Javanese Alphabet - Punctuation

Punctuation

With the introduction of the new Javanese script (carakan script), different punctuation marks were also introduced. Punctuations can be divided into two categories: primary and special. Primary punctuation includes:

• 1) the comma “pada-lungsi”,

• 2) the period “pada-lingsa”,

• 3) colon or quotation marks “pada-handhegging-celathu”, and

• 4) to introduce a new sentence or paragraph “pada-bab”.

Special punctuation includes:

• 1) the “pada-luhur” to introduce a letter to a person of lower rank;

• 2) the “pada-madya” to introduce a letter to an equal; the “pada-handhap” to introduce a letter to a person of higher rank;

• 3) the “purwa-pada” to introduce a poem; the”madya-pada” to indicate a new song in a poem;

• 4) and the “wasana-pada” to indicate the end of a poem.

Two special rules apply to the usage of the comma, and the period.

1.The comma is not needed after a consonant-ending word that is represented by a pangku

2.The comma is used instead of the period after a consonant-ending word that is represented by a pangku