Lingustic Imperialism in Things Fall Apart
Linguistic Imperalism in the novel 'Things Fall Apart'
Linguistic imperialism is a type of cultural imperialism that involves the transfer of a dominant language to other people, especially to the ones that are economically and ideologically disempowered. The transfer is a demonstration of power among cultures; military power in the earlier times, and economic power in our days. Also the aspects of the dominant culture are usually transferred along with the language as in Colonialism.
The theory of linguistic imperialism has since the early 1990s attracted attention among scholars of applied linguistics, particularly since the publication of Robert Phillipson's influential book, Linguistic Imperialism, which led to considerable debate about the merits and shortcomings of the theory. Phillipson defines English linguistic imperialism as: "the dominance asserted and retained by the establishment and continuous reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages. Phillipson's theory evaluates English and its historic spread as an international language and that language's continued dominance, particularly in postcolonial settings such as India, Pakistan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa etc., but also increasingly in "neo-colonial" settings such as continental Europe.
The importance given to the native language in the novel is expressed by a telling between Obierika and Okonkwo:
-"Does the white man understand our customs about land?"
-"How can he when he does not even speak our tongue?" (Achebe 145)
In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo words and phrases are very frequently used. Some words such as obi, chi, osu, and egwugwu become assimilated very quickly as Achebe scatters many like these all through the novel. Others which take place less frequently require translation, such as ilo (the village playground), or ...
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The importance given to the native language in the novel is expressed by a telling between Obierika and Okonkwo:
-"Does the white man understand our customs about land?"
-"How can he when he does not even speak our tongue?" (Achebe 145)
In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, the Ibo words and phrases are very frequently used. Some words such as obi, chi, osu, and egwugwu become assimilated very quickly as Achebe scatters many like these all through the novel. Others which take place less frequently require translation, such as ilo (the village playground), or agbala (woman or 'man without title'). For instance, he mentions egwugwu, in a sentence beginning with all words in English.
" I don't know why such a trifle should come before the egwugwu."(Achebe 94)
By doing this, he draws the reader's attention to the concept familiar with Nigerian culture. Also, the story is set in 'Umuofia', which is translated into English as "Bush Children"; bush meaning uneducated and uncivilized. The Ibo was later civilized by British colonialism, using the British language, and the Anglican religion. Achebe chose Umuofia to represent the opinion of Europeans which tell that the natives of Nigeria are uncivilized savage people.
Secondly, proverbs also play a large part in the novel. The English translations provided by Achebe attempt to keep the spirit of the proverb alive and remain faithful to
the terminology at the same time. As an example, he uses the proverb "A man that makes trouble for others is also making it for himself."(Achebe, 97) This one is similar to the Golden Rule that the British were very familiar with. However, the proverbs he uses usually mean the opposite of the opinion of European people; in order to prove that the highly religious Nigerian culture is also a civilized and enriched one. In addition to that, the proverbs give clues about the religious values of the Nigerian people. The strong religious beliefs of the tribe are revealed as Achebe writes, "Those whose palm kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble," showing that they are thankful for everything they have. (Achebe, 26). Also, Achebe goes on to write, "When a person says yes, his Chi says yes to him," (Achebe, 27) This clarifies that the natives believed that if one is humble himself to his God, the God will appreciate it and help him.
Last but not least, as the storytelling tradition is a part of the Ibo culture, Achebe makes the characters tell traditional folk tales. This shows Europeans that the natives have great pride for their country. For instance, while Ekwefi is telling Enzima a story about a selfish, greedy tortoise, she begins the same way as the Europeans begin to tell a story to a child, saying "Once upon a time." She goes on to tell the story of a tortoise who overhears that there is a great feast for birds approaching, and he wants to go. After begging for wings from a bird, the tortoise goes to the feast and tricks the birds, getting all of their food. Consequently, the birds get revenge and the tortoise's shell is scarred forever. Therefore, the story provides the lesson not to be greedy and selfish, as emphasized in many stories all from different cultures. (Achebe, 99)
As a result, cultural -spesifically linguistic- imperialism is inevitable among many cultures in history. Either the invasion or the colonization of a dominant culture will usually end up with the assimilation of some other culture. Throughout the novel, Achebe uses original Ibo vocabulary, draws on proverbs, folk tales and techniques developed by the oral storytellers. Furthermore, he claims that the African writer should aim at fashioning out an English which is at once universal and able to carry his peculiar experience ... a new English is altered to suit its new African surroundings. Even though the language alters and is under the effects of the diversity of cultures, the telling of the story is from African perspective and holds an attitude against the new English culture and its reflections in native culture.
