The vocabulary used in Old Sundanese is still mostly recognizable for speakers modern Sundanese, either with the same meaning or having undergone a change of meaning. The use of Sanskrit which is adapted to the pronunciation or writing of the ancient Sundanese is mixed quite clearly. This is because of the nuances of the use of ancient Sundanese in Hindu and Buddhist religious texts. In some parts, the same vocabulary is often found, even combined with sentence strings in Old Javanese.[9] In other parts, we also find the use of Old Malay[10] vocabulary and Arabic.[11] The lexicon of Old Sundanese has been collected in an Old Sundanese–Indonesian dictionary.[12]
Morphology
The morphology of word formation can generally be recognized in modern Sundanese with some exclusions, for example the use of the prefix a- in the word awurung. The suffix -keun has a grammatical function similar to that of -kan in Indonesian language. In addition, the use of insertion affixes (infix) -in- and -um- in the word ginawé (word stemgawé;' 'to do') and gumanti (the root word ganti: 'replace') are insertions that are classified as productive used in old Sundanese, now words that include -in- and - um- is often considered monomorphemic. The following words are often not perceived as interpolated words such as sumebar which consists of sebar and -um-, cumeluk which consists of celuk and -um- or tinangtu which consists of tangtu and -in- and pinareng consists of pareng and -in-.[13] The last is the use of insertion -ar- which serves to make a noun or adjective plural, for example in the word karolot (word stem kolot; 'the elders') which is still used until now.[14]
Syntax
At the syntactic level, in general the sentence form in ancient Sundanese still has similarities with modern Sundanese.[15][16] One of the features of ancient Sundanese that can be distinguished from the structure of modern Sundanese is the use of the predicate-subject pattern in the sentence structure of the ancient Sundanese language with predicates in the form of a verb (verb) and a subject in the form of a noun (noun) which is quite consistent.[16] Another characteristic feature is the use of ma particles which can act as reinforcement for previous phrases or clauses. In sentence construction, the particle ma functions as a marker that separates the clauses, and serves to introduce new information.[17]
Writing systems that use the Old Sundanese language include Old Sundanese script and Buda script. These two characters can be seen from the inscriptions and ancient manuscripts stored in a place called Kabuyutan.[18] These two characters has different functions. Old Sundanese script usually can be found on the inscriptions describing important events that occurred in the Sundanese region, while the Buda script is widely used to write things that have a high level of sacredness in lontar or gebang manuscripts.[19]
Example usages
Inscription
The following is an example of the use of the old Sundanese language recorded in the Kawali inscription. Diplomatic transliteration was done by archaeologists Hasan Jafar & Titi Surti Nastiti.[4]
"nihan tapak walar nu sang hyang mulia tapa(k) inya parĕbu raja wastu mangadĕg di kuta kawali nu mahayu na kadatuan surawisesa nu marigi sakuliling dayĕh najur sakala desa aya ma nu pa(n)deuri pakĕna gawe rahayu pakĕn hĕbĕl jaya dina buana"
Translation:
These are the traces (tapak) (in) Kawali (of) the hometown of His Majesty King Wastu (who) established the defense (reigned in) Kawali, who had beautified the Surawisesa palace, which made a defensive trench around the royal territory, which prospered the whole settlement. To those who are to come, should apply salvation as the foundation of victorious life in the world.
Old Manuscripts
The old Sundanese language used in lontar and gebang manuscripts can be distinguished based on the form of the text, namely poetry and prose.[9][15][16]
^ abHasan Jafar, Titi Surti Nastiti (2016). "Prasasti-prasasti dari Masa Hindu Buddha (Abad ke-12-16 Masehi di Kabupaten Ciamis, Jawa Barat". Purbawidya. 5 (2): 101–116.
^Wartini, Tien; Ruhimat, Mamat; Ruhaliah; Gunawan, Aditia (2011). Sanghyang swawarcinta (in Indonesian). Kerjasama Perpustakaan Nasional RI dan Pusat Studi Sunda. ISBN9789790084124.