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]

Type of Writing System

The Javanese Script, the carakan, can be classified as an abugida. Each symbol essentially represents a syllable with a consonant and the inherent vowel /ɔ/(normally pronounced as open back rounded vowel when reciting the consonants). Diacritics, which are special marks put around the character, may indicate a different vowel than ‘a’. Diacritics are also used for indicating consonant clusters and final consonants. ^[2]^[3] In addition there are variant great letters used for ceremony, and marks to indicate poetic structure.

History

Originally, the Old Javanese script was based off the Devanagari script.^[2]^[4] 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.^[4] A standard orthography with the Latin Alphabet was created in 1926, and later revised in 1972-1973.^[4]^[2] In many cases, this replaced the Javanese script and as a result, there are currently no newspapers or magazines being printed in the Javanese script.^[2]

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). For example, the character 'h' consists of a small n-shape, followed by a large u-shape and two large n-shapes. This format is closely followed in hand-writing and is no longer followed in printed characters.^[2]

Javanese characters are written slanted to the side and below the line, and there are no word boundaries.^[2]

Vowels

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 some diacritics can be used for two different vowels. Rules regarding the pronunciation and the context eliminate the need for a new symbol for every vowel by making the vowel predictable.^[2]

Rules regarding inherent vowels of basic characters^[2]:

1) A basic character stands for a syllable that ends in the vowel /ɔ/ when the character is preceded by another character containing a sandhangan swara.

2) A basic character stands for a syllable that ends in the vowel /a/ when the character is immediately followed by a character containing a sandhangan swara.

3) The first basic character of a word normally has the /ɔ/ vowel, unless it precedes two other basic characters, in which case the first basic character has the /a/ vowel.

Consonants

The twenty consonants are:

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

Syllable-Final Consonants

Four special syllable-final consonants are 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]^[3]

Consonant Clusters

Only l, r, w, and y can form consonant clusters in Javanese.

For example,

/l/: blabag - board

/r/: mrana - going there

/w/: dwi - two

/y/: hyang - God

When ‘r’ or ‘y’ are the second consonant of the cluster, they are represented by diacritics “cakra” and “pengkal” respectively.^[3] 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]^[4]

Special Characters

Words borrowed from other languages such as Arabic or Malay are indicated by writing diacritic marks over similar sounding Javanese letters.^[3] On top of that, Javanese also uses special characters to write foreign names or words.

A: There are five special characters used to write non-Javanese vowels. The five vowels are represented by the following names.^[2]

1) Ali

2) Irawan

3) Umar

4) Eka

5) Oto

B: There are five special characters used to write non-Javanese consonants. These consonants are /kh/, /dz/, /f/, /gh/, and /z/.^[2]

Numbers

The Javanese number system is very similar to the Arabic number system. In the Javanese Script, only numbers 0-9 are represented.^[2]

0 nol

1 siji

2 loro

3 telu

4 papat

5 lima

6 enem

7 pitu

8 wolu

9 sanga

When writing numbers greater than 9, simply combine the above numbers. For example, to write 21, simply write the characters telu siji. Similarly, the number 90 would be the characters sanga nol.^[2]

Since some of the characters for the numbers are very similar to the characters for syllables, numbers that show up in Javanese texts are indicated by special 'numeral markers' both before and after the number.^[2] For example,

text ....... numeral marker telu siji numeral marker .......... text

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:

1) the comma “pada-lungsi”,

2) the period “pada-lingsa”,

3) colon or quotation marks “pada-handhegging-celathu”, and

4) to introduce a new sentence or paragraph “pada-bab”.

Special punctuation includes:

1) the “pada-luhur” to introduce a letter to a person of lower rank;

2) the “pada-madya” to introduce a letter to an equal; the “pada-handhap” to introduce a letter to a person of higher rank;

3) the “purwa-pada” to introduce a poem; the”madya-pada” to indicate a new song in a poem;

4) and the “wasana-pada” to indicate the end of a poem.^[2]^[3]

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 the 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. If the second letter does not have an aksara murdha either, the third 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 = corpses

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 ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Soemarmo, Marmo. "Javanese Script." Ohio Working Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching 14.Winter (1995): 69-103.
^ ^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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Campbell, George L. Compendium of the World's Languages. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge, 2000.

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 ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Soemarmo, Marmo. "Javanese Script." Ohio Working Papers in Linguistics and Language Teaching 14.Winter (1995): 69-103.

[ws-3] ^ ^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.

[lang-4] Campbell, George L. Compendium of the World's Languages. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge, 2000.

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