Balinese script

The Balinese script, natively known as and , (Balinese: ᬅᬓ᭄ᬱᬭᬩᬮᬶ) is an abugida used in the island of Bali, Indonesia, commonly for writing the Austronesian Balinese language, Old Javanese, 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. 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 (Indonesian: Prasasti Blanjong, Balinese: ᬧ᭄ᬭᬰᬵᬲ᭄ᬢᬶᬩ᭄ᬮᬜ᭄ᬚᭀᬂ), 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.

File:Sanur Belankong Pillar.jpg

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).

There is also a set of "holy letters" called which appears in religious texts and protective talismans. Most of them are constructed using diacritic with corresponding characters. A number of additional characters, known to be used inline in text (as opposed to decoratively on drawings), remains under study and those characters are expected to be proposed as Balinese extensions in due course.

Letters

A basic letter in Balinese is called (), and each letter stands for a syllable with inherent vowel /a/.

Consonants

Consonants are called () or (). Balinese script has 33 consonants, of which only 18 called () are used for writing basic vocabulary in Balinese language. The other 15, known as (), are mainly used for writing Sanskrit and Kawi loanwords in Balinese language. The consonants can be arranged into Sanskrit order and traditional order.

Consonants (aksara wianjana)

	Unvoiced		Voiced		Nasal	Semivowel	Sibilant	Fricative
	Unaspirated	Aspirated	Unaspirated	Aspirated
Velar	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter			Template:Letter
Palatal	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Retroflex	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Dental	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Labial	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter

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 (Template:Langx) 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 (Template:Langx) are used in Sanskrit transcription.

Hana caraka

Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Langx
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Langx
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter

Consonant clusters

Conjunct consonants, gantungan and gempelan

Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter			Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter

As in other members of the Brahmic family, consonant clusters are written cursively, by combining a consonant an appended letter (Template:Langx) or attached letter (Template:Langx). For example, Template:Angbr, a Template:Angbr appended with Template:Angbr 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 Template:Langx, the consonant cluster mbl is spelled Template:Angbr.

For a few letters, Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr, Template:Angbr and Template:Angbr 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.

Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter

Diacritics

Diacritics (Template:Langx () are symbols that cannot stand by themselves. When they are attached to the independent letters, they affect the pronunciation. The three types of diacritics are , , and .

Vowel diacritics

Vowel diacritics (Template:Langx) change the inherent vowel of a consonant letter. For example, the letter Template:Angbr plus Template:Angbr becomes Template:Angbr.

Vowel diacritics and examples with Template:Angbr.

Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter
Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter	Template:Letter

(), except , adds a final consonant to a syllable. It can be used together with . For example, the letter () with () becomes (); () with () and () becomes (). Compared to Devanagari, is analogous to visarga, to anusvara, and to virama.

is zero vowel diacritics as in other Brahmic scripts in Balinese script. , as virama in Devanagari, suppress the inherent vowel in the consonant letter. is used on impossibility of gantungan and gempelan usage such as succeeded by punctuation marks, attachment of two or more gantungan to one letter (, lit. three layers), preservation of combination (, rather than ) and disambiguation.

Balinese script		IPA	Translit.	Name
File:Pangangge Bisah.png		[h]	h
File:Bali Surang.png		[r]	r
File:Pangangge Cecek.png		[ŋ]	ng
File:Pangangge Adeg-adeg.png		[∅]

() is appended below consonant letters. are the appended () forms of the (semivowel) consonants. is the appended form of the vowel ().

Balinese script		IPA	Translit.	Name
File:Pangangge Cakra.png		[ra]	ra
File:Pangangge Guwung macelek.png		[rə]	rě
File:Pangangge Suku kembung.png		[ʋa]	ua
File:Pangangge Nania.png		[ja]	ia

Numerals

Balinese numerals are written in the same manner as Arabic numerals. For example, 25 is written with the Balinese numbers 2 and 5.

Template:Letter

Template:Letter

Template:Letter

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Template:Letter

Template:Letter

Template:Letter

If the number is written in the middle of a text, carik has to be written before and after the number to differentiate it from the text. Below is an example of how a date is written using Balinese numerals (date: 1 July 1982, location: Bali):

1. REDIRECT Template:Break

Balinese script	Transliteration
Bali, 1 Juli 1982. Bali, 1 Juli 1982.	Bali, 1 Juli 1982.

Other symbols

There are some special symbols in the Balinese script. Some of them are punctuation marks, and the others are religious symbols. The symbols are described in the following list:

Symbol	Symbol	Name	Remarks
File:Bali Carik1.png			Written in the middle of a sentence, like a comma (,). Also, written surrounding numerals to differentiate them from the text.
File:Bali Carik2.png			Written at the end of a sentence, like a full stop (.).
File:Bali Pamungkah.png			Functions like a colon (:).
Center			Used at the end of a prose, letter, or verse.
File:Bali Panti.png		or	Used at the beginning of a prose, letter, or verse.
File:Bali Pamada.png			Used at the beginning of religious texts. This symbol is a ligature of the letters , , , and , forming the word , which roughly means "praying for safety".
File:Modre symbol Omkara.png			Sacred symbol of Hinduism. This symbol is pronounced "Ong" or "Om".

Orthography

Balinese language

Loanword from Sanskrit and Old Javanese

Balinese have many loanwords from Sanskrit and Old Javanese. In general, the Balinese orthography in Balinese script preserve the original orthography. The preservation of original orthography result on several rules:

1. assimilation rule, which based on articulation rule (Kalvi / Shiksha),
2. (Template:Transliteration) rule, which the word is spelled based on the source,
3. (Template:Transliteration) rule, which several words has doubled consonant.

Assimilation

Assimilation in Balinese occurs within the conjuncts/consonant clusters. Balinese script represents assimilation occurred, however Latin script sometimes may not represent this. In general, alveolar consonants are assimilated into palatal, retroflex or labial. There are more specific descriptions in assimilation combination:

• [n] assimilated into [ɲ] if succeeded by palatal consonants, such as consonant cluster nc and nj . For example, word is written as (), not written as ().
• [s] assimilated into [ɕ] if succeeded by palatal consonants, such as consonant cluster sc . For example, word is written as (), not written as ().
• [d] assimilated into [dʒ] if succeeded by palatal consonants, such as consonant cluster dny . For example, word is written as (), not written as ().
• [n] assimilated into [ɳ] if preceded by retroflex consonants, such as consonant cluster rn . For example, word is written as (), not written as ().
• [s] assimilated into [ʂ] if succeeded by retroflex consonants, such as consonant cluster st (ṣṭ) and sn (ṣṇ) . For example, word (, lie) is written as (), not written as ().
• [n] assimilated into [m] if succeeded by labial consonants. For example, word is written as (), not written as ().

Liquid Consonant-Schwa Combination

Liquid consonant, [r] and [l], may not be combined with (pepet, schwa) [ə] as and . These combination, rě [rə] and lě [lə], should be written as (re repa) and (le lenga). Word kěrěng (lit. eat a lot) and lekad are written as and . While combination of (gantungan [l]) and (pepet) is possible as in (bleganjur), combination of (cakra or gantungan [r]) and pepet is not allowed. If the combination follows a word which ends in a consonant, (gempelan re repa) may be used as in (Pak Rěrěh, Mr. Rěrěh). If the combination is in a word, (guwung macelek) may be used instead as in (Krěsna, Krishna).

Latin Script Transliteration

Latin script transliteration into Balinese script is based on phonetics. As vocabulary expands, foreign sounds are introduced and have no equivalent on Balinese script. In general, transliteration of foreign sounds is shown as below.

Foreign Sound Transliteration
IPA	Foreign Sound Latin Script	Balinese Language		Example
		Latin Script	Balinese Script	Foreign Word	Balinese Language		Meaning
					Latin Script	Balinese Script
[f]	f	p		telefon	telepon		telephone
[v]	v	p		vitamin	pitamin		vitamine
[kw], [k], [q]	q	k		quantum	kuantum		quantum
[z]	z	j
[z]	z	s		ijazah	ijasah		ijaza

Sasak language

The Sasak language, spoken in Lombok Island east of Bali, is related to Balinese, is written in a version of the Balinese script known as Aksara Sasak, which is influenced by the Javanese script and is given additional characters for loanwords of foreign origin.

Sasak letter	Name	IPA	Derived from	Javanese equivalent	Arabic equivalent
	qaf			Template:Script	Template:Script
	xot			Template:Script	Template:Script
	tsir			Template:Script	Template:Script
	ef			Template:Script	Template:Script
	ve			Template:Script	Template:Script
	zal			Template:Script	Template:Script
	asyura			Template:Script	Template:Script

Fonts

There are some fonts for Balinese script as of 2016. Bali Simbar, Bali Galang, JG Aksara Bali, Aksara Bali, Tantular Bali, Lilitan, Geguratan and Noto Sans Balinese are some fonts that included Balinese script. The fonts have different degree of compatibility each other, and most contain critical flaws.

Bali Simbar is first font for Balinese script by I Made Suatjana Dipl Ing at 1999. Bali Simbar is not compatible for Mac-OS and Unicode. JG Aksara Bali, was designed by Jason Glavy, has over 1400 Balinese glyphs, including a huge selection of precomposed glyph clusters. The latest version of JG Aksara Bali was released on 2003, thus has no compatibility with Unicode. Bali Simbar and JG Aksara Bali, in particular, may cause conflicts with other writing systems, as the font uses code points from other writing systems to complement Balinese's extensive repertoire as Balinese script was not included in Unicode at the creation time.

Aksara Bali by Khoi Nguyen Viet is the first hacked Unicode Balinese font with a brute-force OpenType implementation. The results depend on how well other OpenType features are implemented in the renderer. The font has about 370 Balinese glyphs, but does not display the vowel Template:Angle bracket correctly. The team of Aditya Bayu Perdana, Ida Bagus Komang Sudarma, and Arif Budiarto has created a small series of Balinese fonts: Tantular Bali, Lilitan, and Geguratan, all using hacked Unicode and a brute-force OpenType implementation. Tantular has about 400 Balinese glyphs. These all have serious flaws.

Another Unicode font is Noto Sans Balinese from Google. However, Noto Sans Balinese exhibits several critical flaws, such as an inability to correctly display more than one diacritic per consonant.

The free font Bali Galang, maintained by Bemby Bantara Narendra, displays correctly apart from the consonant-spanning vowels Template:Angle bracket and Template:Angle bracket. However, those vowels can be manually substituted by their graphic components, Template:Angle bracket and Template:Angle bracket followed by the length sign (tedung), which together display as Template:Angle bracket and Template:Angle bracket. It also automatically assimilates some consonants within words. It displays corresponding Balinese glyphs instead of Latin letters.

Unicode

Balinese script was added to the Unicode Standard in July, 2006 with the release of version 5.0.

The Unicode block for Balinese is U+1B00–U+1B7F:

Sample texts

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Balinese script

Romanised

English

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.

Gallery

• Page from a Bible printed with Balinese script
  Page from a Bible printed with Balinese script
• Balinese palm-leaf manuscript
  Balinese palm-leaf manuscript
• Sign at Pura Puseh Temple, Batuan, Bali
  Sign at Pura Puseh Temple, Batuan, Bali
• Street sign in Singaraja, written in Latin and Balinese script
  Street sign in Singaraja, written in Latin and Balinese script
• Klungkung Regent's Office sign
  Klungkung Regent's Office sign
• A date in Latin and Balinese script
  A date in Latin and Balinese script

External links

• Outline of Balines script Template:Webarchive at BASAbali.org
• Entry on Balinese at Omniglot.com -- A guide to writing systems
• Computerization of Balinese Script
• Balinese character picker
• Template:Usurped