The Jawi alphabet. The chart should be read right-to-left, top-down.

Jawi is an adapted Arabic alphabet for writing the Malay language. It is used as one of two official scripts in Brunei, and is employed to a limited extent in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore as well, particularly in religious contexts.

Introduction

The Jawi alphabet has existed for many centuries in Nusantara (the Malay world). Its development is linked with the arrival of Islam. It consists of mostly Arabic characters along with some extra characters unique to Jawi.

The Jawi alphabet is one of the earliest scripts used for writing Malay. Jawi has been in use since the era of Pasai Islam , to the era of the Sultanate of Malacca, Sultanate of Johor and also Acheh in the 17th century. Evidence of this is found in the Terengganu Tablet (Batu Bersurat Terengganu), dated 1303 A.D. (702H by the Islamic Calendar), whereas the earliest use of the Roman alphabet is found near the end of the 19th century.

Letters

Further Reading

• H.S. Paterson (& C.O. Blagden), 'An early Malay Inscription from 14th-century Trengganu', Journ. Mal. Br.R.A.S., II, 1924, pp. 258-263.
• R.O. Winstedt, A History of Malaya, revised ed. 1962, p. 40.
• J.G. de Casparis, Indonesian Paleography, 1975, p. 70-71.

External links

• Omniglot article about written Malay
• The Evolution of The Malay Script and Language