Abstract

Decolonising the Mind is a classic text in the African language conversation. It advocates for the knowledge and use of African languages and presents a thesis that the languages have the capacity to bear knowledge. The text is underlain by the understanding that it is not possible to separate the person from their mother tongue. Further to that is an argument that if a person does not know their mother tongue, they are enslaved. This presentation intends to explore this conversation by analyzing the immediate context of the text with regard to the subject of decoloniality in language learning, language use, and the larger question of knowledge generation. The presentation will explore the following sub-themes: Language in Kenya from the 1920s to date; the language discourse in selected African countries; African language curriculums in African countries; African language literacy practices; a case for African language curriculum deconstruction; a case for critical literacies in African languages. The crux of the presentation is that Decolonising the Mind is not merely a language literacy campaign but a wide-ranging crusade to restore what is essentially African in our epistemology and ontology, cognizant of the reality that Africa has had a centuries-long cultural encounter with diverse cultures, but that it still retains uniqueness that needs to be acknowledged and that African peoples need to identify with. African language curriculum transformation and efforts towards critical literacies should precede endeavours to restore African identities, valorizing African heritages, and creating confidence in African knowledges, beliefs, and practices.

Bio

Peter N. Mose is a senior lecturer at the Department of Languages, Linguistics and Literature at Kisii University in Kenya. He obtained his doctoral degree in African languages from Rhodes University, South Africa, and also pursued his post-doctoral training from the same institution. His specialization is in the intersection of language literacies, multilingualism, and language policies. His current research interest is in critical literacies/pedagogies and curriculum making in African languages. Mose is a member of professional language associations and currently an honorary senior research associate at Rhodes University’s School of Languages and Literatures. He has published in the area of languages and literacies and has also presented research papers at international conferences both in Africa and the United States. Mose believes that championing for African languages is not merely a Pan-Africanist anthem, but a campaign to (re)member the African soul, revalorize the African identity, and to revive and restore truly African ontologies and cosmologies based on our heritage and current realities.