Help:Extension:UniversalLanguageSelector/Input methods/ban-transliteration

The Bali transliteration system is designed to represent the characters and sounds of the Balinese language using the Latin alphabet. This system includes specific rules for writing vowels, consonants, and their combinations.

General transliteration rules

The general approach for transliterating Balinese is based on the principle of mapping the Balinese script (Aksara Bali) into its closest Latin equivalent. Special attention is given to vowel modifications and the use of virama (᭄), which indicates the absence of a vowel.

Vowels

Each vowel in Balinese has a specific character and sound, which is transliterated as follows:

• ᬅ (a) is transliterated as a.
• ᬆ (i) is transliterated as i.
• ᬇ (ii) is transliterated as ii (or sometimes y depending on context).
• ᬈ (u) is transliterated as u.
• ᬉ (uu) is transliterated as uu.
• ᬊ (e) is transliterated as e.
• ᬋ (ai) is transliterated as ai.
• ᬌ (o) is transliterated as o.
• ᬍ (au) is transliterated as au.

Virama (᭄)

The virama (᭄) in Balinese is used to suppress the inherent vowel of a consonant, effectively turning it into a "dead" consonant. This allows the following consonant or vowel to be pronounced without an intrinsic vowel sound.

For example:

• ᬓ᭄ becomes k (without an inherent vowel sound).
• ᬘ᭄ becomes r (without an inherent vowel sound).

When typing, the virama is typically written after the consonant character, indicating that no vowel follows.

Consonants

The consonants in Balinese are generally represented by their Latin equivalents. Here are the key consonants:

• ᬓ = k
• ᬕ = g
• ᬖ = c
• ᬗ = j
• ᬘ = t
• ᬙ = d
• ᬚ = n
• ᬛ = p
• ᬜ = b
• ᬝ = m
• ᬞ = y
• ᬟ = r
• ᬠ = l
• ᬡ = w
• ᬢ = s
• ᬣ = h

Special characters

Some characters in Balinese are used to indicate specific sounds or modifications, such as the vocalic r and rr sounds.

• ᬭ᭄x: This represents a vocalic r, which is transliterated as ᬋ.
• ᬭ᭄X: This represents a vocalic rr, which is transliterated as ᬌ.

These special characters are formed by placing the virama (᭄) directly after the consonant ᬭ (r) and adding the modifier "x" or "X" (capital letters) to denote the specific sound.

Combining vowels and consonants

When a vowel follows a consonant without a virama, the vowel sound is pronounced. The Latin transliteration of the combined character is as follows:

For example:

• ᬓᬅ becomes ka.
• ᬓᬆ becomes ki.
• ᬓᬇ becomes kii.
• ᬓᬈ becomes ku.
• ᬓᬉ becomes kuu.
• ᬓᬊ becomes ke.
• ᬓᬋ becomes kai.
• ᬓᬌ becomes ko.
• ᬓᬍ becomes kau.

Superscript vowels

In some cases, Balinese uses superscript vowel signs to modify the inherent vowel sound of a consonant:

ᬾ (Taling) modifies a consonant to e or E.

ᬶ (Ulu) modifies a consonant to i or I.

ᭀ (Taling Tedung) modifies a consonant to o or O.

ᬸ (Suku) modifies a consonant to u or U.

These superscript vowels are used when a virama is followed by a vowel sign, indicating a specific vowel sound.

For example, in this system:

• ᬓ᭄ᬾ becomes ke.
• ᬓ᭄ᬶ becomes ki.
• ᬓ᭄ᭀ becomes ko.
• ᬓ᭄ᬸ becomes ku.