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'OSo what I thought was just an African problem or issue is actually a global phenomenon about relationships of power between languages and cultures.
More Ngugi wa Thiong'o Quotes
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People went to war as a result of it and even today, every Sunday.
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Through the act of translation we break out of linguistic confinement and reach many other communities.
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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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Then they begin to see through their language that the problems described there are the same as the problems they are having. They can identify with characters from another language group.
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Life, struggle, even amidst pain and blood and poverty, seemed beautiful.
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I’m writing for those people in Kenya, but in Irvine and in New York.
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The Bible affects everybody’s life who is a Christian, from the middle class in Europe to the peasant in Africa and Asia.
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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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Seen as an economic, political, cultural, and psychological re-membering vision, it should continue to guide remembering practices
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How could Europe lord it over a continent ten times its size? Why does needy Africa continue to let its wealth meet the needs of those outside its borders and then follow behind with hands outstretched for a loan of the very wealth it let go?
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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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So what I thought was just an African problem or issue is actually a global phenomenon about relationships of power between languages and cultures.
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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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Any writer likes to be near the area which is the location of his work.
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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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