Javindo, also known by the pejorative name Krontjong, is a Dutch-based creole language spoken on Java, Indonesia, such as Semarang. The name Javindo is a portmanteau of Java and Indo, the Dutch word for a person of mixed Indonesian and Dutch descent. This contact language developed from communication between Javanese-speaking mothers and Dutch-speaking fathers in Indo families. Its main speakers were Indo-Eurasian people. Its grammar was based on Javanese, and its vocabulary was based on the Dutch lexicon but pronounced in a Javanese manner. It shows simplification of morphological verb system from Javanese grammar such as merging verb class, disappearance of verbal subcategories. It should not be confused with Petjo, a different Dutch- and Malay-based creole also spoken by Indo-Eurasians. With the loss of the generation that lived in the Dutch East Indies era, that language has almost died out, but it become identity for Indo descent. In contrast, the colonial society saw the creole languages as a corrupted Dutch which should be corrected as quickly as possible.

Writing system

Javindo is written using Latin script, specifically Dutch orthography.

Grammar

Even though most of the lexicon is derived from Dutch, the grammar of the language is mostly of Javanese origin, including elements such as morphology; lack of verbs; no past tense; no finite verb. The inherited feature of Javindo from Javanese is the non-actor-oriented verb morphology.