Old Javanese | |
---|---|
𑼒𑼮𑼶 Kawi | |
Native to | Indonesia |
Region | Java, Bali, Madura, Lombok |
Era | literary language, developed into Middle Javanese by 13th–14th century |
Austronesian
| |
Kawi, Javanese, Balinese | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | kaw |
ISO 639-3 | kaw |
kaw | |
Glottolog | kawi1241 |
Old Javanese or Kawi (lit. 'poet', Sanskrit: कवि, romanized: kavi) is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of what is now Central Java and the whole of East Java, Indonesia. As a literary language, Kawi was used across Java and on the islands of Madura, Bali, and Lombok. It had a sizable vocabulary of Sanskrit loanwords but had not yet developed the formal krama language register, to be used with one's social superiors that is characteristic of modern Javanese.