Enregistering Diversity: Adequation in Indonesian Poetry Performance

Abstract

This article demonstrates how “diversity” is enregistered in performances of contemporary poetry in bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) through voicing contrasts indexing membership in a linguistically and culturally heterogeneous Indonesian nation. Data from print media, instructional practices relating to the reading of poetry, and actual poetry‐reading performances are used to trace interdiscursive links between public discourse about national diversity and performances of adequation – the social pursuit of linguistic sameness. These examples contribute to our understanding of how adequative language ideologies contribute to denaturalizing identities and suggest alternatives to language practices typically associated with ideologies of differentiation. [adequation, enregisterment, diversity, Indonesian poetry, national identity]