The Philippine Scripts

A chart/image showing the different Philippine Scripts is currently circulating in the internet and resurface from time to time especially in different social media platform. This image was originated from a group called Odyssea: Nature, Culture, People which sought to educate the public on different scripts of the Philippines. This image was gone viral when it was featured in an article by Interaksyon However, the image is inaccurate as it stresses that we have a lot of different scripts that represent each language or region which might mislead others who are not familiar with those scripts.

                                (Facebook/Odyssea: Nature, Culture, People)

  So let us correct the chart:

First, Kur-itan or Kurditan is the right term not 'Kurdita'. Kur-itan along with Baybayin, Basahan and Badlit, including old Kapampangan 'Kulitan' are the same script. They have the same basic structure of each characters and those variations are due to the fact that the Spaniards who recorded those samples which was taken from different places specifically in each language/region are just handwriting samples of a single script.

 

Palaeograhic Chart of the Philippines

Also the term, Kur-itan, Basahan, Badlit and old Kapampangan 'Kulitan' are the equivalent names of the Baybayin in their respective languages (Ilokano, Bikol, Visayan and Kapampangan) as mere translations of the Tagalog name. 

What is now deviated and became a different form are the Mangyan scripts Buhid and Hanunuo and Tagbanwa in Palawan which are listed in the Unicode Consortium including Baybayin (under the name Tagalog). The modern Kapampangan 'Kulitan' might be categorized as a separate script due to is transformation from usual vowel-cancelling virama to stack-up mode of vowel cancelling.

The other two, Kirim and Jawi are just variation of the Alibata (the Arabic Abjad) script applied for Mindanao languages associated with their religious culture (Islam).