Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o didn’t think he’d ever become a writer, much less a novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist with his work translated into more than 60 languages. Now, he’s fighting for recognition for his native language, Gĩkũyũ. He says, “No language is ever marginal to the community that created it. Languages are like musical instruments. You don’t say, let there be a few global instruments, or let there be only one type of voice all singers can sing.”