A person who acquires English has access to all the things that that language makes possible.
NGUGI WA THIONG'OThrough the act of translation we break out of linguistic confinement and reach many other communities.
More Ngugi wa Thiong'o Quotes
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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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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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What is translated from English and into English – and in what quantities – is a question of power.
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Those who strive to build a protective wall around it, and those who wish to pull it down; those who seek to mould it and those committed to breaking it up; those who aim to open our eyes, to make us see the light and look to tomorrow […] and those who wish to lull us into closing our eyes
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If poverty was to be sold three cents today, i can’t buy it.
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So we’re talking about the Bible itself being a translation of a translation of a translation. And, in reality, it has affected people’s lives in history.
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I’m more trying to connect; I’m more listening to people. Whatever I get is very meaningful to me.
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They want to be the ones telling people: “This is what we have done in history” but when people begin to say, “No this is what we have done in history” it’s a different thing.
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Through the act of translation we break out of linguistic confinement and reach many other communities.
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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.
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If a novel is written in a certain language with certain characters from a particular community and the story is very good or illuminating, then that work is translated into the language of another community.
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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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Life, struggle, even amidst pain and blood and poverty, seemed beautiful.
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There is no way we can survive as a nation in the world without finding unity.
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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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