A Guide To Write Cecarakan: A New Writing System For Melayu Languages
by Ali Aulia Ghozali
Jakarta, 2012
Cecarakan Script Cecarakan script is an abugida script invented by Ali Aulia Ghozali as early in middle of 2004. The name is derived from Balinese and alphabet, Carakan. It has been used by the inventor to write Indonesian/Melayu language. The first documentations of early stages of the script developments are not found. However, some documents are still revived. The early shapes of glyphs are very different from the recent characters today. Some characters have been removed or reshaped. The writing direction of this script is from left to right. It has 36 main letters, 8 vowel modifiers, 7 diacritics, and 6 punctiations. Many of the letters are easily traced back to traditional SE Asian script, especially Javanese, Balinese, and Thai. Main Letters (Consonants) There are 36 main letters. All of the letters have inherent vowel /a/ except the glottal stop ( ) ). Most of those letters have the sandangan forms. Basically, glottal stop and the clusters have no forms of sandangan. Sandangan is used when we need to cancel the vowel of former letter. This concept is used as well as in Balinese, Javanese, and Old Sundanese alphabet. Table 1 The Main Letters
Character /IPA/ Labial
Voiced
Palatal
Velar
Nasal
Fricative
Semivowel
b
<
p
>
m
w
/b/
/mb/
/p/
/mp/
/m/
/w/
v /v/
Labiodent al Dental
Unvoiced
f /f/
d
+
t
=
n
s
z
l r
1
2
/d/
/nd/
/t/
/nt/
/n/
/s/
/z/
/l/
/rə/
/lə/
j
~
c
`
]
-
y
/ ʝ/
/ɲʝ/
/ç/
/ɲç/
/ɲ/
/ʃ/
/j/
g
&
k
*
[
x
/g/
/ŋg/
/k/
/ŋk/
/ŋ/
/ks/
Faringal and Glottal
h /h/
/r/
q /x/ or /ħ/
a /ʔ/ or /Ø/
Note: /ø/ is unvoiced, happened when this letter is modified by vowel modifier(s). Table 2 Sandangan of the Letters
) /ʔ/
Character /IPA/ Labial
Voiced Unvoiced 0B 0V
Labiodental Dental Palatal Velar Faringal and Glottal
0P
Nasal Fricative Semivowel 0M
0W
0F
0D 0J 0G
0T 0C 0K
0N 0} 0{
0S
0Z 0_ 0X
0L 0R 0RI 0LI 0Y 0Q
0H
0A
Note: The grey area means the main letter of those area has no sandangan. The sort of the alphabet is: Ba Mba Pa Mpa Ma Wa Va Fa Da Nda Ta Nta Na Sa Za La Ra Le Re Ja Nja Ca Nca Nya Ya Sya Ya Ga Ngga Ka Ngka Nga Ksa Kha Ha A. Vowel Modifiers Vowel modifiers are the diacritics used to modify the inherent vowel /a/ into other vowels. Those modifier vowels sometimes can be combined by another vowel modifier to produce a distinct phoneme. There are 8 vowel modifiers which are listed below: Table 3 Vowel Modifiers No
Character Name
Character
Example
Transliteration IPA
1
Pengulu
/ibʊ/
Penyuku
guru
/gurʊ/
teacher
3
Peneleng
ember
/ɛmber/
bucket
4
Penolong
obor
/ɔbor/
torch
5
Turunan
aibu guru eae<@ eaoeb@o aI+p%
ibu
2
0i 0u e0 0o 0I
English Equivalent mother
endap
/əndap/
6
Pengai
/pantaʲ/
Erang
terus
/tərʊs/
through
8
Eluan
pE= tuOs% bu$U
pantai
7
E0 0O 0U
to be a sediment beach
belum
/bəlʊm/
not yet
Note: penolong will produce /o/ if receded by peneleng as shown above.
Pengai can be combined with penyuku and penolong to produce diphtong au /aʷ/ and oi /oʲ/. The word that contains sound of –er- or –el- then followed by vowel (a, i, u, e, o) is written in this pattern. The same pattern is used in case of –el- sound too. Terangkat
tOa*t%
Terenak
etOnk%
Terima
tiOm
Terobati
etOobti
Terungkap
tuO*p%
Terbawa
tObw
Terendah
tIO+;
Though pengai or its combinations is used to representate the diphtongs, it also used to simplify to two vowels which are similar to the diphtongs. Air
Ea@ instead of aai@
Koin
Ek^o instead of ekoai^
Gaun
Egu^ instead of gau^
Diacritics Several diacritics used to give additional phonemes. In Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese is better known as representates of -ng, -r, and -h. However, there are several additions in Cecarakan. All nasal phonemes have diacritics forms and La has diacritic’s form too. So, there are 7 diacritics. Table 4 Diacritics No
Character Name
Character
Example
Transliteration IPA
1
Pengenem
/dalam/
Ombak
tahan
/tahan/
defend
3
Layar
karang
/karaŋ/
reef
4
Penggetar
dl$ th^ kr# tw@
dalam
2
0$ 0^ 0# 0@
English Equivalent inside, deep
tawar
/tawar/
5
Desah
/tabah/
Kail
tebal
/təbal/
thick
7
Pemati
tb; tIb/ klp%
tabah
6
0; 0/ 0%
tasteless, to bargain tough
kalap
/kalap/
angrily
Punctuation Cecarakan shares the same punctuation with Latin script, such as question mark (?), exclamation mark (!), single quote (‘), and double quote (“). There are some native punctuations and again it all can be combined to make a new sense which is different from the elements. Table 5 Cecarakan’s Punctuations No
Character Name
Character
1
Batu
2
Kait or duri
3
Batu dua
. , :
4
Kail
(0(
5
Sekar
6
Teratai
7
Sekar batu
\ | \%:a:\%
8
Empat batu
:1:
9
Sekar agung
10
Kail batu
\.\ (%:a:(%
Use Simliar to period. Similar to comma. Similar to double period. Indicating the letter(s) which is (are) sandwiched by this sign is an abbreviation. Sandwiching a quotation or a religious text. Sandwiching the title and initiating a text. Indicating a pair of parenthesis. Indicating the character inside the sign is considered as number(s). Indicating an ending of the text. Indicating a person’s name.
Numbers All numbers must be written with empat batu sign to consider it is as a number. Because, all of the number’s characters have another meaning without empat batu. No
Number Character
1
1
2
2
3
3 4 5
4 5
Another meaning Syllable of re. Combining it with peneleng and penolong produces a word replacer of oleh ‘by’. Syllable of le. Combining it with peneleng and penolong produces a word replacer of Bapak ‘Mr.’. Adding pengulu produces a word Ibu ‘Madame’. Adding penyuku produces a word Saudara ‘Sir, Comerade, ext’. Replacing dengan ‘with’ Replacing ini ‘this’ Replacing itu ‘that’
6
6
7
7 8 9
8 9
0
0
Replacing di ‘in,at, or on’. Combining with pengulu or penyuku produce other symbols for replacing the rest of prepositions, in order, ke ‘to’; dari ‘from’. Replacing dan ‘and’ Replacing atau ‘or’ Replacing yang ‘which’. When it is combined with sandangan Ya and a layar, it replaces the word Tuhan ‘Lord, God’. The word of tuhan ‘idol, god’ can’t be written with this symbol. Replacing the word jika ‘if’. Combining it with pemati produces a replacer for word maka ‘so’.
Native numbers are used in a text which not contain any mathematical signs. Unless, the Arabic number is used along with the common signs of mathematical signs and Latin letters.
Sample Text of Cecarakan 1. Indonesian Preambule of Constitution.
\pI
l;kIpdsat%9bObh gYdI[^sUamtSIE=usmI[=@k^r)ytAie+oensY6idIp^pi=ugIb#kImOedka^^nIgraie+oen sY,9mOedk,bOstu,bOEdult%,adi/7mkMu@. atsBOktR;mtAlL;9mhkWs7diedoero*^e1okIai[in^luhu@,supybIkIhidup^ kIb#sa^9ebbs%,mkr)ytAie+oensYmI]tk^dI[^an i ikImOedka^]. kImudY^dripdaituau=u)mI;dr;aie+oensY7au=tukMImjuk^kIsIj;tOaa^aumu$,mI`OdsK^kI hidup^kIb#s,7sikutMUakSnk^kItOtib^dunY9bOds@k^kImOedka^,pOdEma^abdi7kI adil^esosI/,mkdisusu^l;kImOedka^kIb#sa^aie+oensYaitudl$sWtuau+#au+#ds@nIgr aie+oensY9tObI=ukDl$sWtususun^nIgrerpubLikAie+oensY9bOkIEdult^r)ytD[^bOd s@k^kIpdkItuhn^9mheas,kImnusYa^9adi/7bOadb%,pOstW^aie+oensY7kOakYt^ 9dip> i i^e1ohikMtKIbijkSna^dl$pOmu-
wrt^8pOwkil^,sOtdI[^mIwujudK^sWtukIadil^esosY/bgisuUru;r)ytAie+oensY \.\ Transliteration: PEMBUKAAN (Preambule) Bahwa sesungguhnya kemerdekaan itu ialah hak segala bangsa dan oleh sebab itu, maka penjajahan di atas dunia harus dihapuskan, karena tidak sesuai dengan perikemanusiaan dan perikeadilan. Dan perjuangan pergerakan kemerdekaan Indonesia telah sampailah kepada saat yang berbahagia dengan selamat sentausa mengantarkan rakyat Indonesia ke depan pintu gerbang kemerdekaan Negara Indonesia yang merdeka, bersatu, berdaulat, adil dan makmur. Atas berkat rakhmat Allah Yang Maha Kuasa dan dengan didorongkan oleh keinginan luhur, supaya berkehidupan kebangsaan yang bebas, maka rakyat Indonesia menyatakan dengan ini kemerdekaannya. Kemudian dari pada itu untuk membentuk suatu Pemerintah Negara Indonesia yang melindungi segenap bangsa Indonesia dan seluruh tumpah darah Indonesia dan untuk memajukan kesejahteraan umum, mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa dan ikut melaksanakan ketertiban dunia yang berdasarkan kemerdekaan, perdamaian abadi dan keadilan sosial, maka disusunlah Kemerdekaan Kebagsaan Indonesia itu dalam suatu Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Indonesia, yang terbentuk dalam suatu susunan Negara Republik Indonesia, yang berkedaulatan rakyat dengan berdasar kepada : Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa, Kemanusiaan yang adil dan beradab, Persatuan Indonesia dan Kerakyatan yang dipimpin oleh hikmat kebijaksanaan dalam permusyawaratan/perwakilan, serta dengan mewujudkan suatu Keadilan sosial bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia. 2. Text of Indonesian Independence Proclamation.
kmib#saIe+oensY34mI]tk^kImOedka^aie+oensY.h/h/9mI[IEnpImi+h^kIkWsa^(dl l(,disIU&rk^3crsIxm7dl$ete>o9sIsi*tSi*]}. jk@t,hri:17:bul^:8:thu^:05: atsNmb#saie+oensY. suk@eno7htT Transliteration (old spelling): Kami bangsa Indonesia dengan ini menjatakan kemerdekaan Indonesia. Hal-hal jang mengenai pemindahan kekoeasaan d.l.l., diselenggarakan dengan tjara seksama dan dalam tempo jang sesingkat-singkatnja. Djakarta, hari 17 boelan 8 tahoen 05 Atas nama bangsa Indonesia. Soekarno/Hatta
3. Pancasila
|p`sil| 1. kItuhn^9mheas. 2. kImnusYa^9adi/7bOadb%. 3. pOstW^aie+oensY. 4. kOakYt^9dipi>i^e1ohikMtKIbijkSna^dl$pOmu-wrt^pOwkil^. 5. kIadil^esosY/bgisuUru;r)ytAie+oensY. Transliteration: Pancasila 1. Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa 2. Kemanusiaan yang adil dan beradab 3. Persatuan Indonesia 4. Kerakyatan yang dipimpin oleh hikmat kebijaksanaan dalam permusyawaratan perwakilan. 5. Keadilan sosial bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia.
4. Universal Declaration Human Rights.
sImWeaor#dilhi@k^mOedk7mI>uE]m@tbt%7hkHk%9sm. emOkdikrunYaiak/7htinurni7hI+k}bOEgu/stusmEl^dl$sIm[tPOEsudra^. Transliteration: Semua orang dilahirkan merdeka dan mempunyai martabat dan hak-hak yang sama. Mereka dikaruniai akal dan hati nurani dan hendaknya bergaul satu sama lain dalam semangat persaudaraan.
