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Unit 4 · Literary Criticism and Theory English · December 2023 (Rescheduled)

Which of the following statements are true about Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Decolonising the Mind?

  1. A. Its full title is Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature.
  2. B. It was first published in 1886 during a short visit to London for a conference.
  3. C. Language choice is central to how a people define themselves.
  4. D. The Nigerian author defends English as a tool of progress.
  5. E. In the colonial school, the language of his education was no longer the language of his culture.

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Correct answer: D. (A), (C) and (E) only

Explanation

Ngũgĩ, a Kenyan, published the book in 1986 as his farewell to English, committing himself to Gikuyu. It describes how English in the colonial school severed language from culture.

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