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'oI'm more trying to connect; I'm more listening to people. Whatever I get is very meaningful to me.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oChristianity and Western civilization-what countless crimes have been committed in thy name!
Ngugi wa Thiong'oThrough the act of translation we break out of linguistic confinement and reach many other communities.
Ngugi wa Thiong'oMany 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'oIf 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