(An edited version appears in The Continent--link below)

The great Ngũgĩ’s lifelong preoccupation was decolonisation. In 1968, he, Owuor Anyumba, and Taban Lo Liyong pushed for the renaming of the English Department at Nairobi University, which Ngũgĩ had joined in 1967, to decentre English as the focus and frame of literary studies there. This is also the focus of this final book, published in the same month Ngũgĩ passed away by The New Press.

The case Ngũgĩ makes for why it’s so critical that language be decolonised is compelling: “Language conquest, unlike the military form, wherein the victor must subdue the whole population directly, is cheaper and more effective: the conqueror has only to invest in capturing the minds of the elite, who will then spread submission to the rest of the population… Imperial educational policies were meant to create colonies of the mind, among the elite of the colonized,” and “even after independence, the intellectuals express themselves more fluently in the language of imperial conquest than in the languages from their own country… in every postcolonial situation.”

This book is divided into two sections, corresponding to a two-pronged message: decolonisation and pan-Africanism. In the first section, Ngũgĩ describes the damage caused to the African psyche by “the unequal power relationships between languages,” and he outlines a five-part framework for reversing this damage: decolonising education; decolonising the body of knowledge Africa draws from (echoing a modern decolonial refrain: “There are many ways of knowing.”); enslavement vs. empowerment, or what the modern African intellectual must be to resist neocolonialism; an acknowledgment of our own (African) languages as repositories of knowledge and cultural power; and, finally, understanding the role of the university today.

In the second section—titled “Voices of Prophecy”—Ngũgĩ celebrates political activists, writers, and a publisher: all have shared in shaping the continent’s political, social and cultural trajectory. It’s pan-Africanism: building bridges across the Continent, struggling together for political reform and social good, fighting for liberation, and helping society imagine futures. In the book’s final chapter, “The African Writer as a Prophet and Social Critic in Contemporary Times,” Ngũgĩ describes how Es'kia Mphahlele, the South African writer, founded, while in exile, the Chemchemi (meaning spring or fountain) Creative Centre in Nairobi to foster the development of young writers. (He had also been part of the legendary Mbari Writers and Artists Club in Ibadan, Nigeria.) Mphahlele spoke at a high school in western Kenya where, incredibly, a young Henry Chakava—the future publisher who changed African literature—listened attentively from a corner of the room.

Carol Hanish said the personal is political; Ngũgĩ’s life demonstrated that the writer’s work is necessarily political. In some ways, this book is, too, Ngũgĩ’s memoir of his life in exile. Speaking truth about the postcolonial situation in Kenya (similar to that in many other African countries) led to his effective banishment from his home country; the Kenyan government could not, however, prevent him from taking part in the public discourse through his writing.

Why aren’t there more journals and scientific papers in African languages? Some work has been done recently to translate parts of the Western canon into African languages (for example, Nyerere translated Shakespeare into Kiswahili, and *Animal Farm* has been translated into ChiShona)—but why, Ngũgĩ asks, do we not have literature in translation from one African language to another? He insists in the book that there are treasures buried in our own languages—indigenous knowledge of politics, economics and culture, the source of ways for us to “imagine and reimagine” ourselves in history. Ngũgĩ wanted us, therefore, to ensure our own languages stayed alive, participating in and contributing to our common humanity, and for intellectual production to also happen in African languages on the world stage. No language, he says in the book—referring to what he calls Europhone languages—should “grow on the graveyard of other languages.”

Coming as it did at the end of his life, this book feels like Ngũgĩ’s last cry, a last plea to us: “You would think that after liberation and independence, the new nations, at the very least, would dismantle that unequal power relationship. But that is precisely the power of the colonies of the mind: negativity toward self has become internalized as a way of looking at reality.”

For Ngũgĩ, decolonisation was a pan-African process of recovery. He lives on in these ideas, in the gift he has left us of his own intellectual production. We are always building on the work of those who came before us; now we must receive the baton from him.

This was a really informative look at the importance of indigenous languages in Africa. The first third talks about colonisation and the suppression of local languages in favour of those of the Europeans. The latter two thirds discuss specific writers. Many parts of this book made an impression on me. The importance of writing in African languages, and translation, not just into English but also into other African languages. The author also talks about class, education and more.

I didn't know quite what to expect from this collection. but I found it immensely readable with some interesting short essays on topics that are not within my experience nor those of my students, hence there are aspects here that I will be setting as reading for classes that I teach. While dealing with immensely serious and important issues, the writer's style is sufficiently casual as to carry the reader along effortlessly; I kept having to make myself and reflect on what had been said (though that's hardly a criticism!).

This essay collection by an esteemed Kenyan writer was really good. The first part is made up of essays on, as the title implies, decolonizing language, especially in education and publishing, and the history and effects that colonizing language had. These were really interesting and very informative. The second part of the book is essays on various African writers who had a massive impact on the African literary scene. These were still pretty interesting, because they provided a jumping off point to look into more African writers beyond Chinua Achebe, and also because they provided such an insight into African politics. The author, along with multiple others written about, were imprisoned, threatened, exiled for their writings. It was an aspect of history I want to investigate more now.

I liked so much how this book mentioned how Language can be used as a tool for colonization. I liked so many other things of this and I need everyone to read it.

Informative and accessible, Decolonizing Languages breaks down the histories of language, and how the politics of the past still seeps into our vernacular today. I found some parts repetitive, though repetition in this instance felt as if it drove points home and strengthened arguments. Looking forward to diving further into the other works mentioned within this book!

Ahhhh Thank you to The New Press for providing me an advanced reader's copy of a book in my special interest area (linguistics and language) (!!!) I was super excited about this book and walked away with lots of notes and a reading list of other African authors' works I, regrettably, was unaware of.
The first portion of this book was right up my alley with informative and philosophical topics relating to language. I expected the entire book to be this way based on the title and felt disappointed by the style of the latter portion which was more personal and memoirish with experiences of the author and his peers throughout various essays. I believe the latter portion would be more enjoyable for those more familiar with previous works of the author, who has had a very interesting life. I did a cursory search and have had a difficult time tracking down English copies of a few of the works mentioned online. Regardless this was an easy and most importantly accessible text and I appreciate the opportunity to have read it.

I knew this book was for me as soon as I saw it. *Decolonizing Language* immediately reminded me of my university days when I took various classes on linguistics, cultural specifics, and literature. This book brings all those elements together.

*Decolonizing Language* is a collection of essays on the decolonization and colonization of language and the role it played in the broader colonization of countries. It explores the colonization of African nations by European powers and how this influence shaped African people's perceptions of themselves and their native languages. Many points surprised and shocked me, but then I recognized a similar attitude toward my own mother tongue. The realization made me uncomfortable.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a Kenyan writer and academic, has studied the issue of colonization in depth. He successfully conveys the topic in accessible language while keeping it engaging for those with a linguistic background.

I enjoyed reading the theoretical first part of the collection. Who knew I’d enjoy the second part even more? Discovering the details of Ngũgĩ’s relationships with politicians (including Nelson Mandela himself!) and African authors, as well as their literary journeys and contributions to decolonizing African languages, was fascinating. I cannot overstate how much the second part deepened my interest in exploring more African literature.

I appreciate The New Press and NetGalley for granting me early access to this book. It was a pleasurable read, and I hope other readers will find it as intriguing as I did.

Thanks to The New Press and Netgalley for this arc. Can’t wait for it to be published May 6, 2025!

Self described literary author with a political bent, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o examines the effects of colonial education on African thought, governance and self expression. Looking back at methods of imperialism in multiple context from England’s conquest of Ireland to the dispossession of indigenous lands and ultimately the European scramble for Africa, Thiong'o traces some of the most egregious effects of this process to the imposition of language laws.

Responsible for the alienation of one from oneself and one’s people, English only language policies enforced in Anglophone Africa’s school systems, ushered in a class of African intellectuals whose minds were colonized. In response to this crisis, Thiong offers a creative solution drawn from his experiences as a Kenyan activist, artist in exile and former political detainee.

He posits that instead of unquestionably inheriting an euro-centric language hierarchy, Africans create a network of languages and ideas while prioritizing translation as a means of communication. Using personal anecdotes and critical essays, he builds a network of African authors from all over the continent. This was my favorite part of the book, since the author vividly captures how it felt to be young in a newly independent Kenya. He also is very intentional about placing authors from the African diaspora in the conversation as well.

Overall, This book was motivational, informational and surprisingly a quick read. As someone who identifies as an artist, I am even more committed to using my voice to fight against tyranny. I am also interested in checking out his extensive collection of work that includes plays, novels, four memoirs and critical essays. Ultimately, that is the goal of this book to encourage readers to do more expansive research into African creative output, whether from him or other authors mentioned throughout the book.

Wa Thiong’o, born in Kenya, came of age in a post-colonial country, was taught to speak English as his first language, and educated in English. He asks the question: Is there any European country, France, Italy, England, where the natives, respectively, do not speak French, Italian, and English and study literature that is not written in their native tongue? His theme, which runs through his essays and speeches collected here, of the colonization of language and the work of reclaiming language, begins with a European parallel. Having Attended a conference, celebrating an organization dedicated to the revival of Gaelic in Ireland, he sketches the history of how the English, beginning in 1366, criminalized the Irish language in their goal to suppress the language, also similar to a long linguistic campaign undertaken in Norway to suppress the language of the Sami people.

Complicating his quest to see literature written in African languages in post-colonial countries, is the resistance by those in power to change from colonial to indigenous languages or even to include regional languages in African universities. The work of language activism by Wa Thiong’o is met with imprisonment and exile. He is not alone in his work. He shares testimonies of other African editors, translators, and writers fighting for African literatures, written in African languages.

Thank you to the publisher, The New Press, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Especially the first part, which I found really engaging. In the later parts of this book, the author really expanded upon the "other revolutionary ideas" portion of this book, but it ultimately started to feel a bit repetitive after a while with some of the same concepts presented in similar ways. This book is an incredibly valuable to read and I got a lot out of it, but I think it might be better to read slowly over time in order to really digest and not feel the repetitiveness of the concepts sometimes. 4.25/5

Thank you for gifting me an early copy of this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first part as it dealt with the topics that I expected in the way I expected. I was surprised by the second part, which was more drawn from personal experiences than plain theory and thoughts on Decolonising language.

I would rate it a 3 stars as it didn’t deal with what I expected.
It was still a great read as it really makes you think about how language was made and used to colonise.

The book had a strong start yet a few essays in it felt like the idea of "Decolonizing Language" was more the after thought with its revolutionary ideas. While they were still interesting at moments, it became repetitive. I did my best to push through the essays because I wanted to learn more, but while it felt repetitive, each essay felt like it needed more depth to it and would benefit of being longer or a different focus.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’m not sure there’s anything I can say in this review that would be more poignant or more important than what the book already says.

This is a valuable teaching resource, but also, a crucial read. The hierarchy of language created by colonization needs to be dismantled and this book offers both a historical lens to the creation of this hierarchy, and ways to bring it to an end.

While this is largely focused on the relation of English colonization within Africa, I also believe it’s principles can be applied more broadly within American Englishes (white standard’s subjugation of AAVE or Black English) and on a broader international scale.

I thought the section of tributes/essays on important African scholars was also very lovely and a crucial spotlight on scholars outside the white English canon. Each essay highlighted the roles these educators have played in the linguistic political landscape and lessons we can learn on how the act of decolonization can actually function.