Javanese

Javanese alphabet   Javanese (Huruf Jawa)

The earliest known writing in Javanese dates from the 4th Century
AD, at which time Javanese was written with the Pallava alphabet.
By the 10th Century, the Kawi alphabet, which developed from Pallava,
had a distinct Javanese form.

By the 17th Century, the Javanese alphabet, also known as tjarakan
or carakan, had developed into its current form. During the
Japanese occupation of Indonesia between 1942 and 1945, the alphabet
was prohibited.

For a period from the 15th Century onwards, Javanese was also written
with a version of the Arabic alphabet, called pégon or
gundil.

Since the Dutch introduced the Latin alphabet
to Indonesia in the 19th Century, the Javanese alphabet has gradually been
supplanted. Today it is used almost exclusively by scholars and
for decoration. Those who can read and write it are held in high esteem.

Notable features

  • Javanese is a syllabic alphabet – each letter has an inherent
    vowel /a/. Other vowels can be indicated using a variety of diacritics
    which appear above, below, in front of or after the main letter.
  • Each consonants has two forms: the aksara form is used at
    the beginning of a syllable, while the pasangan form, which
    usually appears below the aksara form, is used for the second
    consonant of a consonant cluster and mutes the vowel of the aksara.
  • There are a number of special letters called aksara murda
    or aksara gedhe (great or important letters) which are used
    for honorific purposes, such as to write the names of respected people.
  • The order of the consonants makes the following saying, "Hana
    caraka, data sawala padha jayanya, maga bathanga" which means
    "There were (two) emissaries, they began to fight, their valor
    was equal, they both fell dead"

Used to write:

Javanese (basa Jawa), an austronesian language spoken by about 80 million
people in Indonesia and Suriname. In Indonesia Javanese is spoken in Java,
particularly in central and east Java, and on the north coast of West Java,
and in Madura, Bali, Lombok and in the Sunda region of West Java.

Javanese was used as the court language in Palembang, South Sumatra until
the late 18th century and has been used as a literary language for over
a millenium. It currently has no official status though is recognised as
a regional language in Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. It is
taught in some schools, and there are some radio and TV programmes in
Javanese, as well as a number of magazines.

The Javanese alphabet was also used to write Balinese and Sundanese,
but has been replaced by the Latin
alphabet
.

The Javanese alphabet

Aksara consonants

Consonants

Pasangan consonants

Capital consonants

Aksara murda consonants

Capital consonants

Subscript aksara murda consonants

Capital consonants

Vowels, vowel diacritics and final consonant diacritics

Vowels, vowel diacritics and final consonant diacritics

Punctuation

Javanese punctuation

Javanese punctuation

Numerals

Javanese numerals

Sample text in the Javanese alphabet (Lord’s Prayer)

Javanese sample text

Transliteration

Rama kahula hīkā wonten ‘ī swarga. wasta sampeyan
dadossa subši. sadžaman sampeyan rawuḥha. kars
sampeyan dadossa ‘ī bumi kados ‘ī swarga. redžekki
kahula kā saintendinten sukanni dinten puniki marī kahula.
hambi puntan marī kahula dosa kahula, kados kahula puntan
marī satungiltūgil titiyū kā salaḥ marī
kahula. hambi sampun bekta kahula ‘ī pertšoban. tapi
tšutšullken kahula bari pada sā ṅawon, sabab
sadžaman hambi kawasa sarta kamukten gusti kagū ṅannipun
dumugi ‘ī ṅawet. Amin

Latin alphabet for Javanese

Javanese alphabet

Javanese pronunciation

Javanese pronunciation

Information about the Javanese Latin alphabet and pronunciation compiled for Wolfram Siegel

Sample text in Javanese

Saben uwong kalairake kanthi mardika lan darbe martabat lan hak-hak kang
padha. Kabeh pinaringan akal lan kalbu sarta kaajab pasrawungan anggone
memitran siji lan sijine kanthi jiwo sumadulur.

A recording of this text

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

  • Categoria dell'articolo:Lingue
  • Tempo di lettura:5 minuti di lettura