What is translated from English and into English - and in what quantities - is a question of power. Ngugi wa Thiong'o More Quotes by Ngugi wa Thiong'o More Quotes From Ngugi wa Thiong'o Our lives are a battlefield on which is fought a continuous war between the forces that are pledged to confirm our humanity and those determined to dismantle it; those who strive to build a protective wall around it, and those who wish to pull it down; those who seek to mould it and those committed to breaking it up; those who aim to open our eyes, to make us see the light and look to tomorrow [...] and those who wish to lull us into closing our eyes Ngugi wa Thiong'o wall eye war 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o latin reality jesus Why did Africa let Europe cart away millions of Africa's souls from the continent to the four corners of the wind? How could Europe lord it over a continent ten times its size? Why does needy Africa continue to let its wealth meet the needs of those outside its borders and then follow behind with hands outstretched for a loan of the very wealth it let go? 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? Ngugi wa Thiong'o letting-go wind hands 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o language-and-power wonder thinking There is no way we can survive as a nation in the world without finding unity. Ngugi wa Thiong'o unity way world I think a repressive regime always fears people who are awakened - particularly ordinary people. If they are awakened, I think governments all over the world feel uncomfortable about that; they want to be in control. 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o government people thinking 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o groups community character 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o writing native-american school We can appreciate each other's languages. And the question of being uncomfortable about our languages would go away. Ngugi wa Thiong'o appreciate going-away language If poverty was to be sold three cents today, i can't buy it. Ngugi wa Thiong'o poverty three today The Pan-Africanism that envisaged the ideal of wholeness was gradually cut down to the size of a continent, then a nation, a region, an ethnos, a clan, and even a village in some instances But Pan-Africanism has not outlived its mission. Seen as an economic, political, cultural, and psychological re-membering vision, it should continue to guide remembering practices Ngugi wa Thiong'o cutting political practice Christianity and Western civilization-what countless crimes have been committed in thy name! Ngugi wa Thiong'o religious names civilization 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o ladders achievement community I'm more trying to connect; I'm more listening to people. Whatever I get is very meaningful to me. Ngugi wa Thiong'o listening meaningful people Life, struggle, even amidst pain and blood and poverty, seemed beautiful. Ngugi wa Thiong'o pain struggle beautiful 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o writing people fiction We think of politics in terms of power and who has the power. Politics is the end to which that power is put. Ngugi wa Thiong'o power-politics ends thinking 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. Ngugi wa Thiong'o law doe justice 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." Ngugi wa Thiong'o language writing way A person who acquires English has access to all the things that that language makes possible. Ngugi wa Thiong'o acquire language persons
