So what I thought was just an African problem or issue is actually a global phenomenon about relationships of power between languages and cultures.
NGUGI WA THIONG'O
NGUGI WA THIONG'O
Ngugi wa Thiong'o on culture
Ngugi wa Thiong'o41 quotes“So what I thought was just an African problem or issue is actually a global phenomenon about relationships of power between languages and cultures.”
More from Ngugi wa Thiong'o
It was a revelation for me, in a practical sense, that you could write in an African language and still reach an audience beyond that language through the art of translation.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o People went to war as a result of it and even today, every Sunday.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o 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.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o 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.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o I’m writing for those people in Kenya, but in Irvine and in New York.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o How did we arrive at this, that the best leader is the one that knows how to beg for a share of what he has already given away at the price of a broken tool? Where is the future of Africa?
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o We think of politics in terms of power and who has the power. Politics is the end to which that power is put.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o And even in terms of justice, law codes, the legal system. A person who does not know English in Africa is excluded from that system because he can only operate through acts of translation.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o Christianity and Western civilization-what countless crimes have been committed in thy name!
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o I’m more trying to connect; I’m more listening to people. Whatever I get is very meaningful to me.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o We can appreciate each other’s languages. And the question of being uncomfortable about our languages would go away.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o Why did Africa let Europe cart away millions of Africa’s souls from the continent to the four corners of the wind?
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o Our lives are a battlefield on which is fought a continuous war between the forces that are pledged to confirm our humanity and those determined to dismantle it.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o 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.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o You get another person who operates only in an African language and there are many persons who operate only in African languages; he or she is excluded from all the goodies that come with English.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o What is translated from English and into English – and in what quantities – is a question of power.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'o
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