Javanese script

Javanese script (), also known as hanacaraka, carakan, and dentawyanjana, is one of Indonesia's traditional scripts developed on the island of Java. The script is primarily used to write the Javanese language and has also been used to write several other regional languages such as Sundanese and Madurese, the regional lingua franca Malay, as well as the historical languages Kawi and Sanskrit. It heavily influenced the Balinese script from which the writing system for Sasak developed. Javanese script was actively used by the Javanese people for writing day-to-day and literary texts from at least the mid-16th century CE until the mid-20th century CE, before it was gradually supplanted by the Latin alphabet. Today, the script is taught in the Yogyakarta Special Region as well as the provinces of Central Java and East Java as part of the local curriculum, but with very limited function in everyday use.

Javanese script is an abugida writing system which consists of 20 to 33 basic letters, depending on the language being written. Like other Brahmic scripts, each letter (called an aksara) represents a syllable with the inherent vowel /a/ or /ɔ/ which can be changed with the placement of diacritics around the letter. Each letter has a conjunct form called pasangan, which nullifies the inherent vowel of the previous letter. Traditionally, the script is written without spaces between words (scriptio continua) but is interspersed with a group of decorative punctuation.

History

Javanese script's evolutionary history can be traced fairly well because significant amounts of inscriptional evidence left behind allowed for epigraphical studies to be carried out. The oldest root of Javanese script is the Tamil-Brahmi script which evolved into the Pallava script in Southern and Southeast Asia between the 6th and 8th centuries. The Pallava script, in turn, evolved into Kawi script, which was actively used throughout Indonesia's Hindu-Buddhist period between the 8th and 15th centuries. In various parts of Indonesia, Kawi script would then evolve into Indonesia's various traditional scripts, one of them being Javanese script. The modern Javanese script seen today evolved from Kawi script between the 14th and 15th centuries, a period in which Java began to receive significant Islamic influence.

From the 15th until the mid-20th centuries, Javanese script was actively used by the Javanese people for writing day-to-day and literary texts spanning a wide range of themes. Javanese script was used throughout the island at a time when there was no easy means of communication between remote areas and no impulse towards standardization. As a result, there is a huge variety of historical and local styles of Javanese writing throughout the ages. The great differences between regional styles make the "Javanese script" appear like a family of scripts. Javanese writing traditions were especially cultivated in the Kraton environment in Javanese cultural centers, such as Yogyakarta and Surakarta. However, Javanese texts are known to be made and used by various layers of society with varying usage intensities between regions. In West Java, for example, the script was mainly used by the Sundanese nobility (ménak) due to the political influence of the Mataram kingdom. However, most Sundanese people within the same time period more commonly used the Pegon script which was adapted from the Arabic alphabet. Javanese writing tradition also relied on periodic copying due to the deterioration of writing materials in the tropical Javanese climate; as a result, many physical manuscripts that are available now are 18th or 19th century copies, though their contents can usually be traced to far older prototypes.

Media

Javanese script has been written with numerous media that have shifted over time. Kawi script, which is ancestral to Javanese script, is often found on stone inscriptions and copper plates. Everyday writing in Kawi was done in palm leaf form (ocally known as lontar), which are processed leaves of the tal palm (Borassus flabellifer). Each lontar leaf has the shape of a slim rectangle 2.8 to 4 cm in width and varies in length between 20 and 80 cm. Each leaf can only accommodate around 4 lines of writing, which are incised horizontally with a small knife and then blackened with soot to increase readability. This media has a long history of attested use all over South and Southeast Asia.

In the 13th century, paper began to be used in the Malay Archipelago. As Java began to receive significant Islamic influence in the 15th century, coinciding with the period in which Kawi script began to transition into the modern Javanese script, paper became widespread in Java while the use of lontar only persisted in a few regions. There are two kinds of paper that are commonly used in Javanese manuscript: locally produced paper called daluang, and imported paper. Daluang (also spelled dluwang) is a paper made from the beaten bark of the saéh tree (Broussonetia papyrifera). Visually, daluang can be easily differentiated from regular paper by its distinctive brown tint and fibrous appearance. A well made daluang has a smooth surface and is quite durable against manuscript damage commonly associated with tropical climates, especially insect damage. Meanwhile, a coarse daluang has a bumpy surface and tends to break easily. Daluang is commonly used in manuscripts produced by Javanese kraton (palaces) and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) between the 16th and 17th centuries.

Most imported paper in Indonesian manuscripts came from Europe. In the beginning, only a few scribes were able to use European paper due to its high price—paper made using European methods at the time could only be imported in limited numbers.

Comparison with Balinese

The closest relative of the Javanese script is the Balinese script. As a direct descendant of the Kawi script, Javanese and Balinese scripts still share many similarities in the basic structure of each letter. One striking difference between Javanese and Balinese scripts is the writing system; the Balinese writing system tends to be more conservative and retains many aspects of Kawi orthography that are no longer used in Javanese script. For example, the word "desa" in Javanese script is now written as ꦢꦺꦱ.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Some Javanese letters and their Balinese equivalents

|- class="letters-violet letters-lo"

|-class="letters-pink letters-lo"

Unicode

Javanese script was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2. The Unicode block for Javanese is U+A980–U+A9DF. There are 91 code points for Javanese script: 53 letters, 19 punctuation marks, 10 numbers, and 9 vowels:

Gallery

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Steen met tekst Grissee TMnr 60046661.jpg|A stone inscription from around 18th century in the Kyai Tumenggung Pusponegoro grave complex, Gresik

File:Serat jayalengkara wulang 02v-03r.jpg|A page from Serat Jaya Lengkara Wulang copied in 1803, British Library collection

File:Mss jav 28 f013v.png| A page from Serat Damar Wulan copied in 1804, British Library collection

File:IND-(NethEastInd)-Government recepis-5 Gulden (1846) unsigned remainder.jpg|Five Gulden/Rupiah scrip issued by Dutch East Indies in 1846, value spelled in Latin, Pégon, and Javanese script

File:Bromartani.jpg|Bromartani newspaper, the first newspaper printed in Javanese language and script, circulating between 1855 and 1856

File:Book title commemorating Wilhelmina's ascension-Semarang 1898.jpg|Title page of a book commemorating the ascension of Queen Wilhelmina, printed in Semarang in 1898

File:Serat bratayudha.jpg|A page from Serat Bratayudha (an episode of Mahabharata) copied in 1902, Widya Budaya collection

File:Serat damar wulan f.2r.jpg|Opening pages of Serat Damar Wulan copied around the 18th century, British Library collection

File:Javanese advertisement - droste's cacao.jpg|An advertisement for Droste's Cacao

File:Javanese advertisement - lampoe osram.jpg|An advertisement for Osram light bulb

File:IND-78b-De Javasche Bank-5 Gulden (1937).jpg|5 Gulden paper currency issued by the Bank of Java in 1937, with multilingual forgery warnings, including one in Javanese language and script

File:Prasasti Pakubuwana X.jpg|Pakubuwana X inscription commemorating the construction of several gateways in Surakarta in 1938

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Demonstratieauto van de Dienst der Volksgezondheid ca. 1925 TMnr 60012956.jpg|A patrol car used by the Public Health Service (Dienst der Volksgezondheid)

File:Netherlands Indies-94-De Javasche Bank-100 Gulden (1946).jpg|100 Gulden paper currency issued by the Bank of Java in 1946, the last Gulden series that contains Javanese script. Later reprinted in 1950

File:Jalan Slamet Riyadi (Road sign in Surakarta).jpg|A street sign in Surakarta. The word jendral in the sign has been misspelled and should have used taling in accordance to how it is pronounced in Javanese, jèndral

File:Javanese script in modern use.jpg|Contemporary merchandise with design elements containing Javanese script

File:Yogyakarta Sultanate Hamengkubhuwono X Emblem.svg|The Yogyakarta Sultanate coat of arms with the Hamengkubuwana royal monogram in Javanese script

</gallery>

Notes

References

Bibliography

Orthographical guides

Also known as Wewaton Sriwedari and Paugeran Sriwedari.

Sanskrit and Kawi

Sundanese

External links

Digital collection

British Library manuscript collection
National Library of Indonesia manuscript collection
Yayasan Sastra Lestari manuscript collection
Widyapustaka references collection

Digitized manuscripts

A debt written on a piece of lontar (1708) British Library collection no. Sloane MS 1403E
Babad Mataram and Babad ing Sangkala (1738) koleksi British Library no. MSS Jav 36
A Malay-Javanese-Maduran language word list from early 19th century, British Library collection no. MSS Malay A 3
An assortment of documents from the Kraton of Yogyakarta (1786–1812) British Library collection no. Add Ms 12341
Papakem Pawukon from Bupati Sepuh Demak of Bogor (1814) British Library collection no. Or 15932
Wejangan Hamengkubuwana I (1812) British Library collection no. Add MS 12337
Raffles Paper - vol III (1816) a collection of Letters received by Raffles from the rules of the Malay archipelago, British Library collection no. Add MS 45273
Serat Jaya Lengkara Wulang (1803) British Library collection no. MSS Jav 24
Serat Selarasa (1804) British Library collection no. MSS Jav 28
Usana Bali (1870) a Javanese copy of a Balinese lontar of the same title, National Library of Indonesia collection no. CS 152

Dongèng-dongèng Pieuntengen (1867) a collection of Sundanese tales written in Javanese script compiled by Muhammad Musa

Others

Unicode proposal for Javanese script
Unicode documentation for the behavior of KERET diacritic
Unicode documentation for the behavior of CAKRA diacritic
Unicode documentation for the behavior of PENGKAL diacritic
Unicode documentation for the behavior of TOLONG diacritic
British Library Asian-African Studies blog, Javanese topic
Javanese script transliterator by Benny Lin
Hana - Javanese Script Transliterator by Dan
Download Javanese fonts in Tuladha Jejeg , Aksara di Nusantara, or Google Noto