PROF. NGUGI ADVISES ON LANGUAGE POLICY

Strengthen mother tongues

By Samuel Kamugisha

Renowned author, Prof. James Ngugi Wa Thiongo has tipped East Africa to embrace a three-fold language policy.

The policy emphasizes commitment to the indigenous languages, Kiswahili for East African integration and English (or any other international language) for global interaction.

The 1963 second class upper graduate of English studies stressed the need for mother tongues.     “Knowing all the languages of the world except your mother tongue is intellectual enslavement”, lectured the Kikuyu author of more than thirty books.

Ngugi said this while delivering a keynote address at the 50^th anniversary celebrations of the University Of East Africa at Makerere University Main Hall. The function was graced by dignitaries from the Central Government and the academia.

At the same function, Ngugi received an accolade from the department of Literature.

Prof. Ngugi Wa Thiongo is a professor of Comparative Literature and English at the University of California, Irvine. He is author of novels including, Weep Not Child, The River Between, Petals of Blood and Devil On The Cross as well as plays including I will Marry When I want, a satire that landed him into trouble with the Daniel Arap Moi administration.

Meanwhile, the same function saw the launch of ‘WOMEN’S FREEDOM- WOMEN ARE EAGLES NOT CHICKENS”, a book authored by Tanzania’s founding father, the late Mwalimu Kambarage Julius Nyerere. The Kiswahili manuscript was written in 1944 and translated into English by Prof. Ruth Mukama of the Department of Linguistics at Makerere University.

The proceeds from the 20,000 shilling book will go towards scholarship for the academically talented and yet disadvantaged youth to facilitate their study at Makerere University under the Nyerere Scholars scheme.

Ngugi’s remarks come amidst an impasse at both the National Council for Curriculum Development (NCDC) and the Ministry of Education and Sports over the teaching of local languages from nursery up to University. Plans to institute the local languages curricula were halted last year, leaving Luganda as the only language taught up to University.