The essay explores the interface between orality and writing in African literature in European languages. It examines the linguistic status of European-language texts in African literature, highlighting issues of hybridity/métissage and intertextuality. Questions related to acculturation and linguistic experimentation are discussed from a diachronic point of view, tracing the evolution of the status of European-language texts. The author assesses the significance of factors such as exile, migration, education, globalization and editorial policy in defining African European-language discourse. The essay also deals with the interface between creative writing and translating in the postcolonial context, focusing on the concepts of writing as translation and translating from an 'imaginary original'. It addresses the issue of translating from one 'colonial' European language into another in the context of African literature. This is viewed against the backdrop of the linguistic colonial divide and the problem of the dissemination of knowledge across borders in Africa as well as in the diaspora.