Integrating Islamic Ethics and Binary Axiology in Javanese Unggah-Ungguh: Implications for Islamic Character Education

Joni Joni (Institution: Institut Islam Nahdlatul Ulama Temanggung)
Andrian Gandi Wijanarko (Institut Islam Nahdlatul Ulama Temanggung)
Yoga Dwi Prada (Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta)
Joko Nurkamto (Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta)
Steven von der Linden (Dalas International University)

SYAMIL: JURNAL PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM (JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC EDUCATION)
Vol. 14 No. 2 (2026): SYAMIL: Journal of Islamic Education

The increasing influence of modernization and digital communication has transformed the implementation of Javanese speech levels, raising questions about how traditional values of respect and equality are maintained within contemporary social interaction. This study investigates the manifestation of binary axiology in Javanese social stratification in Temanggung Regency, Indonesia, with particular emphasis on the functions of unggah-ungguh and the ngoko–krama speech system from an ethnopragmatic perspective. A qualitative descriptive-analytical design was employed using participant observation and documentation studies conducted at the Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic Institute (INISNU) Temanggung and within the surrounding community. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis integrated with ethnopragmatics, Scheler's value axiology, Heidegger's concepts of Dasein and Das Sollen, and an Islamic ethical perspective emphasizing adab, akhlaq, ta'zim, and iḥtirām. The findings reveal that Javanese communication operates through complementary binary values of equality (ngoko) and respect (krama), while speech-level selection is increasingly influenced by contextual factors, including institutional setting, relational proximity, and communicative purpose. Rather than indicating the erosion of cultural values, these adaptations represent the transformation of value implementation within changing social environments. The study is limited to observations conducted in one academic institution and its surrounding community; therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to all Javanese communities with different sociocultural characteristics. The study contributes a novel interdisciplinary framework integrating binary axiology, ethnopragmatics, existential philosophy, and Islamic ethics to explain Javanese social stratification as a dynamic value-oriented communication system, offering implications for character education, intercultural communication, and the preservation of local cultural values.