Figure: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. Decolonising the Mind. The Politics of Language in African Literature
1986, London: James Curry, Nairobi: Heineman Kenya, Portsmouth: Heinemann, Harare: Zimbabwe Publishing House
Topics: Communication; Culture; Ethics and Socio-Politics of Language; Grammar and Meaning; Intentionality; Language and Mind; Race
Keywords: colonialism; decolonisation; language policy; native languages; translation
Traditions: Comparative/Intercultural; Critical; Cultural; Sub-Saharan African
Languages: English
Figures: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

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Added by: Sara Peppe and Björn Freter
Publisher’s Note:
Decolonising the Mind is a collection of essays about language and its constructive role in national culture, history, and identity. The book, which advocates for linguistic decolonization, is one of Ngũgĩ’s best-known and most-cited non-fiction publications, helping to cement him as a pre-eminent voice theorizing the “language debate” in post-colonial studies. Ngũgĩ describes the book as “a summary of some of the issues in which I have been passionately involved for the last twenty years of my practice in fiction, theatre, criticism, and in teaching of literature…” Decolonising the Mind is split into four essays: “The Language of African Literature,” “The Language of African Theatre,” “The Language of African Fiction,” and “The Quest for Relevance.”
Comment (from this Blueprint): The papers in this volume were foundational for the post-colonial debate on African language.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Recommended use: Overview

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