“I was wondering why I was put in prison for working in an African language when I had not been put in prison for working in English. So really, in prison I started thinking more seriously about the relation between language and power.” ThinkingLanguageWonderRelationPrisonLanguage And Power Author:Ngugi wa Thiong'o
“For me, being in prison writing in an African language was a way of saying: "Even if you put me in prison, I will keep on writing in the language which made you put me in prison."” IfsWayWritingMadeLanguagePrison Author: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.” WritingArtStillsLanguageAudiencePracticalsRevelationsTranslations Author:Ngugi wa Thiong'o
“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. 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. So what I thought was just an African problem or issue is actually a global phenomenon about relationships of power between languages and cultures.” WritingProblemSchoolCultureLiteratureLanguageIssuesRaisedDiscussionNativePhenomenonClassroomNative AmericanClosetsTopicsConferencesMarginalizedAmerican Language Author:Ngugi wa Thiong'o
“Many people do not know that Jesus did not speak Latin or English or Hebrew; he spoke Aramaic. But nobody knows that language. 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.” PeopleKnowsRealityJesusSpeakLanguageTalkingSpokesAffectedLatinTranslationsNobody KnowsHebrew Author:Ngugi 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.” LanguageTermCommunityAchievementDominantLaddersEnglish LanguagePower Relationships Author:Ngugi wa Thiong'o
“A person who acquires English has access to all the things that that language makes possible.” PersonsLanguageAccessAcquire Author:Ngugi 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. 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.” KnowsPersonsDoeLawLanguageTermJusticeCodeTranslationsExcludedLegal System Author:Ngugi wa Thiong'o
“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 - 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.” IfsCharacterStoriesProblemCertainLanguageCommunityNovelWrittenGroupsParticularVery GoodIlluminating Author:Ngugi wa Thiong'o
“We can appreciate each other's languages. And the question of being uncomfortable about our languages would go away.” LanguageAppreciateUncomfortableGoing Away Author:Ngugi wa Thiong'o