Language: The gatekeeper of humanity. Implications of South Africa’s language in education policies

English is perceived as the language of the powerful elite as well as a tool of oppression and dehumanization. English, as the medium of instruction in South Africa, functions as the barrier to full societal participation of native speakers (Webb, 2003, p.1) and the gatekeeper of humanity. This study combines historical and qualitative methods to examine the impact of South Africa’s language in education policies. The author asserts that language is used as a weapon of oppression against those of different languages and cultures (Sarabia, 2003, p.2) perpetuating an unjust order with implications beyond the borders of the African continent. The English language is perceived throughout the world as the language of power and prestige (Garcia, 2004). Language, writes Geras (1995) can be viewed as “a set of tools and instruments that enable us to cope and deal with the world in one way or another and to pursue happiness, needs and wants ” (p.114). Those who share languages and cultural identities different from that of the dominant are often perceived as functioning with a deficiency stemming from the very identities they claim (Nieto, 2002, p. xi). As history aptly recounts, language has been used by those in power as a weapon of oppression against languages, cultures and tradition