ABSTRACT
Post-colonial stages are particularly resonant spaces from which to articulate linguistic resistance to imperialism. Language is one of the most basic markers of colonial authority. Language, so used as a manipulative tool, is rendered 'obscene when it proceeds from an imperium or power base so secure that it can abandon even the pretence of referentiality or the negotiation of truth'. One method of installing the overarching power of an imperial tongue is to prohibit the 'old' language. Integrally associated with language is the speaker's sense of autonomy and dignity, both of which are diminished when the coloniser denies the linguistic validity of indigenous languages. The naming and interpellative functions of the imperial language exacerbate the disempowerment of indigenous peoples/cultures. When a playwright chooses an indigenous language over English, s/he refuses to submit to the dominance of the imposed standard language and to subscribe to the 'reality' it sustains.
