The Balinese script, (Balinese: ᬅᬓ᭄ᬱᬭᬩᬮᬶ, , ) also known as hanacaraka (), is an abugida used in the island of Bali, Indonesia, commonly for writing the Austronesian Balinese language, Old Javanese, Malay and the liturgical language Sanskrit. With some modifications, the script is also used to write the Sasak language, used in the neighboring island of Lombok. In the present day it is also sometimes used to write the national language Indonesian.
The script is a descendant of the Brahmi script, and so has many similarities with the modern scripts of South and Southeast Asia. The Balinese script, along with the Javanese script, is considered the most elaborate and ornate among Brahmic scripts of Southeast Asia.
Though everyday use of the script has largely been supplanted by the Latin alphabet, the Balinese script has a significant prevalence in many of the island's traditional ceremonies and is strongly associated with the Hindu religion. The script is mainly used today for copying or palm leaf manuscripts containing religious texts.
Earliest record
Belanjong pillar
The Belanjong pillar, also Blanjong pillar or Blanjong inscription (, ), is a pillar established in 914 CE in the harbour of Belanjong, in the southern area of Sanur in Bali. This is the earliest evidence of Balinese literary script and language.
Language-script and Date
The inscription is written in both the Indian Sanskrit language and Old Balinese language, using two scripts, the Nagari script and the Old Balinese script (which is used to write both Balinese and Sanskrit). The Old Balinese in pre-Nagari script is on one side of the pillar, while the Sanskrit inscription in Pallava-derived old Javanese script (also called Kawi script) is on the other side.
thumb|center|Pillar found in Sanur, and Balinese script found
The pillar is dated according to the Indian Shaka era, on the seventh day of the waxing half ('saptāmyāṁ sita') of the month Phalguna of the Śaka year 835, which corresponds to 4 February 914 CE as calculated by Louis-Charles Damais.
Characteristics
There are 47 letters in the Balinese script, each representing a syllable with inherent vowel or at the end of a sentence, which changes depending on the diacritics around the letter. Pure Balinese can be written with 18 consonant letters and 9 vowel letters, while Sanskrit transliteration or loan words from Sanskrit and Old Javanese utilizes the full set. A set of modified letters are also used for writing the Sasak language. Each consonant has a conjunct form called gantungan which nullifies the inherent vowel of the previous syllable.
Punctuation includes a comma, period, colon, as well as marks to introduce and end section of a text. Musical notation uses letter-like symbols and diacritical marks in order to indicate pitch information. Text are written left to right without word boundaries (Scriptio continua).
|- class=letters-lo
! scope=row | Palatal
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|-[ɕa]
! scope=row | Retroflex
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! scope=row | Dental
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! scope=row | Labial
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traditional order
The modern Balinese languages does not make use of the whole inventory of consonants inherited from Sanskrit. The 18 consonants used in Balinese () are traditionally arranged following the Javanese sequence, in which 20 letters form a four-line pangram narrating the myth of Aji Saka. The remaining consonants () are used in Sanskrit transcription.
{| class="wikitable letters-pink"
|+ Hana caraka
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Consonant clusters
As in other members of the Brahmic family, consonant clusters are written cursively, by combining a consonant, an appended letter () or attached letter (). For example, , a appended with is pronounced [nda]. Each consonant letter has a corresponding or .
A consonant may be marked with both a or and a vowel diacritic (), but attaching two or more to one letter is forbidden. When three consonants occur together, vowel-killer () may be used in the middle of a word. For example, in the word , the consonant cluster mbl is spelled .
For a few letters, , , and adding a or also eliminates the letter's inherent vowel .
Vowels
Vowels, called () or (), can be written as independent letters when vowels appear in initial position.
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Diacritics
Diacritics () are symbols that cannot stand by themselves. When they are attached to independent letters, they affect the pronunciation. The three types of diacritics are , , and .
Vowel diacritics
Vowel diacritics () change the inherent vowel of a consonant letter. For example, the letter plus becomes .
{| class="wikitable letters-pink letters-hi"
|+ Vowel diacritics and examples with .
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