Decolonizing Language and Other Revolutionary Ideas

Language is truly a universal human cultural feature. Language and language literacy can be particularly educating and liberating. However, language imposed by one community or people on another can be seriously traumatic, and language imposition can become a way of absolute control over a person or people. This very personal book by Nobel Prize–nominated novelist and literary scholar wa Thiong’o (English and comparative literature, Univ. of California, Irving; The Language of Languages) defines “decolonization” as much more than geopolitical freedom and urges African writers to reclaim African languages as a way of decolonizing literature and the mind. This philosophy builds on his earlier book Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, which strongly suggested that literature written in Indigenous African languages is the only authentic African literature. Per his argument, wa Thiong’o now uses his native Gikuyu, a Bantu language, for much of his writing. Other essays in this collection address his thoughts on knowledge and education, enslavement, and cultural identity.