Lontar Balinese Dictionary

The historical dictionary of the Balinese language — Balinese · Indonesian · English

📜 Lontar Balinese Dictionary (LBD)

The historical dictionary of the Balinese language — Balinese · Indonesian · English

Named after the palm leaf manuscripts of Bali — the primary medium through which Balinese knowledge, literature, and language have been preserved for over a millennium. LBD is the first attempt at an OED-grade historical dictionary of the Balinese language.

🚀 Quick Start

Get the Lontar Balinese Dictionary running in minutes:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/lontar-rs/lbd.git
cd lbd

# Run the automated setup (installs everything!)
./scripts/setup.sh

# Start all services
./scripts/start.sh

# Open your browser and start exploring!
open http://localhost:5173

That’s it! You’ll have a complete trilingual dictionary with 45,000+ Balinese words ready to search.

🎯 What Makes LBD Special

📚 Comprehensive Dictionary

  • 45,188 entries from Balai Bahasa corpus
  • Trilingual access: Balinese → Indonesian → English
  • Register stratification: Complete unda-usuk system
  • Etymological depth: Word origins and language history

⚡ Modern Technology

  • Instant search: Meilisearch-powered with <100ms response
  • Responsive design: Works on all devices
  • Type-safe backend: Rust with SQLx for reliability
  • Modern frontend: SvelteKit with TypeScript

🏛️ Academic Rigor

  • OED-grade approach: Historical dictionary methodology
  • Corpus-backed: Evidence from manuscripts and sources
  • Wikipedia-style editorial process: Community curation
  • Scholarly standards: Proper citation and attribution

🌟 Current Status

✅ Working Features

  • 🔍 Trilingual Search: Instant search across all languages
  • 📚 45K+ Entries: Complete Balai Bahasa dictionary imported
  • 🎯 Register System: alus singgih, alus sor, andap, kasar
  • ⚡ Fast Performance: Sub-100ms search response times
  • 🌐 Modern UI: Clean, responsive web interface
  • 🔧 Developer Tools: Automated setup and management

🚧 In Development

  • 📝 Editorial Interface: Phase 4A admin tools (Next Sprint)
  • 📜 Aksara Bali: Unicode Balinese script rendering
  • 📋 Corpus Attestations: Manuscript evidence linking
  • 🤝 Community Features: User contributions and discussions

📖 Documentation

� Getting Started

🛠️ Development

📚 Project Information

🎮 Try It Now

Search Examples

Language Query Result
Balinese padem “to die (honorific)”
Indonesian meninggal dunia finds “padem”
English to die finds “padem”, “mati”

Features to Explore

  • Instant Search: Type and see results immediately
  • Language Filters: Search in specific languages
  • Entry Details: Click any result for full information
  • Register Information: See speech levels and context
  • Etymology: Word origins and language history

🏗️ Architecture

Technology Stack

  • Backend: Rust + Axum + SQLx + PostgreSQL
  • Frontend: SvelteKit + TypeScript + TailwindCSS
  • Search: Meilisearch for fast full-text search
  • Database: PostgreSQL with 82,194 senses

Project Structure

lbd/
├── src/                    # Rust backend
├── frontend/               # SvelteKit frontend
├── docs/                   # Documentation (this site)
├── scripts/                # Management scripts
├── data/                   # Dictionary data
└── migrations/             # Database schema

Service Management

# Start all services
./scripts/start.sh

# Check status
./scripts/status.sh

# Stop services
./scripts/stop.sh

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, linguists, and Balinese language enthusiasts!

🚀 High Priority (Phase 4A)

  • 📝 Editorial Interface: Build admin tools for dictionary curation
  • 🔐 Authentication: User login and role-based access
  • 📋 Entry Management: Draft → Review → Publish workflow

🎨 Frontend & UX

  • 📱 Mobile Responsiveness: Optimize for mobile devices
  • 🌐 Internationalization: Add more interface languages
  • ♿ Accessibility: WCAG compliance and screen reader support

🔧 Backend & Infrastructure

  • ⚡ Performance: Optimize search and database queries
  • 🔍 Advanced Search: Filters, faceted search, suggestions
  • 🧪 Testing: Unit tests, integration tests, E2E tests

📚 Content & Linguistics

  • 📖 Dictionary Entries: Add more Balinese words and definitions
  • 📜 Etymology: Build etymological chains and language histories
  • 🎭 Register System: Improve unda-usuk classifications

See the Contributing Guide for detailed guidelines.

📊 Impact

Cultural Preservation

  • 45K+ Words: Largest digital Balinese dictionary
  • Trilingual Access: Balinese → Indonesian → English
  • Scholarly Rigor: OED-grade historical approach
  • Open Access: CC BY-SA licensing for broad use

Technical Innovation

  • Modern Stack: Rust + SvelteKit + PostgreSQL + Meilisearch
  • Type Safety: Comprehensive type system prevents bugs
  • Performance: Sub-100ms search response times
  • Scalability: Architecture supports 100K+ entries

Community Building

  • Open Source: Collaborative development model
  • Professional Documentation: Comprehensive guides and API reference
  • Contributor Friendly: Clear guidelines and automated setup
  • Sustainable: Automated maintenance and management tools

🌟 Acknowledgments

  • Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali for the foundational dictionary data
  • Gedong Kirtya for manuscript preservation efforts
  • Van der Tuuk for pioneering Balinese lexicography
  • Balinese language community for continued cultural stewardship

📞 Getting Help

Resources

Last Updated: 2026-03-31

Documentation Version: v0.1.0

Quick Commands

# Setup development environment
./scripts/setup.sh

# Start all services
./scripts/start.sh

# Check service status
./scripts/status.sh

# Stop all services
./scripts/stop.sh

🎉 Ready to Start?

  1. 🌱 Quick Start - Get running in 5 minutes
  2. 📦 Installation - Detailed setup instructions
  3. 🤝 Contributing - Join the community
  4. 🛠️ Development - Technical details

Welcome to the Lontar Balinese Dictionary community! 🌟

ᬮᭀᬦ᭄ᬢᬭᬄ ᬩᬲ ᬩᬮᬮᬶ — Lontar Basa Bali