Editing Javanese script (section)

==Usage==
[[File:Serat Selarasa (1804) - BL MSS Jav 28 (page 128 crop).jpg|right|400px|thumb|Details of ''Serat Selarasa'' manuscript copied in [[Surabaya]], 1804. The two leftmost figures can be seen reciting a text.]]
From the 15th century until the mid-20th century, Javanese script was used by all layers of Javanese society for writing day-to-day and literary texts with a wide range of theme and content. Due to the significant influence of oral tradition, reading in pre-independence Javanese society was usually a performance; Javanese literature texts are almost always composed in metrical verses that are designed to be recited, thus Javanese texts are not only judged by their content and language, but also by the merit of their melody and rhythm during recitation sessions.{{sfn|Behrend|1996|pp=167-169}} Javanese poets are not expected to create new stories and characters; instead the role of the poet is to rewrite and recompose existing stories into forms that cater to local taste and prevailing trends. As a result, Javanese literary works such as the ''[[Panji tales]]'' do not have a single authoritative version referenced by all others; instead, the ''Cerita Panji'' is a loose collection of numerous tales with various versions bound together by the common thread of the Panji character.{{sfn|Behrend|1996|pp=172}} Literature genres with the longest attested history are Sanskrit epics such as the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', which have been recomposed since the Kawi period and introduced hundreds of familiar characters in Javanese [[wayang]] stories today, including [[Arjuna]], [[Shikhandi|Srikandi]], [[Ghatotkacha]] and many others. Since the introduction of Islam, characters of Middle-Eastern provenance such as [[Hikayat Amir Hamzah|Amir Hamzah]] and the [[Joseph in Islam|Prophet Joseph]] have also been frequent subjects of writing. There are also local characters, usually set in Java's semi-legendary past, such as [[Panji tales|Prince Panji]], [[Damar Wulan]], and [[Calon Arang]].{{sfn|Behrend|1996|pp=172-175}}

When studies of Javanese language and literature began to attract European attention in the 19th century, an initiative to create a Javanese [[movable type]] began to take place in order to mass-produce and quickly disseminate Javanese literary materials. One of the earliest attempts to create a movable Javanese type was by Paul van Vlissingen. His typeface was first put in use in the ''Bataviasche Courant'' newspaper's October 1825 issue.{{sfn|Molen|2000|pp=137}} While lauded as a considerable technical achievement, many at the time felt that Vlissingen's design was a coarse copy of the fine Javanese hand used in literary texts, and so this early attempt was further developed by numerous other people to varying degrees of success as the study of Javanese developed over the years.{{sfn|Molen|2000|pp=136-140}} In 1838, Taco Roorda completed his typeface, known as [[Tuladha Jejeg]], based on the hand of [[Surakarta]]n scribes{{efn|Among 19th century European scholars, the style of the [[Surakarta]]n scribes is agreed as the most refined among the various regional Javanese hand. So much so that prominent Javanese scholars such as J.F.C. Gericke frequently suggested that the Surakartan style should be used as the ideal shape to which a proper Javanese type design could be based upon.{{sfn|Molen|2000|pp=149-154}}}} with some European typographical elements mixed in. Roorda's font garnered positive feedback and soon became the main choice to print any Javanese text. From then, reading materials in printed Javanese using Roorda's typeface became widespread among the Javanese populace and were widely used in materials other than literature. The establishment of print technology gave rise to a printing industry which, for the next century, produced various materials in printed Javanese, from administrative papers and school books, to mass media such as the {{ill|Kajawèn (magazine)|lt=Kajawèn|id|Kajawen (majalah)}} magazine which was entirely printed in Javanese in all of its articles and columns.{{sfn|Molen|2000|pp=154-158}}<ref name="astuti">{{Cite conference|last=Astuti|first=Kabul|title=Perkembangan Majalah Berbahasa Jawa dalam Pelestarian Sastra Jawa|url=https://www.academia.edu/5280381|conference=International Seminar On Austronesian - Non Austronesian Languages and Literature|date=October 2013|location=Bali}}</ref> Javanese script was part of the multilingual legal text on the [[Netherlands Indies gulden]] banknotes circulated by the [[Bank of Java]].<ref>{{numis cite SCWPM|date=1994}}</ref>

<gallery heights="200px" caption="Some examples of use">
File:Serat jatipustaka.jpg| Opening pages of ''Serat Jatipustaka'' copied in 1830, Denver Museum collection
File:Babad-tanah-jawi.jpg| Opening page of ''[[Babad Tanah Jawi]]'' copied in 1862, Library of Congress collection
File:Groot Javaansch No.2 cursief - Lettergieterij Amsterdam.jpg| A Javanese type sample from the [[Lettergieterij Amsterdam|Amsterdam]] type foundry, 1910
File:Kajawen 1933-08-16-1 sampul.jpg|Cover of ''Kajawèn'' magazine, issue 65, 16 August 1933	
File:TDKGM 01.147 Koleksi dari Perpustakaan Museum Tamansiswa Dewantara Kirti Griya.pdf|''Serat kekancingan'', a document issued by the [[Kraton Yogyakarta|Kraton of Yogyakarta]] in 1935, Dewantara Kirti Griya Museum collection
File:Serat Babad Tuban.pdf|''Serat Babad Tuban'' published by [[Tan Khoen Swie]] in 1936
</gallery>

===Decline===
[[File:Mesin ketik beraksara Jawa buatan pabrik Royal Bar-Lock.jpg|left|thumb|A Javanese script typewriter that was once used by Keraton Surakarta from 1917 to 1960 for correspondence, issuing decrees, and announcements.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://muspen.kominfo.go.id/koleksi/single?id=228|title=Mesin Ketik Huruf Jawa|last=|first=|date=|website=Museum Penerangan|access-date=8 November 2021|archive-date=2022-06-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625130959/https://muspen.kominfo.go.id/koleksi/single?id=228|url-status=live}}</ref>]] As literacy rates and the demand for reading materials increased at the beginning of the 20th century, Javanese publishers paradoxically began to decrease the amount of Javanese script publication due to a practical and economic consideration: printing any text in Javanese script at the time required twice the amount of paper compared to the same text rendered in [[Javanese orthography|the Latin alphabet]], making Javanese texts more expensive and time-consuming to produce. In order to lower production costs and keep book prices affordable to the general populace, many publishers gradually prioritized publications in the Latin alphabet.{{sfn|Robson|2011|pp=25}}{{efn|name=rinkes|According to D. A. Rinkes, the director of the government-owned [[Balai Pustaka]], writing in 1920, "[using Roman type] considerably simplifies matters for European users, and for interested Natives presents no difficulty at all, seeing that the Javanese language... can be rendered no less clearly in roman type than in the Javanese script. In this way the costs are about one third of printing in Javanese characters, seeing that printing in that type, which furthermore is not readily available, is one and a half times to twice as expensive (and more time-consuming) than in roman type, also because it cannot be set on a setting-machine, and one page of Javanese type only contains about half the number of words on one page of the same text in roman script."
|attr1=Poerwa Soewignja dan Wirawangsa (1920:4), quoted by Molen (1993:83)
|attr2=Robson (2011:25)
}} However, the Javanese population at the time maintained the use of Javanese script in various aspects of everyday life. It was, for example, considered more polite to write a letter using Javanese script, especially one addressed toward an elder or superior. Many publishers, including Balai Pustaka, continued to print books, newspapers, and magazines in Javanese script due to sufficient, albeit declining, demand. The use of Javanese script only started to drop significantly during the [[Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies]] beginning in 1942.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQ0KAQAAIAAJ|title=Tata-sastra: ngewrat rembag 4 bab : titi-wara tuwin aksara, titi-tembung, titi-ukara, titi-basa|first=R. D. S.|last=Hadiwidjana|publisher=U.P. Indonesia|year=1967}}</ref> Some writers attribute this sudden decline to prohibitions issued by the Japanese government banning the use of native script in the public sphere, though no documentary evidence of such a ban has yet been found. Nevertheless, the use of Javanese script did decline significantly during the Japanese occupation and it never recovered its previous widespread use in post-independence Indonesia.

===Contemporary use===
{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Papan_nama_Kantor_Ketahanan_Pangan_Surakarta_(2).jpg
| header            = Comparison of Javanese script styles for government institution nameplates.
| header_align      = center
| caption1          = [[Tuladha Jejeg|Surakarta-style]]: Javanese script is placed above Latin letters (Perwali Solo No. 3/2008).
| image2            = Javanese_script_use_in_government_organization_in_Yogyakarta.jpg
| caption2          = Yogyakarta-style: Latin letters are placed above Javanese script (Pergub DIY No.70/2009)
}}

In contemporary usage, Javanese script is still taught as part of the local curriculum in [[Special Region of Yogyakarta|Yogyakarta]], [[Central Java Province|Central Java]], and the [[East Java Province]]. Several local newspapers and magazines have columns written in Javanese script, and the script can frequently be seen on public signage. However, many contemporary attempts to revive Javanese script are symbolic rather than functional; there are no longer, for example, periodicals like the ''Kajawèn'' magazine that publish significant content in Javanese script. Most Javanese people today know the existence of the script and recognize a few letters, but it is rare to find someone who can read and write it meaningfully.<ref name="wahab">{{cite conference|url=http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/3067/1/Kongres%20Bahasa%20Indonesia%20VIII%20Kelompok%20B%20Ruang%20Rote.pdf|conference=Kongres Bahasa Indonesia VIII|date=October 2003|title=Masa Depan Bahasa, Sastra, dan Aksara Daerah|first=Abdul|last=Wahab|publisher=Pusat Bahasa Departemen Pendidikan Indonesia|volume=Kelompok B, Ruang Rote|pages=8–9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Florida|first=Nancy K|year=1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtXWqGzfzGgC&q=read+javanese+script&pg=PA37|title=Writing the Past, Inscribing the Future: History as Prophesy in Colonial Java|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822316220|page=37}}</ref> Therefore, as recently as 2019, it is not uncommon to see Javanese script signage in public places with numerous misspellings and basic mistakes.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mustika |first=I Ketut Sawitra|date=12 October 2017 |title=Alumni Sastra Jawa UGM Bantu Koreksi Tulisan Jawa pada Papan Nama Jalan di Jogja|work=Solopos.com |url=https://m.solopos.com/alumni-sastra-jawa-ugm-bantu-koreksi-tulisan-jawa-pada-papan-nama-jalan-di-jogja-859202| location=Yogyakarta |editor1-first=Nina|editor1-last=Atmasari|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Eswe |first=Hana |date=13 October 2019 |title=Penunjuk Jalan Beraksara Jawa Salah Tulis Dikritik Penggiat Budaya |url=https://suarabaru.id/2019/10/13/penunjuk-jalan-beraksara-jawa-salah-tulis-dikritik-penggiat-budaya/ |publisher=SUARABARU.id|location=Grobogan |access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref> Several hurdles in revitalizing the use of Javanese script includes information technology equipment that does not support correct rendering of Javanese script, lack of governing bodies with sufficient competence to consult on its usage, and lack of typographical explorations that may intrigue contemporary viewers. Nevertheless, attempts to revive the script are still being conducted by several communities and public figures who encourage the use of Javanese script in the public sphere, especially with digital devices.<ref name="radar">{{Cite web|url=https://radarjogja.jawapos.com/2020/02/27/bangkitkan-kongres-bahasa-jawa-setelah-mati-suri/|location=Bantul|title=Bangkitkan Kongres Bahasa Jawa Setelah Mati Suri|date=27 February 2020|author=Siti Fatimah|publisher=RADARJOGJA.co|access-date=9 May 2020|archive-date=19 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619201043/https://radarjogja.jawapos.com/2020/02/27/bangkitkan-kongres-bahasa-jawa-setelah-mati-suri/|url-status=dead}}</ref>