section_path: Demographics/Language
section_name: Language
paragraph_text: Language
  
  Indonesian is the official and dominant language of Jakarta, while many elderly people speak Dutch or Chinese, depending on their upbringing. English is used for communication, especially in Central and South Jakarta. Each of the ethnic groups uses their mother tongue at home, such as Betawi, Javanese, and Sundanese. The Betawi language is distinct from those of the Sundanese or Javanese, forming itself as a language island in the surrounding area. It is mostly based on the East Malay dialect and enriched by loan words from Dutch, Portuguese, Sundanese, Javanese, 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. Now it is 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 Soeharto 's New Order era; older people may be fluent in Hokkien dialect and Mandarin, meanwhile the youngsters are only fluent in Indonesian and English, some educated in Mandarin. With the recent urbanization of Chinese communities from several rural areas in Indonesia, other Chinese dialects have been brought into the Chinese community in Jakarta, such as Hakka, Teochew and 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 and Grogol Petamburan. The Batak in Jakarta mostly speak Indonesian, while the older generation tends to speak their native languages, such as Batak Toba, Mandailing, and Karo, depending on which ancestral towns and places in North Sumatra they come from. The Minangkabau mainly speak Minangkabau together with Indonesian.