English no longer belongs to the English

Gordon, a White racist told us, “Do not complain about European words having European meanings. If we want to change the meaning–use an African language. (the cheek). How I wish I could write these posts in Akan but there is a reason I am using English. And today I would like to declare that English also belongs to me as much as it does to the White skinned Englishman. That is the downside of them colonizing me and destroying my language–I now share ownership of English with my colonizers.

The GLM estimates that in the modern world a new word is created every 98 minutes (approximately 14.7 new words per day). Each year, an estimated 800 to 1,000 neologisms are added to English language dictionaries (in the 20th century alone, more than 90,000 words have been added).

And “race or origin” is not a criterion for any entry into the English language. And pop culture in the hands of the likes of Lil Wayne and Nikki has added quite a lot of new English words, despite neither of them and their crew being Daniel Craig.

This is 2024 and the English language is no longer the property of “the English”. Some of these racists did not get the memo.

They still think this is 1627. You see when you purged our language from our memory and left us with only English you surrendered ownership of your language in the process. When you read the works of Fredrick Douglass this is clear. When you read Malcolm X it is clear that the weapon of the slavemaster is now the weapon of the oppressed and will be used in our liberation. While not all us agree I would argue that we are better able to articulate our African modern reality in English than in virtually any other African language. This is not a strict value judgment, it is just that by merely constant usage of a tool, the tool and the tool user get better at their job.

Achebe wrote in English and was rightfully criticized for doing so. We are not simply picking a side and saying it is A or B. It is a nuanced discussion with points on both sides. Our usage of English is multidimensional mainly deeply practical. When you are in South Africa and move from KZN to Lesotho (as we did on one trip for the Motherland film) the Zulu translation becomes useless 20 km from the border of Lesotho and has to switch over to English. What do we need him for?

As of 2023, an estimated 1.46 billion people speak English around the World. Incredibly, this amounts to 18.07% of the global population, almost 1 in 5 people.

WOKE: CASE STUDY

English is the property of those who speak it.

The term “woke” originally came from African Americans in the 1930s. To “stay woke” was to be alert to the prevalence of racist discrimination, abuse and violence in US society. This was something every African American family would have to teach their children.

The term was evoked again by the Black Lives Matter movement in the context of police shootings and gained wider circulation on social media.

Ironically, it was then adopted as a pejorative term by conservative politicians and commentators to sarcastically describe those who speak out against casual instances of racism, sexism and other forms of superficial social prejudice or injustice. In a way the trivial usage of the term by the BLM caused it to be universally now seen as a negative.

So, this proves how quickly meanings change and that the authors of English can come from any demographic. The language is the property of those who speak it.

NOT ONLY ENGLISH

Most Arabic speakers are not traditional Arabs, and most Catholics are not from Italy. The world has changed and will continue to change. Today English is transformed more by Hip Hop artists and popular culture than by any white man on London Bridge. Oxford Dictionary puts no racial priority on new English words and meanings. MJ said bad now means good, and Miles said Jazz was cool.

English has won the language war, but it lost its ownership in the process.

PAN AFRICAN LANGUAGE

A young man (in a Western suit) stands up and is hardcore and critical of AU’s usage of colonial languages, guess which languages he uses to make his address? He claims using colonial languages keeps us tethered to our colonial past. No Bro, relying on FOREIGN AID and Agency keeps us tethered! Relying on EU and China and American Aid, and ties and Suits keeps us tethered. We own nothing, we manufacture nothing that is what keeps us tethered.

We must stay alert to the great issues of our era, yes, language is one of them. But I do not care what Language we speak as Pan-Africanists only that we speak truth with our words and honor the legacy of Pan-Africanism to empty the world of imperialism. Language is not even a secondary issue when we don’t even own the building we meet in and our agendas are dictated from Europe! How can we, a people with zero control, over our continent complain about languages when we have not so much as created a viable Pan-African language? Who is going to afford this task? Is this young brother aware of the economics behind creating a Pan-African language that has no economic benefits attached to it? Might make more sense to speak Chinese. So, would you complain about the European car unless you have an African one to replace it? Would you complain about European clothes if you have no clothing industries of your own? I think prior to a Pan-African language there needs serious investment in creating one. Now think of the logistics of doing so in our pathetic state. Idealism can be very stupid if you have a degree in feeling good and sounding revolutionary. No critical thinking has been applied.

I asked someone to translate some AHS articles into Swahili, and Hausa. You dont believe how poor these languages are for that task. Zulu was the worst because most native Zulu speakers could not understand proper Zulu. Then would we not have to fix our languages before shouting out that English is crap for our unity?

But language is important. We have articles dedicated to language death. We have engaged with African language agencies in Africa. Yes, it is important. The issue is one of hierarchy. Dont try to fly before you can crawl.