Modern African Writers and the Challenges of Writing in African languages
Modern African Writers and the Challenges of Writing in African languages

Summary/Abstract: The debate about using indigenous African languages in writing is not new and I am not about to review the many submissions and counter submissions made for several decades, from Obi Wali’s to Chinua Achebe’s, from Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s to Wole Soyinka’s. However, some of the most exciting sessions in the language debate that I myself witnessed were at the 1997 African Literature Association annual conference at Austin, Texas. A huge audience repeatedly asked Chinua Achebe why an authentic African writer wouldn’t jettison colonial language and adopt his mother tongue. He responded again that African writers had to make their own choices, and could only write in the language that they knew best, local or foreign. During another session, Ngugi wa Thiong’o was, practically spitting fire and declaring another war, pushing for the adoption of African languages by African writers. Achebe and Ngugi are giants of African literature and I might not be qualified to challenge their views. Nevertheless, their views impress upon Africa’s march to socio-cultural and economic emancipation.

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