Using Baybayin Fonts

Read & Write Baybayin First:

Baybáyin is NOT an Alphabet.
Baybáyin is NOT Alibata.
Baybáyin is an Abugida.

To avoid embarrassing typographical errors, it is really important to learn how to actually read & write Baybayin Script and know the rules of both Abugida & Filipino orthography (spelling and pronunciation) first.

Visit these pages:

How to write using Baybayin Script: English Instructions <-click & visit

How to write using Baybayin Script: Filipino Instructions <-click & visit
These are thorough tutorials by Paul Morrow on how to write using Baybayin script in the original Filipino and modified Spanish methods. These tutorials are the most reliable and concise instructions online.

How do I write my name in baybayin? <-click & visit
This is the most frequently asked question regarding the script. This page offers strategies for writing difficult non-Filipino words and names in the baybayin script.

"A mistake people often make is to assume that the baybayin is just a neat looking alphabet; all you have to do is learn how draw the letters and then spell out the words in the language of your choice, and substitute each modern letter with a baybayin letter. However, baybayin doesn't work like that. This is the difference between an alphabet and a syllabic writing system." ~ Paul Morrow 

SOURCE: Sarisari etc. - http://www.mts.net/~pmorrow/

Typing with Baybayin Fonts:

"Easy Keyboard Access" this is one of the main benefit of Baybayin FONTS; for convenient usage and typing in word processing & graphic editing softwares.

Most Common Mistake - Vowel Characters & Kudlit marks treated as an Alphabet:

Multiple instances of vowel characters and little to no kudlit marks are the usual tell-tale giveaway.

Source: http://felipeaira.i.ph/blogs/felipeaira/2008/10/11/matanglawin/


"Easy Keyboard Access" does NOT mean "go ahead and type anything and it will be correct".

When using either Paul Morrow Fonts or Nordenx Fonts, the capital letter keys (shift+) A, E, I, O, and U will type Vowel Characters (ᜀ, ᜁ, ᜂ). Each of these characters represent a stand-alone vowel SYLLABLE not just an alphabet or letter with a vowel sound.

Each Baybayin Consonant Characters are also singular SYLLABLES that already has a default /a/ vowel sound. A kudlit mark is added to the character to change the /a/ vowel sound to the other vowel sounds /e/, /i/, /o/, or /u/. This is done by typing the lower-case vowel letter keys (e, i, o, or u) after the consonant character. The kudlit mark (dot, slash, caret, or chevron, etc.) should appear above or below the character after you typed the lower-case vowel.

A virama mark (x-kudlit or pamudpud) is added to the character to cancel the inherent or default /a/ vowel sound to create a vowel-less consonant character (dead-consonant). The x-kudlit (a modern replacement for the krus-kudlit introduced in the Doctrina Christiana) is recommended for leading or stand-alone dead-consonants, the pamudpud (a virama used by the Mangyan tribes of Mindoro) for trailing dead-consonants.

The Keys to Baybayin Fonts:

When you know the rules and know how to read & write in Baybayin script, install one or a few Baybayin fonts in your computer then familiarize yourself where and in which keyboard key is each character or glyph assigned to (you can use this tool - click here). Typing Baybayin in wordprocessing or graphic editing softwares should be straightforward by then.

The Key to Baybayin Online:

Using Baybayin characters online like typing your status on facebook or in a chat client is a different story. Online, Baybayin fonts requires using the Unicode range which is normally not easily accessed by your regular keyboard. The Unicode range can only be accessed using a specialized program like an online tool/application of by changing your keyboard's settings.

Learn: "How to type Baybayin using Unicode." <- click here & visit

ᜀ Type uppercase 'A' = syllable character "A" (traditional) 

- Type lowercase 'a' = none * 

ᜁ Type uppercase 'I' = syllable character "I" (traditional) 

'  Type lowercase 'i' = kudlit mark "i" (traditional) 

ᜂ Type uppercase 'U' = syllable character "U" (traditional) 

,  Type lowercase 'u' = kudlit mark "u" (traditional) 

+ Type '=' or '+' for a krus or x kidlit virama (reformed)

ᜅ Type uppercase 'N' = syllable character "NGA" (traditional)

ᜈ Type lowercase 'n' = syllable character "NA" (traditional) 

ᜊ Type 'b' or 'B' = syllable character "BA" or "VA" (traditional)

ᜃ Type 'c', 'k', 'K' = syllable character "KA" or "CA" (traditional)

ᜇ Type 'd' or 'D' = syllable character "DA" or "RA" (traditional)

ᜄ Type 'g' or 'G' = syllable character "GA" (traditional)

ᜑ Type 'h' or 'H' = syllable character "HA" (traditional)

ᜎ Type 'l' or 'L' = syllable character "LA" or "RA" (traditional)

ᜋ Type 'm' or 'M' = syllable character "MA" (traditional)

ᜉ Type 'f' or 'F' = syllable character "PA" or "FA" (traditional)

ᜐ Type 's' or 'S' = syllable character "SA" (traditional)

ᜆ Type 't' or 'T' = syllable character "TA" (traditional)

ᜏ Type 'w' or 'W' = syllable character "WA" (traditional)

ᜌ Type 'y' or 'Y' = syllable character "YA" (traditional)

ᜍ Type 'r' or 'R' = syllable character "RA" (modern alternative)

ᜉ Type 'p' or 'P' = syllable character "PA" or "YA" (archaic)

ᜊ Type 'v' or 'V' = syllable character "VA" (alternative)

ᜐ Type 'z' or 'Z' = syllable character "ZA" (alternative)

ᜁ Type uppercase 'E' = syllable character "E" (alternative)

'  Type lowercase 'e' = kudlit mark "e" (modern alternative)

ᜂ Type uppercase 'O' = syllable character "O" (alternative)

, Type lowercase 'o' = kudlit mark "o" (modern alternative)

ᜐ Type 'C' = character combo "TSA" for 'cha' (reformed)*

ᜃ Type 'q' = character combo "KUWA" for 'qua' (traditional)

ᜃ Type 'Q' = character combo "KWA" for 'qua' (reformed)

ᜇ Type 'j' = character combo "DIYA" for 'ja' (traditional)

ᜇ Type 'J' = character combo "DYA" for 'ja' (reformed)

ᜃ Type 'x' or 'X' = character combo "KSA" for 'xa' (reformed)

ᜈ Type '~' = character combo "NYA" for 'ña' (reformed)

 * may differ or not be available (yet) in some fonts.

Mind What You Type:

Common Mistake - mixing methods: 
There are several modes of writing Baybayin, don't mix them together in one composition. Don't confuse your readers.

Common Mistake - not translating to a Filipino language or forcing foreign pronunciation & spelling:
Ideally, Babayin should be used primarily for Philippine languages. However, Baybayin has been known to be used by natives to write some Spanish and English (in "Pilipinized" spelling) words.  

Rules of thumb:

• Use borrowed words sparingly and only if there are no available equivalent words for them in any Philippine language or even Spanish. If you have to use the word as it is, you should follow the official rules on how to Pilipinize the spelling & pronunciation of foreign or borrowed words and how to break-it-down into syllables as laid out by the  Philippine National Language Commission in the Balarila (Rules of Orthography).
• If the word is an important scientific or technical term and you do not have a direct and official translation to any Philippine language or Spanish - don't Pilipinize the spelling and don't write it in Baybayin Script, use the Latin Alphabet instead.
• If the word is a name of person (or organization) - don't Pilipinize the spelling and don't write it in Baybayin Script, use the Latin Alphabet instead - unless that person (or group) made known to you or the public how they write his/her name in Baybayin (or they personally requested you to do so); how one prefers their name spelled & pronounced is a personal issue.

Common Mistake - tackling acronyms & initials:

-> CLICK HERE <- for more info about using Baybayin Script in Acronyms & Initialism.

...

Horrified with Modified

As I release western style baybayin fonts, I begin to wonder about how the community will receive them.



Over the years, I received numerous emails and private messages regarding my fonts and my efforts in standardizing the script for typography, uniformity of stokes, ease of legibility, ease of access, and synchronization with modern Filipino orthography. A lot of these correspondences are positive and very encouraging. However there a a few that are not. It seems that I have not made my intentions clear. People sometimes see the adjective "modern" in the name of my fonts and they immediately think "modified" which  some view with the same disdain they feel when they think that something is a product of "colonial mentality".

Modern ≠ Modified

Ra Rah! To tell you the truth, the only glyph I consider "modified" in my fonts is my ᜍ Ra character. But even ᜍ Ra as an alternative character is basically still an embellished "traditional" ᜇ Da. Maybe that's why folks accept it; I'm just pleasantly pleased that it has been well received by many. In that light, my other "alternative" characters are designed in the same fashion; an embellished ᜐ Sa for Za, an embellished ᜁ I for E, and an embellished ᜂ U for O.

Ba Va Boom! Some folks are confused by my other characters which are actually NOT embellished versions of the another (Filipino) phoneme equivalent but are actually true (earlier recorded) representation of the same character; O Ba is the same ᜊ Ba but I assigned the round O Ba to the 'V' key because it more resembles the phoneme matching characters in related family of Indic & South East Asian scripts.

Oye Pa Fa! The traditional F-shaped ᜉ Pa is still the same as the old Kapampangan closed-loop P-shaped Pa so I assigned the F-shaped one to the 'F' key and the P-shaped one to the 'P' key [shape-wise it makes sense to me] - however, the old closed-loop Ya is very much similar to the old closed-loop Pa, so I chose to include & assign a current but still traditional loop-less ᜌ Ya to the 'Y'  key.

e, ang kulit o! People fail to see that even if I propose and include these alternatives, they are available to them only if they wish to use them. If you like the style of a font and want to write in the old traditional way - you can do so. It's there for you, it's free, it's easy! Just because I included the hollow ○ kudlit mark for mid vowels e and o doesn't mean you have to use them or even disregard the whole font just because you think that the solid ● kudlit mark is the proper mark (I'll get to you 'mix & dash' supporters later). Same goes to the virama and pamudpod (vowel cancellation marks), I included them because they are culturally & historically relevant. Just because they are introduced by foreigners doesn't mean that they are linguistically wrong. Virama and pamudpod marks are valid methods of vowel cancellation used by baybayin's parent Indic & relative Malay/Austronesian scripts. The virama method is very old but still very effective. Heck, it was introduced to baybayin by the Spanish scholars for the very same reason I saw it fit for use - to adapt with changing times.

Adobo at pandesal... More than 300 years of Hispanic and western influence has infused and change our culture and language. Good or bad, these influences have become uniquely and traditionally ours. The krus kudlit (cross-shaped virama) was introduced in the 16th century to adapt baybayin script to Spanish orthography, and despite the native population's adamant reluctance to use it for everyday writing, they conceded to use it when writing Spanish words. After several centuries, like adobo & pandesal, our language & culture adapted and changed, but baybayin never did. Could the early practitioner's staunch tradition and resistance to change have contributed to baybayin's disuse? The krus kudlit is as old as the introduction of the word adobo and the bread pandesal to Filipinos and while the food stuff became "traditional" Filipino fare, the cross-shaped mark became a hated symbol of Spanish oppression - a funny thing coming from a country of devout Catholics.



pud! galoryus pud! What's fresh and what's cooking? Being from Mindoro Island, the home of the Mangyan tribes, I have been interested with the pamudpod; their version of a virama. The pamudpod mark and a Ra character were introduced  several decades ago by Dutch anthropologist Antoon Postma, who has married into and lives among the Hanunóo, a Mangyan sub-tribe in Mindoro, Philippines. What interests me is how readily the Mangyan accepted and implimented this marks & method of canceling inherent vowels. As you can see from the photo-collage above from my visit to Mindoro last year (2010), it is now commonly used everyday by the tribes. All Mangyan books, souvenir nicknacks, shirts, handicrafts and artifacts I encountered back home bears the newly introduced mark & character. This is especially true when a Mangyan language composition is mixed with Tagalog, and foreign words. This is another reason why I included a Ra and pamudpod mark in my fonts.

BOTTOM LINE:

Just because my fonts have the adjective 'modern' attached to its name and the characters have been stylized, it doesn't mean that they can not be used in the traditional way of baybayin. Each character in all my fonts retain the traditional character form & shapes.

I also can't stress enough that you learn both the traditional method & Spanish "reformed" method of writing baybayin and educate yourself about Filipino languages and orthography.

Paul Morrow's site is the best place to start: Sarisari etc.

← And don't forget to check out the other links listed on the sidebar of this blog.