Orality and the Writing Lesson: The Work of Vernacular Intellectuals

Setting off from Eileen Julien’s work on orality and the African novel, this essay takes the question of the relation between writing and oral expressions a step further by exploring how, in the hands of “vernacular” intellectuals, the oral became inseparable from writing. Writing enabled orality to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in African literatures Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 38 - 49
Main Author: Gikandi, Simon
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Bloomington Indiana University Press 22.09.2025
Subjects:
African literature
Alienation
Colonialism
Cultural heritage
Culture
Decolonization
History
Intellectuals
Irele, Abiola (1936-2017)
Literacy
Literary history
Novels
Oral tradition
Public sphere
Social aspects
Spoken written language relationship
Traditions
Writing
Africa
ISSN:0034-5210, 1527-2044, 1527-2044
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Setting off from Eileen Julien’s work on orality and the African novel, this essay takes the question of the relation between writing and oral expressions a step further by exploring how, in the hands of “vernacular” intellectuals, the oral became inseparable from writing. Writing enabled orality to enter the colonial public sphere; conversely, writing needed orality to assert its Africanness.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0034-5210
1527-2044
1527-2044
DOI:10.2979/ral.00070