Self-interpreting practices of plurilingual Makassar Muslim preachers

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article describes how and why plurilingual preachers in a Muslim ethnic group in Indonesia self-interpret their religious orations in rural settings. During an ethnographic, sociolinguistic study among the Makassar people of South Sulawesi, this phenomenon emerged when a subset of data – seven funeral sermons – was recorded, transcribed and analysed. Interpretive data was obtained through a sociolinguistic survey, participant observation, interviews and a focus group. These orations primarily utilised the Makassar local language as the matrix code and were embedded both with the Indonesian national language and the classical Arabic of the Qur’an. It was found that self-interpreting between the local and national languages was highly creative and a semi-conscious practice that can be classified as a type of code-switching. In contrast, self-interpreting between classical Arabic and the local and national languages was more deliberate and literal. Unpacking the rationale underpinning these two types of self-interpreting provides unique insights into various aspects of local, national and religious culture and identity of one of the largest ethnic groups in the archipelago.