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    decolonising the mind

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    38 views3 pages

    Decolonising The Mind

    Uploaded by

    Kevin Lumowa
    decolonising the mind

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
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    cere det, at sk written poems, including “Telephone Comer Weta fet which hrc sracn Bogs 0 ying ret a parent ae tly Ft pa NGUGI WA THIONG'O en he i bes ng arn in Li Ken et oo Tm He wus laced othe lange Hi 8 pac Urankar Un ned nes ith btn be cle El pre weg sree epanet a Aeon trae od Lana cd, therfinisr eae "ER Ue sat the 1980s Su Ma el ‘Telephone Conversation ‘The price seemed reasonable, lacstion 3 Inditlerent. The landlady se she ied (Of premises. Nothing remained But selconfesson "Modan T warned, nr bw the ar tema ad Raf Bd | + ‘hate «wasted journey tam Ate ct the Ha as ends or Silene. Silenced transmission of Bann kya RI 8s ser hbimpetonmenn Ke Presturised good-breeding, Voice, when it came, sea pmo there, NRO lett teach abrood, most recent i Lipstick coated, lng glcled i Ganning a hs boks tev, ges f hearete hoe ppp, Cag | was, fol iver he Min 986), Nai eles, sf Decanising Monon tis Ghiyh and se nln o my ting Fm pe on CE i eh Se ely ii te et ew conn rich i ot pan, in ann ean ctrl en ne w* HOW DAMS. had not misheard... ARE YOUU ‘ORVERY DARK? Baton Buta A See I OF rncid breath of public Meo al booth, Hed plachon” Relat ed Omnis sguiching tar hase Shed Byles sence, sender Pshed dmbioundnes Wo bet snpicatin, Consider she wan varying hoa ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHTY Revelation came ‘aw mean—ke plain or milk cheese Her assent was cline crushing a igh Impersonal api eve length jut, shone "West Aftan sepia" os afrthought, pad ‘Bown in my passport’ Slience for spect ot lah of fn il uu camped fe ng Hardon she mouthpicce. WHATS THATS cose ing DONT KNOW WHAT THATIS Like havc’ From Decolonising the Mind om The Language of African Lite — i a iinet eee it age den Lalbottonged swe al Sasa, hyn ond catalase nrked nthe Bes. We poe Git Pye ape iy a ioryeling aeound idea home. Tecan vil real those evenings of ary ell eerested and toled: We cilren would cell te sore cS THATS DARK, ISN'T ITY No akopether ‘Feil am brunet, but maa ould ace ] ‘fherevtodme Palo ey hand ee ‘Area perl Monde en ay Fooly madamby sting down he cuned ‘My bottom ten ace ens ee ald in Her receiver rearing on he thane indict iy anima ssh main carers were al i Sertarghinin Teele, Moukstyourter meal "lg nak bot al of mse ie onan Sefer youre Pins: Hare, beng sal we mas hestrvnae paln the bret ey ike bon, leopard, hyen. His ‘sensing 1: ue sen itr 1 tt pen Ste re pie pperently weal con our the strong, We Salli Inthe tga pt ene naa een ae fen ening em er sre sine tt sar ean ene 15 Stunt bene od htc ae ee terete a ae onal a ea ha i Nath we ected tc with uma ngs lal nit tue gest hac nh ed spec ely on eis white af core Itred of esl, concer for other and man’ at mam trom wategies of reser: di aes a fond Erte le pants commana Cop Fodinccrmmniyons scomean toes raed Sih anise int ores nde ys neal Seeg ln eoterafsei war sacra a sey tne te whee epee iss oe be eetarhe ri Tice oe pnd ae el Serle A od ne cod syne oe opie and Tull chee ahs Heccate nla ldbycomcare neta te ia deena Thence! alent oe of won telat ses ee ere es ihr: Kae nr mean oa soa arms ate ig ord had get pe ‘helmed lek ning Oi aprecaton he ge Ca pref engage es eae a "hugh sds, proverb, transposons of sla, + Chugh Caer sige os Sots a a ‘pee coment Pe anange taseene oo i are col cad tay of oaths a Srrtbmeurpepniysckatiat ae itapaa ae ‘eta efecto ee Sit and ier fmm ode eon or a "lin whl sharma ‘i rpg my cation wer oe Sa fs wet amd sir andthe ar fun yaa papel cd te Oye a Karings Schools Assocation. Our language of education wes cl The wt sti our ee ten eae cw saponin ny ef ny fot ear te en Scien lng nyomcteaecraonsa sh a irate dechration of sae of emery ser Keni shat all he schoas amy pais natonalins were alon oer bei tl pe ode pe sD Ea ba Beitnen Enh bine tne ee aa anal eh ine ofthe most humiliating experiences was tobe caught speak yin the vicinity of the acho. The culprit was given corporl tthe wo fie strokes of the cane on bite buttocks —or a entry ntl plate around the neck with insriptian such a AM for 1 so A oNkeY, Sometimes the cupets were ned money they rly afford. And how did the teacher atch the culprits? A button ally given to one pup who was supposed t hand oer to who ‘ought speaking his mather tongue, Whoever had the baton a fof he dy would sng wh had given ft hi andthe ensuing pro bring ou all he curs of the day. Ths children were turned untersund in the proces were being taught the lurative valve orto one immediate commit ate to English the exet oppo any achievement in spoken English wa highly rewarded; prize, prestige, applause; the ticket reals English became the measure of ineligence and ability in the sciences and all heer branches of leaning Eglsh Became in determinant of «cis progress up the ladder of formal edoaton se, a narowing secondary mide, and an even narrower Universi Selections from primary ito secondary were through an examin in my te called Keny Ain Preliminary Exarination, im which to pase six subjects ranging from Maths to Nature Study and All the papere mere written im English. Nobody could poss the tho filed the English language paper o mater how brilliantly he fone in the osher sages I remember ne bay in my cles of 1954 who Jitinctions inal abject except English, which he had failed. He was to fail the entire exam. He wen onto become a turn bow in a bus ry. [sho hal only passes but credit in English gota place a the ice High School, one of the most els istitutons for Africans in nial Kenya. The requirements fora place a che Unversty, Maerere rity College were broadly the same: nobody could yo onto west the graduate re gown, no matter how biiaealy they had performed in the ther subjects uinlese they had ered even a simple pa! —in lsh Thus the mos once place nthe pyrambl nd in the system wae fvilbl tothe holder of an English language credit card English wat ficial vehicle andthe mage formula to clonal eltedom. [ierary cation mas now determine bythe dominant Language while reinforcing that dominance. Orature (oral iteratre) in Kenan Ta ‘Stopped In primary school I now ead smplifed Dickens and Steven- longed Rider Haygad. J Hiking, Olive Tt, Tom Drown ot More, Leopard and Lion-were now my daly companions inthe world of Fnsinaton’ In secondary school, Scot and GB She ed with more Bier iar beet ‘Haggard, John Buchan, Alan Paton, Captain W. E. Johns. At Mah Enalish fom Chaser o TS. Eh with touch of Gram “Thus langusge and Ierature wee taking further and fa ‘ouscltes to other seve, fom our word to ater at xT have gone, particularly in Europe, | have been confronted with tion why are ou now writing in iy? Why do you ow weit an langage? In vome aeademic quarters {have been contonted the rebuke Why have you abandoned us? Irs almost an choos tere in Clk, twas doing something sora Bat Gikiya sy tongue! The very fact that wht common sense dtates i he ee ceo ler cultures sheng questioned im an Aican writers ue of how fa lnpeilim ho distorted the view of Alcan teeliis. turned reality pede down: the abnormal s viewed 6 normal and the sisvewed 9s abnormal, Afscs actualy eneiches Ere. but Aca tofelieve tht it needs Europe to es fom povery Africa’ nat Hind humon resources cantine to develop Europe and America: but smart fel yatlul or ai rom the same queers tht stl ion fe bck of the continent, Afica even produces intellectuals Who now jase thi upside-down vay of looking a Ae Believe that ny wt kya lange, a Kenyan lnguoge, an Afr Tangwoge Is port and parcel ofthe ansmpera struggles of Kenyan /Alricon peoples. In schote snd universities ot Kenyan languages isthe languages ofthe many naoalites which make wp Kenya—were ciated with negative qualities of backwardnesr, underdevelopment ations punahnent. We eho wen through chat school syste were to gradaate with hated of the people and the eultare andthe sales the language of ea daly hursliation and punishment. 1 not want to Kenyan children growing up in that inperilistimposed tradition of 1 forthe tools of communication developed by thir communities tele istry I want ehem fo transcend colon alienation Language carries cuture, and cure cartes, particularly thragh serie thea of vals by which we come to pee Selves and ou place Inthe world. How people perecvethemsche how they lok at thee cure a her poles ad at he scl cf wealth, at theie ene relationship fo nature ad to thr beg ‘uape ts inseparable from ourselves ay community af human Shoei rman chats pci hist spec Sera sth coi inpton oy ng ing “heel aim of cian wa tocol he pepe we produced, nw they poe nd hw Ws det ta Imeem tec seal ofthe onguge of a ie Ca ‘more scone othe il podcionof welhugh my fs an siege pola dcop. ais rae ier ‘santo ete metal univ fy Afccan writers ate tun by ou calling to do for ou Inguages what se, Mion and Shakespeare did for English; what Pushkin and Tab yd for Rusia ndoed wha ll writer awed history have done for re lnguages by meeting the challenge of creating iterture in therm, hich proces ater opens the languages for pillow, cence technology dal he oer arene of human restive endeavours ‘rr Economic unl palical slca eer be compte a Sean ones roa hs ned wo ers of he se proces th de sn othe delete underly a = popes cl th ‘gs sor. mop elation etre and erat al

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