1 INDIC SCRIPTS OF INSULAR SOUTHEAST ASIA: CHANGING STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS

Daniels asserts that “humankind is defined by language; but civilization is defined by writing ” (1996). Ironically, in insular Southeast Asia, if “civilization ” is an idea that presupposes writing, it is also an idea that is responsible for marginalizing the Indic scripts in the region. Precisely because community rivalries in this culturally diverse region are often depicted in religious and civilizational terms, the scripts – as a visible and material emblem of such differences- suffer from a lack of prestige that threatens their survival. The Indic scripts in insular Southeast Asia bear connotations of another civilization associated locally with less prestigious kinds of development, progress, and spiritual practice. Currently, the Indic writing systems in this vast region are currently distinguished not only by their distinctive shapes, but by their peripheral social position in the communicative repertoires of nearly all Insular Southeast Asian communities. After a brief overview of some of the structural features of the scripts of insular southeast Asia, I wish to focus on the ways in which these scripts function among the people who use them. I will examine specifically a number of factors that have contributed to their current marginality in Insular Southeast Asia, as well as some of the factors that might guide their future