REVITALIZING AFRICAN LANGUAGES AS A PATHWAY TO FUTURE AFRICAN LITERALITY

Abstract

This paper, exploring the power of a people’s language, examines, in particular, the critical role of developing contemporary African languages to enhance African literary creativity, nearly lost to colonialism, and continued in coloniality (colonial legacies), which were unable and unwilling to find any of the African languages suitable for their exploration that turned into exploitation of African sweet resources. Hence, African languages, long demonised and marginalised by the colonial masters’ agenda for formal education and literary production, possess rich cultural traditions that remain untapped and hold expressive potential that remains underexplored. Developing and revitalising a functional African language unlocks literary creativity within its ecosystem. That is, modernising contemporary African languages enhances literary creativity by enabling the authentic expression of African experiences and identities. Through this act of development embedded in revitalisation, the African language becomes an authentic instrument for global acceptance, drawing on an innovative heritage. Supporting this proposed revitalised development empowers writers to shape a dynamic contemporary African literary landscape that authentically reflects African Weltanschauung integrated in their identities and experiences.