Paces | Ducotonsne rue Mino Nevar wa Txions’o fiom DECOLONISING THE MIND I tiny on of em dings ins dice me of ‘he common er lng and are arn itp ps fy ithe fr wives an so ny Trogir cies 1c bonged st we al i a hone Gye oer xed amy nd he commony wave "Werle Gyaare woke id fl Werpak ik in and uid he bomen vy wel hoe ings of orgelig sound ‘heirs mont te ownage eng tedden bt cya tet ieee and vee We cen old rel he sor he lowing day othr clien who woted inthe Bes pking the crn Bowers calc o cle Uso fo Bape and ABR Pao Thea wth mony annals the main chance, weal ld in Gitay Haring cal web illofinoavewitand exon wae Suri, Wein wr im she gel api he brs of ey ie on lepers bea Hvis weer and wet ak the app wea con uti arog, Wefllowed he sian sods pins ole nrute— drug, i, wind a cotonion ofc fag chon t sich fr frm of evopetion. Bat we wee ao ceed hr muggisumongy teneeveread prods Dearwandheicinet py. Tecra ope apa rede tein elec eo cog nthehaban wo Tota engender han athe man chic ‘There wae ow po chances n sch hanes ates de apes oy hoa tang th goes Chg nda ey, Decovonume mux Mino | Pacts hazed of econ foros da mamas two-mode vith ii of ged, lish, indivi and hel of wha ae {rod inthe larger co-operative community. Cooperation th nate feed in acommuniy was conean dene Kcold une human beige ih anima aut grea af py the nary of ow dene, ‘er being fel with carro sees, wa et ech ith ong ‘ea fm home and hoe pregront wife ms bing theatre by Bere ‘aentng we outed open “There were good and bad ory, A god one could el he ame sory ofr doer agi an oul cas ee wu Se acne Hove cadena tly amore mae mated dramatic. The difrenes ely weenie of words and inage a ino fee wc det nes = sit ei a ae wore ming a ae guage Was nots ce ng of words hada mgpeste power wel beyond the immedie and lal meaning. Our sppecaden of ie sopgeive mail power oflinguge wanted ye gums pled ‘ith word hough dl, prove cneponons cas ordaoogh oc be say gl wed So eat he mae fc langngeon pete content Telanginge,dregh image and yates qr ura view te wo hasivhads Deaf tow Teh snk Sheil were then our pre pinay ool bhai impoane for is ‘Seu icteric an eng our immed and wider community and he langage a ut wot fields were one. a ae “—e ei we hs a lnc a hi many at The ngage of medication wasn loge the ngage oy cui wen o Kaan sary iy antes wnt tilled Maguttrunby sonal grouped aid Gee depend, [ent and Karinga Schools Association. Our language of education wa sill ‘ike. The very was even an oaton fr ny widget fovea compotion in Gikoy. So for my fie four ers re wll hamonybeeren the langage of my fal eucaon and tha of the ewe lean ofa eof was afer the decaraon of stare of emerpeney over Kenyan 1952 tha all the schools fun by patric nasal ete taken ovr bythe ‘olonial regime and wee placed under Dates Education Bors caired boy Englishmen. English bream the lagu of ty fra eduction. Iaage 86 | Dacotonasn re Mowe Kanye, Engh ben ort slangngc wath ngs edlibe shes had co bow bere in defence. “Tha on ofthe ot hullrng experience wat tobe caught peaking Cake ia the vicky ofthe scool The cp ts gen copord prnihient cre to fie sakes ofthe cane on bate butoc—ot wat {ade to cara meal plate sound the neck wih inciptons cha TUPD or ca DONKEY, Somes theca were fined money thy ould hardy flor. And how dd the teachers ch the api A baton ‘ne om vi a gyn wii re wiowe ‘at caught paling bir mother ongue, Whore bad th baron tec Uf the day would ig who fal gen ito hm and he ening process trol bring outa the cls cfthe day Ths cen were sated no rick bun and inthe pres were being taught the luce vale of Being ttt ond immed commun "Fhe ate o Engh war the cat oppote: any achivemens in spolenee rien Engi vashighlyevardds pas peri splute the dcr to higher ee, Eaplsh became the mewar of telignce and ably hear, he edences andl theoder branches leaning Engl became te na esrminant of chil props pte adder onal duction As you may know he colonial tem of faction in aon re spartld cal dermuctos bad the errr of prams road primary earring cary mile an ees Sewer ney spe Sclestons fom primary ino neondary were through an camino ay Sine eld Keay AfcanDreliminuy Examination ia which oe had © ps oe sbjc gig en Mahe a Nate Sty and Kiel. Al he Fpesyron engi Nod ap hrm ee Eel language pper no marr how blithe had dove in the ther tubjcts remeber one oy nny cat of 1954 whe had doco all tubjece exxp Engl which ead fled. He war adel the ete ‘cam. Heweat ono become a turn oyna bus company who had ony fase buta ced in Engh gor par acthe Allane High choo, one of {petri ination forAanin colonial Kenya. The requires fora pla arte Univ, Makerere Universi Colle, were bron the ‘ae nobody could go on o wea the undergrad el gown, mae iow blll they tad perfomed nal the ther nbc unless they had 2 rdie~not rasp putin Engl, Th the mow coved place inthe pri nd inte Stem wa oly sve othe older OF an Dacoxonases rin Mino | Pa sy English language creditcard English was the oficial vehicle and the magic formula to colonial eltedom. Literary education was now determined by che dominant langusge while slso reinforcing that dominance. Orrure (ora lteatue) in Kenyan languages stopped. In primary school | now read simplified Dickens and Stevenson alongside Rider Haggard. Jim Hawkins, Oliver Twist, Tom Brovwn—not Hate, Leopard and Lion—were now my daily companions in the wold of imagination. In secondary schol, Scot and GB. Shaw ved with more Rider Haggard, John Buchan, Alan Paton, Caprain W-E. Johns. [At Makerere I read Engh: fom Chascer 9 T'S. Eliot with a couch of Grahame Greene "Thus language and lierature were aking us further and further fom curelves to other shes, fom our wold to other wed. "What was the colonial system ding tous Kenyan children? Wha were the consequences af on the one hand this tematic suppesion of our languages and the literature they carried, and on the ther the elevation of English and the lieracure it cared? To answer those questions, et me fist ‘ramine the lationship of language o human experienc, human cule, and the human perception of aly Language any language, ha dual character eis both means of commu: sation and scar of ale. Take English, Ic is spoken in Bian and in ‘Sweden and Denmark But fr Swedish and Danish people English i only ‘means of communication with non-Scandingviane Tes nota eatir of their culture. For the Brith, and pariculnly the Bog, iis additionally, and inseparably fom is use af a tool of communication, a care of thie cular and history Or take Swab in Fave and Central Afi eis widely wed ata meant of communication across many nationalities, But itis not the carrie of ulare and history of many of tho naconalies. However in pars of Kenya and Tanzania and pareulaiy in Zansibar, Swab ie inseparably both means of communiaton and acter ofthe clare of those people to whom it ra mother conguc. Language as communication har three asec ements. Thetis fist, ‘what Kar Marc once called the language of realli, the element basic the ‘ole notion of language its origins and development thatthe relations people enter into with one another inthe labour proce the links they cesar esablh among themselves in the ac of s people, a community ‘oF human beings, producing wealth or means of lif like food, clothingPaget | Dacotontna ras Mi ‘houses A human community ely str tshistorical beingasa community ‘of co-operation in roducon through the division of labour, he simplest Js berveen man, woman and child within a household; the more complex divisions are becween branches of production such st thote wi are sole hunter, soe gatherers of fut or sole workers in meta. Then ther ze the ‘most compler divisions sich st thos in modern factories where a sngle produc, saya sie o a shoe, is the rele of many hands and minds Production i co-person, ir communication, is language, is expresion of 4 relation berween human beings and ic is pecially human “The second aspect of language at communication ix speech and it lmitats che language of elif that ir communication in production. The verbal signposts both reflec and aid communicaion or the relation ‘stable berween human beings in che production of ther means fie Language asa stem of verbal signposts makes tht production posible The spoken word so tlations between human beings what the hand iso the rations berween human beings and nature. The hand through sols mediates berseen human beings and nature and forme the language of rea life spoken words mediate berween human beingrand form the language of speech, "The third aspect i the writen signs. The writen word imitates the spoken. Where he fst ro aspect of language a communication through the hand and che spoken word hitorilly evolved mare ole simulta neously, the writen aspec isa much ltr historical development Writing |s representation of sounds with visual symbol, fiom the simples knot among shepherds ttl the number i a herd othe hieroglyphic among, ‘the Aaiky®gicsand singers and poe of Keny, tothe moet complicated tnd different leer and picture writing systems ofthe world today. In most socics th weten and the spoken languages ae the samen that they repent each other what ison paper cin be read to another petton and be rceveda chat language, which che recipient has grown up ‘peaking. In such a scien there i broad harmony for child between the hee aspects of langusgeas communication Hisinteacton with nature and with other men irexpresed in writen and spoken symbole or signs which te both a rel of that double ineersron and a telecon of i. The Assocation of he cil’ sensblyis with che language of his experience of li ‘Bur there more it communication beeen human beings is io the basisand proces ofevlving culture in doing similar kinds of things and actions over and over asin under sila cecumstances,snilarevenintheir Decoromsne mex Min | Pace 89 ‘mutability, certain acters, moves, cythms, babi, aime, experiences and knowledge emerge. Those experiences ate handed over to the next {generation and become the inheriedbatifor ther fuer actions on eatate and on themselves. There isa gradual accumltion of values which in time become amos elf-evidenc uth governing het conception of what ight and wrong, good and bad, beatfl and ugly, courageous and cowarly, ienerous and mean in their ineeral and exten elaions. Over atime this becomes away of life distinguishable rom other way of if. They develop a ditinctiv culture and history. Calsteembodis those moral chia and esthetic values, the set of prtualeyeplats, through which they come to view themselves and thei place in the universe. Values are the bass of people's ideniy, dei senee of particultiy sx members ofthe human ace, All thse carried by language. Language ar alr i the callective memory bank ofa people’ sexpeience in hisory. Colture i almestinditnguishable fiom the language thar maker possible its genes growth, banking. amticulaton ad indced its transmison from one generation to the next, Language as culture also has thre important aspects, Cure isa product of the history which ein cur reflects, Culture in other words i rouct anda reflection of human beings communicating with one another In che very struggle ro create wealth nd t contol Bu eultare doesnot ‘merely reflec that sory, or eather it doe 0 by actualy forming images ot Pictures ofthe wodd of mature and nurture. Thus the second aspect of language as cultures as an image-formingagetin the mind ofa child. Our whole conception of euselves 3s «people, individually and collectively is based on hse piceures and imager which tay or may nov comecly comespond to the actual cealty of the sugges with nature and nurture ‘hich produced chem in the fie plac. But our capacity to confone the word creatively isdependen on how those images correspond or not chat reality, how they distort or clarify the ely of our eagles. Language a, caullure isthas mediating Berteen me and my own self erween ty own vl and other selves; berween me and nature, Language i mediating in my very being, And chs brings uo the hid aspece of language ax culare Culture wansmits or imparts thoe images ofthe world and realty duough the spoken and che written ngage chacisthrough specif language. nother words, the capacity speak, the espacio order sounds ina manner that makes for mutual comprehension Beoncen hutna beings is universal, This is the university of language, a quality specific to human beings, It corresponds to the universality of the struggle agains nature and. that beeween human beings. But the particulary ofthe sounds, the words thePace go | Drooromzo ris Mio vrordorderin phrases and sentences, and the specie manne, aw, of thar ordeing ie whatditinguishes one ngage fom another. Thus a specif cures noe tansmited though ngage es iver bat in Erpareaariy othe lnguge of apc community with «mec Hinory. Wen ero and erate ae the mun means by which 2 utr nguge want iage of the word contsined inthe ae caren Tanguage communion anda ure ar then produc of ech cxher Communion eves clement communication. Tanguage cari cures and clare cas, parc hough ore td ner the ene body of valves by which we come to pereine Scena out plc nthe wold, How people peciehemsles ales ‘ow ty ok a hice hi plik andthe oil prodoction {Felt cienite ranship omarraro her xing Langone {rnp rors url r community of bunan beings witha spe orm and charter, asec sory, specie lanshpc the wool So wha was the colons imposion of oegnlanguge doing wo chide? “Te els ofeclonaism wast conti he pops weal wha they produce: bow they product ian bow wa edo conn Tier words the cater ofthe language of ea ie. Conia mene fc ofthe socal producto of wel dough milary expos and sree plea dcop Bar mow imporanatea fdaminaon war mental nie of i coloic, chon hugh Sct, of how people pected tees nd elon othe Soni zononis an pele conta can nvr be comple o fective Wihout mena eon Teconsolapoople'sozene congo er tools eledcntnn i lonsip wo oer Tor clnlion tis inven mpc of he sme procs the desion or he delete undering of peopl cre tht a ‘nce igonn history, ropaphy, educaon, ou ad rere, and ‘Seco cao thane fini The domination of eons nguge byte langnger eth slong nos was cial se eEhinten se mel wen ft cloned “Tk guage ev communion. Imposing 1 oc ge, and suppeeting te nae guages spoken and wecen, were araly Drconomasme nex Miso | Pace breaking the harmony prety exiting brwen te Aca id and the three specs oflanguage, lace the new hngunge mens fcomtinicn ton was producto and warren the tel angage of i" chew, scolar leone rane beret 5 community. This ayn ps xan why technology wey appear ‘ousasslighlyexeraseipoductsnd not ou. The wor mile wed to hold an alen fray sound un! Isc leat sequent in Gikaya, neraduband nade ne sppreend it dient Laing ot 2 ealonial cl, became a cera atiy and not an emotional perience Butsince the new imposed language could never comply beak the satve angngs spl, hi mest fe ses of doinan es he third aspect oflnguge a communication the writen The ngungeof ‘Aican cil frmaleduestion wa feign The ngage of te bons he read wat forign The linguge of his concprinton ws Toign “Though. inhim cok the we form of foign language So the writen langage of cit’ upbringing in he schol een soe language thin hecho compound) bene dvred toms spoken neue home: Thre ma fen ot the sight ani fete ch ct veiten word which waa the langage of hi shocing and the word {his immedi environment inthe my andthe emamuniy, For Colonial child, the harmony exiting berwecn the tie spect of lnguage ’S communication wa ierocalybolen, Thiele inte dasoceion ofthe snub of tha child from is ar and wil envionment ‘we might ll clonal alienation. The aencon became nore inthe techn fico gga, mite, whe got aoe ws vee “This doin, vores, o aration fm the immediate eavion- ‘ext cme cr whe ou lk cologne ie Since eakar i prot ofthe hoy of people which iin wn teh cl tw bing capone eect product ofa wold xermal to him He wa sing made to sand ouside isle lok at hinselé. Catching Them Yow the tile os book on ‘acim, clam, ex and plc i citren tera by Bob Dash “aching em og a sin a ene of ln cl mags fh word and is place inne nce yan ‘eradicate, if they ever can be. .Paces | Ducovonasne re Mono Since culture dos no jst refer the wos in images but actualy through thoe imagen, conditions child to sce that word certain way he ‘colonial ld war made to se the world and where he sands in cas sen tnd defined by or reflected inthe culture ofthe language of imposition. ‘And since those imager are mostly passed on through oraure and literature it meant the child would now only se che world as seen in the literature of is lnguage of adoption. From the point of view of alienation, thatis of eing once rom ouside oes asifone was another sleds tnt maser that che imported iterate cried the great humanisewdiion lf the best Shakespeate, Goethe, Baleac, Talay, Gtk, Brecht, Sholokbow, Dickens, The location of thi get miror oF imagination was necessarily Europe ands history and cule ad the st ofthe univers was sen frm that cere But obviously ie was worse when the colonial child was exposed to images of his work as mitoted inthe writen languages of his colonise ‘Where his owe native languages were associated in hisimpresionable ming with ow status, huriliation, corporal ponishmene, slow footed imeligence md abilgyor downright stupidity, non iceligibilcy sndbarbrim, hss ‘reinforced bythe world he met inthe works of such geniuses of racism asa Rider Haggardora Nicholas Monsarrts not to mention che pronouncement tl some ofthe glans of western ineclletul and poll enable, such ts Hume C-The negro is naturally inferior fo the whiter.., Thomas Jeferon (The black .aeinferoe wo the white on the endowments of both body and mind.) or Hogs with ix Aca comparable oa land of clildood stil enveloped in the dark mandle of che nigh as far a che \levelopment of el consciouhisery was concerned. Heel statement that thee as nothing harmonious with humanity to be found inthe Aean tharacter ie eprtenative ofthe ait images of Afcas and Afric uch Colonial child wat bound eo encounser im the lrercute of the colonial Lenses The sults ould be dsasous 986) Queeroxs 1. How do you fe the opening sentence affects the average Western reader Why would Ng choose write his and wo plc iin such 2 prominent lection ni ey? 2, What ete shetoviel purpose of paraphilia? acovomsse maa Mano | Pa 93 In paragraph 15, Ng argues chat language har communication faneton forall people who speak that language, bu that ical serves, sr 2 cartier ofelere For all hove for whom that Inguage i the ‘mothercongue. If you speak fo or more languages, doce this ‘eron meer wih your wn experience Discus how the imposition of «forign language brske “the harmony previous exiting berween the Afican child andthe thee aspect of language" (paragraph 26) ‘Toward the end of his es, Ngug males reference ro the Europea tbsed writer ofitrture he wa forced wo study aa child nd how these stories dd not match his own expences. How do dhe poems, cssay, plays and novel you ae being asked o readin thie course feflec you experince you weretheinseuctor of this couse bow ‘would you go abou lectins reading lt?