Cham Jawi is a variant of theJawi adaptation of theArabic script used to write theCham language, mainlyWestern Cham. This variation of writing was developed at the beginning of the arrival of Islam inChampa around the 14th to 15th centuries, mainly due to the influence of theSultanate of Malacca on theMalay Peninsula.^[1][2][3][4]

Compared to Malay, the language of the parent script of Cham Jawi, Cham has a richer and larger family of vowels. Malay Jawi, like the Arabic script itself, is an impureAbjad, meaning that most, but not all, vowels are unwritten. In Cham Jawi, the emphasis has been to write most vowels, and to differentiate between them. This has been done by the addition of accents and dots on the threemater lectionis letters, the lettersalif (ا),waw (و), andya (ي), which act as vowel carriers.

There are some issues however, when it has come to the task of standardizing a script that accurately shows vowels. First is the lack of an enforcement or pedagogical mechanism for any single standard. This is augmented by the fact that Cham people are dispersed inCambodia,Vietnam, and outside ofthe Cham homeland, in countries such asMalaysia. Second has been the slow development of Arabic keyboard for computers, specifically the slow incorporation of various accents, diacritics, and unique writing features that have long been a central part of Cham literature. Thus over the years, various parallel conventions have come to be followed by different publications and peoples.

Below table is the most comprehensive agreed-upon convention on vowels for Cham. But for example, the vowelsư andơ, are respectively written in the table below withalif with three dots (اۛ) andalif with an inverted v (اٛ). But, as thethree dots character wasn't incorporated into keyboards, they also have been commonly been written asalif with an inverted v (اٛ) andalif with a v (اٚ) respectively. Other sources may write the two vowels with a single letteralif with an inverted v (اٛ)and not differentiate between them.

Below table listsvowel sequences and their representation in Cham Jawi script.

In Cham Jawi, additional characters for nasalised stops not found in the Malay Jawi alphabet have been added:

• پ (nh orny) (instead of Malayڽ‎)
• څ (nj)
• ڎ (đ ornd)

Maintaining consistency in the use of three-dot letters for nasal stop consonants, the letter ڤ has been reassigned to the sound mb (written aspp in Latin), and the letter ف reassigned to the sound p. (The f of Malay is absent in Cham.)

Voiceless aspirate consonants are represented as digraphs using ح:

• كح (kh)
• چح (ch)
• تح (th)
• فح (ph)

Voiced aspirate consonants are represented as digraphs using ه:

• ڬه (gh)
• جه (jh)
• ده (dh)
• به (bh)

The table below illustrates the letters of Cham Jawi, followed by notes for their uses.

Notes

1. The letteralif serves as a vowel, or as a carrier of vowel diacritics. This letter can take various types ofdiacritics to represent different vowel sounds. Please reffer to the section onvowels for more detailed information.
2. At the end of the word, the letterة is used. In all other contexts and locations, the letterتـ ت is used.
3. Mainly used in Arabic loanwords.
4. The two lettersحـ ح andهـ ه are homophones, but they are not interchangeable. They can either be standalone consonants, or they can be as part of digpraphs representingaspiration. They follow the following rules:
   • Arabic loanwords are written as is, with no modification.
   • The letterحـ ح is used for writing of the "h" sound at the beginning of syllables in a multi-syllabic word.
   • The letterهـ ه is used for writing of the "h" sound at the beginning of a syllable in a one-syllable word.
   • The letterهـ ه is used for writing of the "h" sound at the end of a syllable in any word.
   • The letterحـ ح is used as part of a digraph to represent anaspirated consonant, if the leading consonant is avoiceless letter (k, c, t, p).
   • The letterهـ ه is used as part of a digraph to represent anaspirated consonant, if the leading consonant is avoiced letter (g, j, d, b).
5. The two lettersر andغ are homophones. In Arabic loanwords, they are use unmodified. In every other instance, the letterغ is preferred, corresponding to the sound[ɣ]. However, there are dialects of Cham where these letters are pronounced as a thrill,[r]. Thus, variations in orthographic convention do exist. The median consonant (◌ꨴ) corresponding to a mid-syllable sound "CrV" or "CrVC" is written with the letterر.
6. The letterع doesn't represent any sound of its own. But it serves a specific purpose. This letter functions as a leading null letter in syllables that start with a vowel, in "VC" syllables. This applies to beginning of words as well as in the middle of words. In Arabic loanwords, the letterئ may alternatively be used.
7. At the end of a syllable, the latin "-k" is pronounced as a glottal stop, and written as ahamzaء. When there is an actual /k/ sound at the end of a syllable, in Latin orthography, an alternative letter may be used, such as "c". In these instances, the word is written with an Arabickaf letter,ك. In other instances, the letterك is used.
8. The letterwaw serves as a consonant ([w]), a vowel, or as a carrier of vowel diacritics. This letter can take various types ofdiacritics to represent different vowel sounds. Please reffer to the section onvowels for more detailed information.
9. The letterya serves as a consonant ([j]), a vowel, or as a carrier of vowel diacritics. This letter can take various types ofdiacritics to represent different vowel sounds. Please reffer to the section onvowels for more detailed information.

In Cham Jawi,Reduplication is done in a manner similar toJawi script andPegon script, that is with the use of the numeral "٢" right after the base word.

While suffixed, the numeral "٢" comes in between the base word and the suffix, effectively being in the middle of the word.

Below is a sample text in Cham, in Rumi, Jawi, and Cham scripts. This text is the translation of a famous Vietnamese short poetry.

• Cham language
• Cham script

• "Kamus Cam - Melayu".Bông Sứ. 7 April 2010. Retrieved29 August 2024.
• "Majid Transliteration - Jawi Cham".Bông Sứ. 28 November 2010. Retrieved29 August 2024.
• "Akhar Thrah dan akhar Jawi Cam (Chữ Chăm Thrah và chữ Jawi Chăm)".Gilaipraung. 12 December 2010. Archived fromthe original on 29 November 1998. Retrieved25 September 2019.

• Arabic alphabets

• CS1 maint: unrecognized language
• CS1 Malay-language sources (ms)
• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description
• Pages with plain IPA
• Articles containing Eastern Cham-language text
• Articles containing Malay (macrolanguage)-language text