Through the act of translation we break out of linguistic confinement and reach many other communities.
NGUGI WA THIONG'OWhat’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.
More Ngugi wa Thiong'o Quotes
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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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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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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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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.
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The Bible has affected their lives, but in translation, since they do not read the Bible in the original Greek or Hebrew.
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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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Why did Africa let Europe cart away millions of Africa’s souls from the continent to the four corners of the wind?
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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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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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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?
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Life, struggle, even amidst pain and blood and poverty, seemed beautiful.
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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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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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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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