Javanese script

Java
Java;
Script type	Abugida
Period	c. 9th–20th century
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Javanese
Related scripts
Parent systems	Proto-Canaanite alphabet Phoenician alphabet Aramaic alphabet Brāhmī Pallava Old Kawi Java; ; ; ; ; ;
Sister systems	Balinese; Batak; Baybayin; Buhid; Hanunó'o; Lontara; Old Sundanese; Rejang; Tagbanwa;
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Java (361), Javanese
Unicode
Unicode alias	Javanese
	This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

The Javanese script, natively known as Carakan (Tjarakan), is the script originally used to write Javanese.

Currently it is difficult to encode or render on computer system, but Unicode support is currently underway^[1].

Javanese

Javanese is an abugida script consisting of 20 main consonants with an inherent vowel "a" (normally pronounced as open back rounded vowel when reciting the consonants). In addition there are vowel markings, contraction of consonants, variant great letters used for ceremony, and marks to indicate poetic structure.

The twenty consonants are:

ha, na, ca, ra, ka
da, ta, sa, wa, la
pa, dha, ja, ya, nya
ma, ga, ba, tha, nga

History

Originally, the Old Javanese script was based off the Devanagari script.^[2]^[3] The Kawi script was developed to write Old Javanese and eventually this gave away to the modernized Javanese script carakan and finally the Latin Alphabet in 1926. Old Javanese first appeared in a legal document that dates back to 804CE. The writing system was then widely used in literature and translations from Sanskrit from about the tenth century and gradually died away after the thirteenth/fourteenth century when Old Javanese was no longer the spoken language of Java. By the seventeenth century, the carakan script was used exclusively to write Javanese until the creation of the standard Orthography in 1926.^[3] A standard orthography with the Latin Alphabet was created in 1926, and later revised in 1972-1973.^[3]^[2] This replaced the Javanese script and as a result, there are currently no newspapers or magazines being printed in the Javanese script even with over 8 million Javanese speakers.^[2]^{[need quotation to verify]}

Script

Javanese alphabet and special characters

Each symbol consists of ‘n’ shapes and ‘u’ shapes. ‘n’ shapes come in two sizes: small and large (twice the size of a small). ‘u’ shapes come in three sizes: small, medium (1.5x) and large (2.5x). This format is no longer followed in printed characters. The characters are written slanted to the side and below the line, and there are no word boundaries.^[2]

The Javanese Script, the carakan can be classified as an abugida. Each symbol essentially represents a syllable with a consonant and the inherent vowel ‘a’. Diacritics, which are marks to the sides of the character may indicate a different vowel than ‘a’.^[2]^[4] In Javanese, there are a total of nine vowels: /a/, /i/, /I/, /e/, /ε/, /ə/, /o/, /ɔ/, /u/. However, only five vowel diacritics, known as ‘’sandhangan swara’’ are used because the same diacritic can be used for two different sounds. Rules regarding the pronunciation and the context eliminate the need for a new symbol for every vowel by making the vowel predictable.^[2]

Four syllable-final consonants are also denoted by diacritics. The four consonants are -ng, -r, -h, and -l; they are indicated by the cecak, layar, wignyan, and pengkal, respectively. Other consonants that appear in the word-final position require the use of the basic consonant symbols and the paten (or pangku) to indicate the absence of a vowel.^[2]^[4]

Only l, r, w, and y can form consonant clusters in Javanese. When ‘r’ or ‘y’ are the second consonant of the cluster, they are represented by diacritics “cakra” and “pengkal” respectively.^[4] However, when the consonant cluster with ‘-r’ ends with the vowel /ə/, then a different diacritic, the keret is used. When ‘l’ or ‘w’ is the second consonant of a cluster, it is represented by the “pasangan” forms, modified consonant symbols, written under the symbol for the first consonant of the cluster.^[2]^[3]

Words borrowed from other languages such as Arabic or Malay are also indicated by writing diacritic marks over similar sounding Javanese letters.^[4]

Punctuation

With the introduction of the new Javanese script (carakan script), different punctuation marks were also introduced.^[2]^[3]^[4] Punctuations can be divided into two categories: primary and special. Primary punctuation includes the comma “pada-lungsi”, the period “pada-lingsa”, colon or quotation marks “pada-handhegging-celathu”, and a symbol to introduce a new sentence or paragraph “pada-bab”. Special punctuation includes the “pada-luhur” to introduce a letter to a person of lower rank; the “pada-madya” to introduce a letter to an equal; the “pada-handhap” to introduce a letter to a person of higher rank; the “purwa-pada” to introduce a poem; the”madya-pada” to indicate a new song in a poem; and the “wasana-pada” to indicate the end of a poem.^[2]^[4]

Two special rules apply to the usage of the comma, and the period.^[2]

1.The comma is not needed after a consonant-ending word that is represented by a pangku

2.The comma is used instead of the period after a consonant-ending word that is represented by a pangku

Capitalization

Javanese script has seven capital letters called the aksara murdha that are used for names of highly respected persons and places. The first letter of the name is usually capitalized; however, all the letters could be capitalized if possible. Also, if an aksara murdha is not available for the first letter, the second letter is capitalized, and so on. Note that the capital letters are not used to indicate the beginnings of sentences.^[2]

Alphabet as poem

A bilingual text in Portuguese and Javanese

The alphabet itself forms a poem, of which the line-by-line translation is as follows^[2]:

Hana caraka There (were/was) two messengers
data sawala (They) had animosity (among each other)
padha jayanya (They were) equally powerful (in fight)
maga bathanga Here are the corpses.

in detail:

hana / ana = there were/was
caraka = messenger (actually, 'one who is loyal to and trusted by someone')
data = have/has
sawala = difference (regarding a matter)
padha = same, equal
jayanya = 'their power', 'jaya' could mean 'glory' as well
maga = 'here'
bathanga = 'be a dead body' = 'die', since 'bathang' = corpse

Similarities with the Balinese script

The Javanese and Balinese scripts are essentially typographic variants.

Javanese Script	Balinese Script
Javanese script	Balinese script

References

^ Unicode pending
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Soemarmo, Marmo. "Javanese Script." Ohio Working Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching 14.Winter (1995): 69-103.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Campbell, George L. Compendium of the World's Languages. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge, 2000.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Daniels, Peter T and William Bright. The World's Writing Systems. Ed. Peter T Daniels and William Bright. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

External links

Hanacaraka Font & Resources (in Indonesian)
Entry on Javanese at Omniglot.com -- A guide to writing systems
Javanese script (hanacaraka) calligraphy service in the web [1]
Pallawa :: Javanese Script Software

[1] Unicode pending

[jour-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Soemarmo, Marmo. "Javanese Script." Ohio Working Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching 14.Winter (1995): 69-103.

[lang-3] Campbell, George L. Compendium of the World's Languages. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge, 2000.

[ws-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Daniels, Peter T and William Bright. The World's Writing Systems. Ed. Peter T Daniels and William Bright. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

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