Pegon as vernacular heritage literacy: A qualitative study in East Java Pesantren

Husniyah, Af’idatul, Yulianto, Yulianto and Zakiyah, Millatuz (2026) Pegon as vernacular heritage literacy: A qualitative study in East Java Pesantren. Pegon as vernacular heritage literacy: a qualitative study in East Java Pesantren. pp. 1-18. ISSN Print ISSN (Versi Cetak): 0143-4632Online ISSN (Versi Elektronik/Daring): 1747-7557

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Abstract

This study examines the Pegon script as a vernacular writing system and heritage literacy practice in Islamic pesantren in East Java, Indonesia. Pegon – an adaptation of Arabic script used for Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese – has long been written as diagonal annotations alongside Arabic source texts and has supported the study of core Islamic disciplines since at least the seventeenth century. While prior research has approached Pegon historically, philologically, linguistically, and culturally, fewer studies have investigated how it is practiced and valued in everyday pesantren life. Drawing on a heritage literacy framework, we conducted a qualitative study using unstructured interviews with eleven participants, informal conversations, and ethnographically informed field observations with three participants across several pesantren. The findings show that Pegon functions as an interpretive and pedagogical scaffold for reading kitab kuning, enabling precise, word-by-word engagement with classical Arabic texts. At the same time, Pegon mediates Islamic learning through Javanese linguistic resources, transmitting local cultural knowledge, etiquette, and worldview. Pegon is sustained through intergenerational pedagogies and serves as a marker of pesantren identity and scholarly legitimacy.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	pegon; heritage literacy; pesantren; kitab kuning; vernacular script
Subjects:	20 LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE > 2004 Linguistics > 200405 Language in Culture and Society (Sociolinguistics) > 20040599 Language in Culture and Society (Sociolinguistics) not elsewhere classified 22 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES > 2204 Religion and Religious Studies > 220405 Religion and Society
Divisions:	Faculty of Technology > Department of Architecture
Depositing User:	M.Pd.I Yulianto Yahdi
Date Deposited:	09 Jul 2026 15:06

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