Thursday, November 15, 2012
Bilingualism in Things Fall Apart
Why does Achebe choose to write his novel in English but still include words or phrases of Igbo? What purpose might this serve and/or what effect does it have on you as a reader? Why does he sometimes define the word in the text and sometimes require readers to look in the glossary in the back of the book to see the translation? How does this inclusion of multiple languages compare to the Russian and English used in Vaclav & Lena or Spanish and English in "How to Tame a Wild Tongue?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
He chooses to do this because he wants to describe the setting to an audience that may not be familiar with African culture but also use words and phrases of his native language so that the audience can experience the culture and further understand the meaning of the book. When he uses the term "agbala" for a woman or a man who has taken no title,if the book were written completely in Igbo or translated into English the words could be misinterpreted, whilst writing a book in English with words in Igbo helps the reader understand the meaning behind the word because they can refer to the context and at times have to use the glossary, requiring the reader to be a more active, which is why they are also used in Valclav & Lena and "How to Tame a Wild Tongue."
ReplyDeleteAchebe wants to give a proper representation of Africa. He wants to inform the reader and immerse them in African culture, and by using the native language he accomplishes this task. In my opinion, the reason why he doesn't define all the words in the text is because he knows that readers who actually care and want to learn about African culture will look up the words in the glossary. Also, if he defined all of the Igbo words in the text, it would have created a dull tone and would have taken away from the style. I also agree with Jon's comment that if the whole book were in English some of the translated words from Igbo might be misrepresented.
ReplyDeleteAchebe chooses to use words and phrases from his native language Igbo to add to the African cultural in his stroy. The purpose of adding his native language assures the validity of the African culture through-out the story. It adds a sense of effeciveness to the story's background. Having the language in the text gives the reader an opportunity to learn the language of a different culture. However when reading the story the native langauge was a problem in the beggining. Since the words were new and unknown it was hard to understand and i always did not look in the glossary to find out what they meant. Overtime it was easier and more enjoyable to read as the stroy progress and I learned the names of the characters and some of the other words. Overall i think adding words from his native language increases the value of the African background for the reader and makes it more believable.
ReplyDeletealmost everyone said that the reason why he included Igbo words to his story was to create a connection of the culture with the reader and I agree that the words to create a connection with the reader and the culture but I dont think the words would change the book too much if they weren't there. I understood the culture well without the definition of the words and sometimes they just acted as a road block to the next word in the sentence. Multiple times the same word would show up within the story. After defining the word once it wasn't necessary to add it again and again and again...
DeleteAchebe chooses to write his novel in English but still includes words of Igbo because the contrast of languages puts more emphasis on those words he chose to include and define in the back of the book. The words he chose to include were ones that were specifically important to their culture in Umuofia, ones that need the definition from a person who knows the culture well. I feel that the use of multiple languages in this book had more of an effect on me than it did when I read Vaclav and Lena. I think the contrast of the words of English and Igbo was more obvious than in Vaclav and Lena. In Vaclav and Lena, the dialogue was written in a Russian accent (or thats how I read it in my head...)so when certain Russian words showed up they just seemed to fit in with everything else that was said unlike the Igbo which stands out a lot more in this book.
ReplyDeleteI think Achebe chooses to include the Igbo language because Achebe definitely demonstrates a strong appreciate for African culture. Realistically, the best way to share this appreciation is to bring the culture out the best way possible, and language is a key part of culture. Another goal for him probably is to make people care and understand the culture of tribal Africa. Again, language is a large part of culture and by him including these words and phrases he is sharing the culture in the most tangible way possible for the reader. I would imagine the selection to only include a few phrases and words here in there is because he wants to be able to communicate his message. He isn't writing this for African tribal communities, he's writing this for the european dominate western society. By primarily writing in English he is communicating to a large part of his audience. Then by including a few words and phrases he is allowing the ability to bring the culture he is trying to share forward, while not shutting out anyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jon that the translations of those specific African words could have been misinterpreted or not as accurate as explanations of them. But I also think that bilingualism reflects the true identity of the African characters. Bilingualism in Things Fall Apart is like a cross-cultural bridge between African culture and the cultures of the readers. Anzaldua’ in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” says: “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity - I am my lan- guage. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.” (Anzaldua, 39) The same quote is true to Things Fall Apart - the use of Igbo language represents the pride that Africans have for their language, identity and culture.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Derek that Achebe uses Igbo to retain the validity and credibility on his novel.I think it can be a bit confusing when you don't speak the language. In The Stranger, there were little bits of French, which I could understand and translate for the class. None of us speak Igbo, and so it became very difficult to remember which word means what. I think Achebe uses Igbo to remind people that the book is about Africans and the tribe of Umuofia. He wants to immerse people in ways of the tribe. I'm not sure why he has some words in the glossary and some defined in the text, but I feel like it's distracting to have to look in the back of the book when you don't understand a word. I remember in "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" it was really difficult for me to focus on the story when I can't speak Spanish. I like the idea of integrating different languages, but there are definitely challenges that come with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Pat that Achebe wants to represent Africa properly. The importance of this issue to him was present in his interview that we read in class. Achebe was angry at Conrad for misrepresenting the African culture. He felt that Conrad was a racist and had a responsibility to show the culture in a more realistic life. Achebe felt that he did this in his book. One of the ways he did this was by including the Igbo language. His main goal in the writing is to represent the African culture as accurately as possible. If the book was written without it, it would lose authenticity and would not accurately represent the culture present.
ReplyDeleteI believe Achebe wants to infuse African culture into the book. He is a stickler for the real Africa being represented and not being misidentified and I feel the inclusion of African words are a big part of his efforts. As a reader, the inclusion of these words are a constant reminder of where the story is taking place as well as a way to take a small peak into the African culture by understanding some of the language. I believe he included in text explanations for very important words and/or words that have simple enough definitions to include easily in the text. Sometimes it simply takes a separate explanation to fully grasp the meaning of the word, especially if it is not a word that has a direct translation.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Achebe uses Igbo similar to the way Haley Tanner uses Russian in Vaclav and Lena. Both languages are a significant part of the story because it is significant to the characters that they are from these places. Using the native language reminds the reader where the story takes place and that it is significant. It would be very easy to forget that Things Fall Apart takes place in Africa because there would be nothing to remind us. There could be tribes anywhere with similar situations. Overall it is useful to use another language if the story does not take place where the text indicates. I however tend not to pay as much attention to these words and just skip over them until it shows the english definition. This is part habit and laziness. Although i don't like to admit it, i often find myself skipping words i don't know because they are not necessary to the story. I do however think it is important so that the reader stays connected with the culture of the people.
ReplyDeleteUsing African words throughout his text, Chinua Achebe sets an illustrious African tone. As Jon Nazario said, the African words Achebe uses, if were translated into English could be misinterpreted. He uses the words as a style of writing, and keeps the reader engaged. Achebe’s use of the words conveys the true meaning to the reader. Also, his use of the words convey his affection to his culture, creating some sort of connection with the reader and the reader’s culture, as Demi mentioned. One of the most writing techniques is to relate to the reader, mostly like music these days; most the music lyrics written are meant to relate to the listener, making the emotion relate to the memories and the incidents the emotion was released. All in all, Chinua’s main use of bilingual writing is to keep the true meaning of the African word and to show the affection towards his culture leading to the readers to relate to their cultures and memories.
ReplyDeleteEven though I agree with what you said but there is still a question to be noticed. If the purpose of writing in African language is to keep its true meaning, then why doesn't Achebe use more African words than he has done, by picking several of them? Does his approach the best way to convey a precise/true idea? But as a reader who knows nothing about African language, one may still feel confused by the African words, even just one. In this sense, using indigenous language may be to please Achebe himself more than readers because the author is easily to find pride in his language while a reader may feel discouraged by flipping back and forth to find the meaning of the words.
DeleteI agree with Mahmoud on Achebe creating a connection between the culture of the book and the reader. I like his inclusion of music and the similarity of music lyrics and the words from the text. Overall, I concur that the main reason for the bilingual writing is to cultivate affection and understand of the African culture and make it make sense in the book.
ReplyDeleteThings Fall Apart mingles well the African and English. I agree with Patrick that using two languages, it is able to involve readers more easily to the context. Just like Vacalv and Lena, there are certain words that can’t be explained through the translation version; the meaning will be likely to be distorted. He, however, does not completely translate all the African word. By doing this, the author is giving chance to the reader to surmise the meaning of the words; while it is impossible to get the perfect meaning by just reading the text, it is able to get the close meaning. This way readers can more easily related them to the story. I also agree with Demi that use of lgbo language represents the pride of his own language, identity and culture.
ReplyDeleteIn a 1966 essay reprinted in his book Morning Yet on Creation Day, he says that by using English he presents "a new voice coming out of Africa, speaking of African experience in a world-wide language." He recommends that the African writers use English "in a way that brings out his message best without altering the language to the extent that its value as a medium of international exchange will be lost. Achebe probably wanted to tell the world about Africa and their culture, he wanted to speak the truth/his opinion in a language that the entire world would understand and relate to. As a reader, for me, I would much rather read a book in a language that I can understand without having it being translated into another language because once translated the actual meaning may diminish. Achebe presents the complexities and depths of an African culture to readers of other cultures as well as to readers of his own culture. By using Englishhe reaches many more readers and has a much greater literary impact than he would by writing in a language such as Igbo. By incorporating elements of the Igbo language into his novel Achebe solves the problem of presenting the African heritage and culture in a language that can never describe it adequately.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with Patrick, Achebe does want to give a proper representation of Africa and to do so he would have to use some words from that African culture to immerse them in African culture. However, I do not believe that some of the words are defined in the back of the book because the reader knew if they were interested enough they would look there, the writer would not right a book simply to keep the reader interest, especially in this novel because it's a message to the world about the African culture. I do agree, however, that if he defined all the Igbo words in the text, the text would be dull. It would be more like a dictionary than a novel.
ReplyDeleteAchebe includes Igbo words in his novel to enrich the text with African culture. The story seems more genuine with the Igbo words included, as Derek said. Achebe defines the words in the text that he uses most often, such as agbala. Agbala is used so frequently because it is related to the roles of men and women in Umuofia. It is what men call other men who have no titles or standing in society. In "Vaclav and Lena," Russian is used sparingly and the rest of the book is actually in English. When the characters speak Russian, they are taking a step back from trying to be American. In "Things Fall Apart," the characters speak Igbo throughout the entire story. The Igbo words Achebe uses are there to help the reader get a glimpse of Umuofian culture. I agree with Jon that Achebe does not want to shut anyone out, but wants people to understand and learn about Nigerian culture. In "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," the Spanish is used to express ideas that were originally in Spanish. For example, excerpts of poems and things the girl used to hear in her house are in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteAs Achebe said when in an interview that he is paying fully respect to his culture and strives to preserve the most of it. Keeping the prime language is one of means to demonstrate his belief. By presenting the readers the original language African people use in daily life, despite a confusion for the readers beyond African culture, the effect is positive in writing such a story documents the truth of African clans. It is understandable for Achebe not to translate or annotate some of the words in his book but rather have readers find out on their own, because it can obviate the interruption of sentence flow. Making such a deliberate choice is to serve for the language so that make it convenient for readers.
ReplyDelete