Learn Baybayin

Introduction

Baybayin (ᜊᜌ᜔ᜊᜌᜒᜈ᜔), was the pre-colonial Tagalog writing system that is a direct descendant of Kavi, the script used to write Old Javanese. It has seventeen characters where three of them are vowels (a, e/i, o/u).

Note:
Baybayin script is an 'Abugida', not an 'Alphabet'. An abugida differs from an alphabet by the fact that in an abugida, any diacritics written above or below a character changes its readings.

Baybayin then and now
Baybayin eventually died out as the Latin alphabet introduced by the Spaniards continued to be imposed in the colonial era. Nowadays, that script is used mainly for aesthetic purposes; on the Philippine banknotes, Philippine passport and sometimes in the logos of some Philippine agencies. Many Filipino politicians wanted to make it the national writing system of the Philippines. Many Filipinos are now learning it as a hobby.

Exercise

Learn how to read and write Baybayin script, so you can practice reading and writing Baybayin.