Old Javanese

Old Javanese
ᬚᬯ
Pronunciation[ˈʝʌ̞ʋ̟ə]
Native toIndonesia
RegionJava, Bali, Madura, Lombok
Eraliterary language, developed into Middle Javanese by 13th–14th century
Kawi, Javanese, Balinese
Language codes
ISO 639-2kaw
ISO 639-3kaw
kaw
Glottologkawi1241

Old Javanese or Kawi 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.