Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote / Image

Quote image editor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Back to previous page

“If you know all the languages of the world and you don't know your mother tongue or the language of your culture, that is enslavement. But if you know your mother tongue or the languages of your culture, and add all the other languges to it, that is empowerment. In reality it is impossible for any person to know all the languages in their own country, let alone the world. This is where the art of translation comes in.” — Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Quote 1080 x 1350 Instagram portrait
More
Platforms
Pure ratios
If you know all the languages of the world and you don't know your mother tongue or the language of your culture, that is enslavement. But if you know your mother tongue or the languages of your culture, and add all the other languges to it, that is empowerment. In reality it is impossible for any person to know all the languages in their own country, let alone the world. This is where the art of translation comes in.
— Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o