English: a means to tell who we are.

a means to tell who we are.

A Ngugi Wa Chongo's approach might have looked the topic as irrelevant and of a paradoxical leaning. Actually, Ngugi was among those African scholars who advocated a radical rupture with the western umbelicus. And should ever that dream of his been realized, African thinkers would write in their local languages: (Swahili, Igbo, Fulbé,wolof...). That's why he said in I WILL MARRY WHEN I WANT, p277 "A man brags about his own penis however tiny". In other words, Ngugi means we should content ourself from what we possess. And this includes writing for ourselves (as Africans).

Yet, the questions that should not be let unraised is: Why and to whom should we write for?
In this world where globalization and interaction between people dictate their rules, should a confinement be a policy worth being encouraged?

A quick roll back in times, and a glance in the drawers of history teach us that Africa has longtime been considered as a land of no culture, no civilization and eventually needed to be bettered. HEART OF DARKNESS by Comrade testifies these. This book is one of the harshest literary battleground that gave to Africa the roughest of its tongue in terms of culture, civilization and identity denials as well.

That being the case, a defensive writing back should be at the forefront of the African thinkers line of duty, in order to answer the question why do we need to write. That's why i feel like waking up Chinwa Achebe who contrarily to Ngugi thought "we should write in
THEIR (white folks) languages". I think this statement is too meaningful in so far as it helps in having our voices been heard. Since they denied us culture and identity, we should be those ambassadors who defend before the whole world that we are but People of a great past, and a history that is worth beating one's chest.

A leader who is my number one reference, Nelson Mandela would always say: "When you talk to a person in a language in a language they understand, it goes to their head. But when you talk to a person in their language it goes straight to their hearts". Only this statement would be much enough to answer the question: Do we need English to express our identity?

We do need English to give a response to those grandsons from the other side of the Atlantic who deny us identity. Notwithstanding this, we need English to get out of that climate of hermetic appreciation of ours own. I mean by this, to invite others to know you better, is giving them the opportunity to discover you via a language they definitely understand. That "Senghoric" philosophy of rootedness before opening over the other cultures would meet the peak of its relevance in the sence of which English nowadays is a means by which ideas and thoughts are conveyed.
More, we talk about globalization and interaction, which i believe are euphemistic appellations of "sell your culture to the world". Consequently resorting to a language which is said to be the key of the world, i guess would not sound odd neither a pipe dream initiative.

#serigne bi mbacke