Batak (script)

Surat Batak

Batak book

The Batak script ( Surat Batak ) is a syllabary from the island of Sumatra and is used to write the various Batak languages .

It is related to the Pallava script and the Kawi script and is written from left to right.

It is also called surat na sampulu sia (the nineteen letters) or si-sia-sia .

Inherent vowel

Similar to other scripts of Indian origin, the Batak script has the inherent vowel / a /, which can be changed using vowel characters or the virama . However, special rules apply to the positioning of the vowel marks when the word ends in a consonant.

variants

There are several variants of the Batak script:

Diamonds,
Mandailing,
Pakpak / Dairi,
Simalungun / Timur and
Toba

The characters are arranged differently depending on the language:

Karo : a, ha, ka, ba, pa, na, wa, ga, yes, da, ra, ma, ta, sa, ya, nga, la, ca, nda, mba, i, u
Mandailing : a, ha, ka, ba, pa, na, wa, ga, yes, da, ra, ma, ta, sa, ya, nga, la, nya, ca, i, u
Pakpak / Dairi : a, ha, ka, ba, pa, na, wa, ga, yes, da, ra, ma, ta, sa, ca, ya, nga, la, i, u
Simalungun / Timur : a, ha, ka, ba, pa, na, wa, ga, yes, da, ra, ma, ta, sa, ya, nga, la, nya, i, u
Toba : a, ha, ka, ba, pa, na, wa, ga, yes, da, ra, ma, ta, sa, ya, nga, la, nya, i, u