The Bible affects everybody’s life who is a Christian, from the middle class in Europe to the peasant in Africa and Asia.
NGUGI WA THIONG'OOf course it’s very, very important for me to feel Kenya, to feel, every day, this is where images come from. So to be taken away from that by political pressure or other means – one is taken away from the area, which is the basis of inspiration – is difficult.
More Ngugi wa Thiong'o Quotes
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Through the act of translation we break out of linguistic confinement and reach many other communities.
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Many people do not know that Jesus did not speak Latin or English or Hebrew; he spoke Aramaic. But nobody knows that language.
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If poverty was to be sold three cents today, i can’t buy it.
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Seen as an economic, political, cultural, and psychological re-membering vision, it should continue to guide remembering practices
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What’s good about writing is that when you write novels or fiction, people can see that the problems in one region are similar to problems in another region.
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In terms of language, English is very dominant vis-Ã-vis African language. That in itself is a power relationship – between languages and communities – because the English language is a determinant of the ladder to achievement.
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Writing in African languages became a topic of discussion in conferences, in schools, in classrooms; the issue is always being raised – so it’s no longer “in the closet,” as it were. It’s part of the discussion going on about the future of African literature.
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The Bible in translation is being read to thousands and thousands in Africa. It is an integral part of their functioning and the way they look at the world.
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The same questions are there in Native American languages, they’re there in native Canadian languages, they’re there is some marginalized European languages, like say, Irish.
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Another phenomenon developing in Kenya is ethnic cleansing – and that’s the thing that has made me very sad. Because some people will use the cover of the problems of rigged elections to do things that are unacceptable like ethnic cleansing and displacement of people. It’s completely unacceptable.
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We can appreciate each other’s languages. And the question of being uncomfortable about our languages would go away.
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People went to war as a result of it and even today, every Sunday.
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I think a repressive regime always fears people who are awakened – particularly ordinary people. If they are awakened, I think governments all over the world feel uncomfortable about that; they want to be in control.
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Of course it’s very, very important for me to feel Kenya, to feel, every day, this is where images come from. So to be taken away from that by political pressure or other means – one is taken away from the area, which is the basis of inspiration – is difficult.
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A person who acquires English has access to all the things that that language makes possible.
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