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| Java | |
| Type | Abugida |
|---|---|
| Spoken languages | Javanese |
| Time period | c. 9th–20th century |
| 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 | Java |
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|
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | |
The Javanese script, natively known as Carakan (in the old orthography Tjarakan), is the pre-colonial script used to write the Javanese language.
As of 2008 Javanese is difficult to render on a computer, but Unicode support is underway.1
Contents |
History
Javanese and Balinese are modern variants of the old Kawi script, a Brahmic script introduced to Java along with Hinduism and Buddhism. Kawi is first attested in a legal document from 804CE. It was widely used in literature and translations from Sanskrit from the tenth century; by the seventeenth, the script is identified as carakan.2 A Latin orthography based on Dutch was introduced in 1926, revised in 1972–1973, and has largely supplanted the carakan. There are no newspapers or magazines being printed in the Javanese script.3 However it is still taught in most elementary school and some junior high school as of compulsory subject in java area such as Surabaya.
Function
The Javanese script is an abugida. Each of the twenty letter represents a syllable with a consonant (or a "zero consonant") and the inherent vowel /ɔ/. Various diacritics placed around the letter may indicate a different vowel than /ɔ/, a final consonant, or a foreign pronunciation.3
Letters have subscript forms used to transcribe consonant clusters. Some have "capital" forms used in proper names. However, every letter in the name is capitalized, not just the first. Punctuation includes a comma; period; a mark that covers the colon, quotations, and indicates numerals; and marks to introduce a chapter, poem, song, or letter.4
Form
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.3
Javanese characters are written slanted to the side and below the line, and there are no word boundaries.3
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.3
Rules regarding inherent vowels of basic characters3:
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.34
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.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.32
Special Characters
Words borrowed from other languages such as Arabic or Malay are indicated by writing diacritic marks over similar sounding Javanese letters.4 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.3
- 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/.3
Numbers
The Javanese number system is very similar to the Arabic number system. In the Javanese Script, only numbers 0-9 are represented.3
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 loro siji. Similarly, the number 90 would be the characters sanga nol.3
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.3 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.342 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;
Two special rules apply to the usage of the comma, and the period.3
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.3
Alphabet as poem
The alphabet itself forms a poem, of which the line-by-line translation is as follows3:
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.
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| Javanese script | Balinese script |
Other usage
Javanese script was also used by some Sundanese people to write Sundanese language, but the script was simplified and called Cacarakan instead. Cacarakan differs from Carakan by omitting the pha and dha, thus only:
ha, na, ca, ra, ka, da, ta, sa, wa, la, pa, ja, ya, nya, ma, ga, ba, nga
Further reading
There are very few items available in English about Javanese script; however, the following give some introduction:
- Gallop, Annabel Teh. Golden letters: writing traditions of Indonesia = Surat emas: budaya tulis di Indonesia (with Bernard Arps). London: British Library; Jakarta: Yayasan Lontar, c1991. ISBN 9798083067
- Pigeaud, Theodore G. Th. Javanese and Balinese manuscripts and some codices written in related idioms spoken in Java and Bali: descriptive catalogue, with examples of Javanese script, introductory chapters, a general index of names and subjects Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1975. ISBN 3515019642
References
- ^ Unicode pending
- ^ a b c Campbell, George L. Compendium of the World's Languages. Vol. 1. New York: Routledge, 2000.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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.
See also
- History of the alphabet
- The Brahmic script and its descendants
- Folk etymology relevant to Javanese etymology
- Balinese script, a very similar script used in the neighbouring island of Bali
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
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 7 January 2009, at 12:52.
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