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RECONSTRUCTING IDENTITY THROUGH LANGUAGE: A STUDY OF NGUGI WA THIONG’O REJECTION OF ENGLISH AND THE IMPACT ON POSTCOLONIAL IDENTITY

Kanika Belwal & Dr. Devendra Kumar Sharma

Ngũgĩ's philosophy, in Decolonising the Mind, critiques colonial and neo-colonial systems and puts emphasis on language as a repository of culture, history, and identity. Writing in Gikuyu, Ngũgĩ rips up the colonial language hierarchy and rediscovers his native languages as the pride and authentic voice of the culture. He opposes the dominant voice of English and argues about cultural alienation and how native narratives could be reclaimed. This paper examines the role of language in the reconstruction of postcolonial identity through concentrating on Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's rejection of English and his promotion of indigenous languages as tools of cultural resistance and liberation. It discusses Ngũgĩ's reasons and the broad implications of linguistic decolonization for African literature and identity reconstruction. It deals with how indigenous language restoration serves as an antidote to the erasure of culture, asserts self-determination, and rejects neo-colonialism. It also addresses the global implications of Ngũgĩ's critique in linguistic diversity preservation amid globalization and postcolonial bilingual education. It contributes to the discourse on language, power, and cultural sovereignty, inasmuch as it centers Ngũgĩ's perspectives and continues to encourage efforts toward maximizing indigenous languages in literature and society.


DOI:

Article DOI: 10.62823/IJIRA/5.1(II).7330

DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.62823/IJIRA/5.1(II).7330


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