Cham Letter Chha

The earliest known Cham-language inscriptions date to around the 4th century. Cham writing took shape through adaptation: writers reshaped Pallava-Grantha, a South Indian branch of the Brahmi script family, to record their language. Early inscriptions in the Champa states of what is now central Vietnam include temple offerings and royal events; the script later carried manuscripts, religious writing, literature, and administrative records.

Eastern Cham's Akhar Thrah has manuscript forms that differ from older inscriptional styles. In Cambodia, the Cham Islamic manuscript tradition lost ground from the mid-19th century as communities increasingly used Jawi, Arabic-based writing for Malay, for Islamic study and printed books. A 2019 study describes Cambodia's Imam San community, a distinct Cham Muslim religious community, preserving Akhar Srak manuscripts as part of its identity.