Batak alphabet
Origin
The Batak alphabet, or surat batak, is descended ultimately from
the from Brahmi script of
ancient India by way of the Pallava and Old Kawi scripts.
Notable features
- Batak is a syllabic alphabet – each consonant (aksara) has
an inherent vowel. Other vowels or the absence of vowels can be indicated
using diacritics which appear above, below or after the consonant
letter. - Batak is traditionally written from bottom to top in vertical columns
running from left to right on strips of bamboo held together with
string.
Used to write:
The Batak languages of northern Sumatra – Karo
Batak, Toba Batak, Dairi
Batak, Simalungun/Timur,
Angkola and Mandailing Batak,
and occasionally Malay. In most Batak communities, only the datu
(priests) are able to read and write the Batak alphabet and they use
it mainly for calendars and magical texts.
There are slight variations in the letters and vowel diacritics used
to write each language.
Karo Batak syllabic alphabet
Karo Batak is an Austronesian language with about 600,000 speaks in
the central and northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Vowel diacritics with ka
Toba Batak syllabic alphabet
Dairi Batak, which is also known as Batak Toba and Batta, is an Austronesian
language spoken by about 2 million people in the northern part of the
Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Vowel diacritics with ka
Dairi Batak syllabic alphabet
Dairi Batak, which is also known as Dairi, Pakpak and Pakpak Dairi,
is an Austronesian language with about 1.2 million speakers in the northern
part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Vowel diacritics with ka
Simalungun/Timur syllabic alphabet
Simalungun, which is also known as Timur and Simelungan, is an Austronesian
language spoken by about 800,000 people in the northern part of the
Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Vowel diacritics with ka
Mandaling Batak syllabic alphabet
Mandaling Batak or Batta is an Austronesian language with about 400,000
speakers in the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Vowel diacritics with ka
Note
The fonts used on this page were created by Dr Uli Kozok
of The University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Links
Further information about Batak (includes free Batak fonts)
http://www.hawaii.edu/indolang/surat