Language, Identity, and Marginality in Indonesia: The Changing Nature of Ritual Speech on the Island of Sumba: 18 (Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language, Series Number 18) - Hardcover

Kuipers, Joel C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521624088 ISBN 13: 9780521624084

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Indonesia's policy since independence has been to foster the national language. In some regions, local languages are still political rallying points, but their significance has diminished, and the rapid spread of Indonesian as the national language of political and religious authority has been described as the 'miracle of the developing world'. Among the Weyewa, on the island of Sumba, this shift has displaced a once vibrant tradition of ritual poetic speech, which until recently was an important source of authority, tradition, and identity. But it has also given rise to new and hybrid forms of poetic expression. This first study to analyse language change in relation to political marginality argues that political coercion or cognitive process of 'style reduction' may partially explain what has happened, but equally important in language shift is the role of linguistic ideologies.

About this title

Review

'Neatly orchestrating his analysis with admirable concision and lucidity, Kuipers has composed an insightful study that is thoroughly accessible to any reader interested in the shifting nexus between language and power.' Benjamin G. Zimmer, The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

The spread of the national language in Indonesia has threatened local languages. On Sumba a tradition of ritual poetic speech has waned, although new hybrid forms of poetic expression are emerging. Political coercion is a partial explanation, but so is the role of linguistic ideologies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521624088
• ISBN 13: 9780521624084
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 204