Draft:Lampung script

Lampung script (Indonesian: Surat Lampung), also known as Surat Ulu or Aksara Lampung, is a traditional writing system in Indonesia that is used around eastern Sumatra for writing Lampung and Malay. Lampung script is in the Brahmic group along the Kawi branch. The script was in active use in literature and daily context since the 17th century up until the 20th century, where it was gradually supplanted by the Latin script. The script is still being taught in Lampung province as local subject, with limited success in daily life.

Lampung script is an abugida composed of 19 kelabai surat (basic letters), 12 benah surat (diacritics), and 5 punctuations. As with other Brahmic scripts, every consonant letters represents a syllable with inherent /a/ or /ɔ/ vowel which can be changed with diacritics. The script is written left to right. It is part of the Ulu scripts, which is characterized by their straight and sharp lines, lack of pasangan/ligature forms, and overall simplicity compared to other Kawi-descended scripts (such as Javanese script or Balinese script).

History
The Lampung script is considered a descendant from the Brahmi script, specifically the Kawi script branch, from comparisons with other nusantara's letters. However, the exact lineage of the Lampung script hasn't been able to be decided yet, due to existing materials only going as far as the last 400 years; the script is often written on materials easily perishable on Sumatra's tropical climate, with no stone inscriptions in Lampung script found so far.

The closest relatives to the Lampung script are the Ulu scripts family such as Rejang and Incung script. Both the Batak script and Ulu script families developed in the interior of Sumatra, which was relatively slow to receive outside influences. Therefore, when Sumatra received significant Islamic influence from the 14th century, both regions retained the use of the Brahmi-derived scripts while the coastal regions adopted the use of Jawi script. It is thought that Lampung letters first developed in the upper reaches of the Komering River where the majority of Komering language speakers reside. This can be seen from the similarity between the form of Lampung letters and Ulu letters in South Sumatra. From Komering, Lampung letters spread south and east to the coast of the Sunda Strait.

One of the earliest description and letter table by a foreign author can be found in the book History of Sumatra by William Marsden printed in 1784. Outside of that, not much was known about Lampung language, literature and letters outside the Lampung community itself until the mid-19th century. On August 25, 1868, with the support and permission of the Dutch Evangelical Society, the linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk arrived at the port of Telukbetung. From Telukbetung, he traveled inland for three months until he finally arrived in Lehan Village, East Lampung. There he studied the Lampung language and its letters. His exploration inside Lampung lasted until 1869. Based on his studies and experiences with the people of Lampung, Van der Tuuk produced comprehensive material on their oral and written traditions.