Because of political instability and infighting, there is little chance of any native language becoming an official or even de facto replacement for English in most of these countries. Many of these languages are oral, or have only recently adopted a written form. The long literary history of English and other European languages allows for shades of meaning that are simply not possible in many of these languages. In addition, English is the source of economic and social mobility, as well as the access point to world literature and education. With so few native speakers of many indigenous languages, the only way to expose the cultural and political issues that a writer cares about to a larger audience is through the use of a non-indigenous language.
	Conversely, English is seen by many authors as the language of the oppressor, and of unwelcome Westernization. At a more basic level, English is not a local language, and therefore authors view it as unable to convey local cultural meanings as effectively. As Szeman points out in Zones of Instability, the complexities of postmodernity make the emergence of a national literature even more tricky. He says, "What makes the creation of a national culture an especially difficult and ambiguous task in these regions is in part the number of discourses with which these writers have to contend and work through: anti-imperialist and imperialist discourses; the discourses of nativism and Western philosophy; modernist discourses promising progress and development . . . and discourses concerning the role and political efficacy of literature, which of necessity must deal with imperialism, modernism, and nationalism all at once."
	Post-colonial authors deal with these pressures in different ways. Some, like Senghor, embrace European languages and modes of thought as useful tools for examining local culture, and for bringing local issues to a worldwide forum. Others are much more reluctant to use English or other European languages for their works. One of the most extreme in this camp is the Kenyan writer wa Thiong'o.   began his career writing in English, but has become more and more adamant in his opposition to English as a medium for post-colonial repression. He now writes his books originally in Gikuyu, and only later translates them into English. 
	Even in English, however, constantly reminds the reader that his books are not Western, but are African. He accomplishes this through a few different means. I will use his novel Devil on the Cross as a case study for the techniques that he employs. Most obviously,   deals with post-colonial issues and struggles as the foundation for his narrative, but I will examine how he uses not only narrative, but literary techniques to reinforce his localist agenda and to make his novel more African and less Western.
	First,   Africanizes the English that he uses. As Kasanga and Kalume discuss, uses African syntax, African idioms, African word formation styles, and African lexical items to make his novel feel foreign to the native English speaker. 