What is the background of African literature?

African literature has origins dating back thousands of years to Ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs, or writing which uses pictures to represent words.

What language should African literature use?

While waiting for one or two common African languages to be adopted and standardised, African literature should be written in both foreign and native languages provided that such literature depicts African experiences and peculiarities. Achebe, C. (1975a). The African writer and the English language.

Why does Ngugi wa thiong O advocates the use African language?

He advocates that African writers write in their mother tongues, because he understands how integral language is to a culture and its identity. While in prison, Ngũgĩ abandoned English as a literary language and committed to writing only in Gikuyu.

What is Ngugi wa thiong O position on English as an African language?

During the public lecture, Thiong’o argued that language is at the centre of decolonisation, and warned that, “Use English but don’t let English use you”. Thiong’o also argued that having knowledge of English without knowledge of your mother tongue is akin to enslavement.

What are the predominant African languages used in African literature?

These oral traditions exist in many languages including Fula, Swahili, Hausa, and Wolof. In Algeria, oral poetry was an important part of Berber traditions when the majority of the population was illiterate. These poems, called Isefra, were used for aspects of both religious and secular life.

What do you understand by decolonization of mind?

Decolonizing the mind means deconstructing the thoughts, preferences and values that derive from a colonial way of thinking. This is a process that inevitably leads to more fundamental questions.

Which character relationship in The Tempest is the best representation?

Answer: The character relationship in “The Tempest” that is the best example of linguistic imperialism is: D. Prospero and Caliban, because one forces the other to speak his language.

Who called African educated middle class as Decolonising the mind?

Ngũgĩ dedicated Decolonising the Mind “to all those who write in African languages, and to all those who over the years have maintained the dignity of the literature, culture, philosophy, and other treasures carried by African languages.”

Is English African?

Yes or No? Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, one of Africa’s most celebrated writers says: No! it is not, – end of story,1 notes Biodun Jeyifo, one of Africa’s foremost literary critics, says it is, adding ‘let us give thanks!

What is the language of African literature Ngugi wa Thiong’o?

Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. “The Language of African Literature.” from Decolonising the Mind. In this excerpt, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o makes the call to African writers to begin writing literature in their own languages, and to make sure that literature is connected to their people’s revolutionary struggles for liberation from their (neo)colonial contexts.

What was the meaning of language for Ngugi?

Language was the means of the spiritual subjugation” (9). III: Ngugi discusses his early childhood experience of language education. He contrasts his village lessons via stories in his native tongue, Gikuyu, wherein language was magical and powerful and musical.

What does Ngugi wa Thiong’o stand for?

Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. “The Language of African Literature.” from Decolonising the Mind. Ngugi splits language-as-culture into three aspects: 1. Product of a particular history; 2. “Image-forming agent in the mind of a child” 3. Culture mediates through language in its spoken and written aspects.

Is the language of African literature in English?

Excluding writers who wrote in African tongues, it proceeded to discuss questions of what African literature is or could be, while accepting that it must be in English. This cruel poisonous paradox is summed up this way: “The bullet was the means of the physical subjugation. Language was the means of the spiritual subjugation” (9).