Performing 'unity in diversity' in Indonesian poetry: Voice, ideology, grammar, and change

Abstract

The main insight of this dissertation is that we can commit to recognizing diversity by sounding others' voices with our voices. I argue that articulations of 'unity' using the familiar sounds of linguistic diversity enables ideological change in the practice of performing poetry in Bahasa Indonesia. Multiple types of data in Bahasa Indonesia are examined and presented to support this argument including newspaper articles, literature textbooks, personal interviews, conference papers, and recordings of poetry performances. In these data, we hear a variety of voices in Indonesia articulate two ideologies about the function of literature in society, which are: 'Literature develops the citizens'' and 'Literature enables unity in diversity'. We also hear various voices articulate an ideology about the proper form of performed poetry, which is: 'Proper reading (or sounding) of a poem results from deeply understanding another's heart'. Transcriptions and descriptions of poetry readings illustrate how these ideologies are realized in performance. I have called the complex interaction of these component ideologies 'Language Celebration in Bahasa Indonesia.' This dissertation makes several important contributions. This analysis brings together two separated approaches to language study (i.e., linguistic anthropology and formal linguistics) to show that both are needed to provide an account of an interaction between phonetics and ideologies. Further, this analysis articulates a theory of sound as one kind of physical (or material) aspect of language that can be exploited to produce ideological change. As a reflexive written document, this analysis examines differences between modes of linguistic production, specifically literary and scientific modes. Finally, by analyzing the structural differences between American and Indonesian language ideologies, I demonstrate why these two cultures differently value giving 'voice' to their internally diverse populations. Combining ethnographic description with formal modeling of language, as well as juxtaposing usually separated genres (like poetry and social theory) I hope to enable readers to arrive at empathetic trans-cultural understandings of Other values 'on their own'.