to social interaction. International Journal of Indonesian Studies, 1, 110-125. PDF (open access)

This paper examines a number of central traditional Javanese values in social interaction and explicates some of them into cultural scripts using the Natural Semantics Metalanguage (NSM). It is shown how intricate Javanese notions, such as narimo ‘accepting’ and ethok-ethok ‘dissimulation’, may be effectively described using simple vocabulary without lacking in rigour, which can be very helpful for outsiders to understand more about Javanese culture.

Note: Murtisari’s explication of ethok-ethok is offered as an improvement on an explication of the same term by Wierzbicka, who spells it as éṭok-éṭok.


Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner