The official language is Bahasa Indonesia and English is the most spoken and understood foreign language. In covention hotels they have translators for English, Frence, Dutch, German, Japanese, Mandarin, and even Spanish.

The native betawi people speak Betawi Malay which is different from standard Malay. There are variations in the language according to region, the Betawi Malay of the centre and that of the periphery. There are also socio - cultural variations. The older people born and bred in Jakarta speak the traditional Betawi Malay, while the younger people and migrants speak the modern version of the language.
In the language, various influences from other cultures are appearent, Balinese, Sundanese, and Javanese influences are there and words derived from Arabic, Dutch, chinese and Portuguese are easily recognizable.
Betawi Malay is spoken not only in Jakarta, but also in parts of Bekasi, Tangerang and Bogor which belong to the province of West Java.