BOOK V.
CHAPTER I.
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF JAVA.
Alphabet.— Grammatical Form___ Copiousness.—Redundancy.
—Ordinary and Ceremonial Dialects.—Analogy of Sound
to Sense.—Figurative Language.—Derivation of the Lan-
guage.—Literature.—Division into Ancient and Modern
Literaiurè.—Lyrical Compositions.—Hindu Literature.—
Native Romances.—Historical Composition.—Prose Composition.—
Arabic Literature.—Education.—Books and Manuscripts.—
General Character of Javanese Compositions.
O f all the languages of the Indian Islands, the
most improved and copious is that of the Javanese.
It is written in a peculiar character, of great neatness,
which extends to the language of the Sundas,
the Madurese, Balinese, and people of Lombok,
and, in comparatively recent times, along with the
parent language, made some progress in Sumatra
and Borneo. It is confessedly formed on the
principles of the Sanskrit alphabet, but, unlike some
other languages of the Archipelago, it has not fol*
VOL. II. *
