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Accepted Paper:
Re-examining the philosophical potentials in African languages
Peter Oni
(University of Lagos)
Paper long abstract:
The practice of philosophy in Africa has been dominated by foreign languages. Indeed, philosophical ideas by African scholars are expressed in different languages such as Greek, Latin, German, French, Spanish, Arabic and English to the detriment of the indigenous African languages. The argument is that African oral tradition is inadequate to the practice of philosophy. Consequently, different schools of thought in Africa for some times now have been debating on the possibility of Philosophy in African languages. Four major trends are noticed. They are: first, the hardliners such as Hountondji, Mudimbe, Towa who see no philosophical attempt in any unwritten language; secondly, the school that explores the substance of African languages represented by Senghor; thirdly, the group of Nyerere, Gyekye and Gbadegesin among others that sees Philosophy in Africa through concepts in indigenous languages and finally the group of Kagame, Sodipo and Hallen who discovers a solid ground for conceptualization in African Languages. It is against this background that this paper through a phenomenological and critical analysis examines the space of African philosophy. It argues that of the four schools of thought, the fourth seems adequate and conform to the aspiration of contemporary trends in African studies. Consequently, the paper advocates a deconstruction of the mindset on African Languages and argues that conceptualization of thought can take place in African languages.
Key Words: African languages, conceptualization, oral tradition, philosophy.
Language issues: reconfiguring language use in African studies [initiated by the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies, University of Lagos, with Africa Multiple Centre of Excellence, Bayreuth]
Session 1