Linguistic Decolonization in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Decolonizing the Mind

Abstract

Decolonizing the Mind by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is a seminal work that highlights the importance of language in the process of decolonization. Thiong’o argues that colonization is not just a political and economic phenomenon but also a linguistic one. He asserts that colonizers imposed their languages on the colonized peoples, which led to the loss of cultural identity and self-esteem for the colonized. He refers to this as linguistic imperialism. He believes that decolonization must involve a rejection of the imposed languages and a return to native languages to reclaim cultural autonomy. He emphasizes the importance of linguistic decolonization as a necessary step in the broader process of decolonization. He asserts that language is the most potent vehicle of culture, and any attack on language is an attack on culture. Therefore, decolonization must involve the reassertion of the linguistic heritage of the colonized people. He argues that education plays a crucial role in promoting linguistic decolonization. Education should be restructured to reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity of the colonized people. The imposition of the colonizers’ languages in the education system is detrimental to the cultural identity of the colonized. This paper highlights Thiong’o strong rejection of European languages from Africa’s educational, cultural and political sphere to decolonize the very thought process.