The importance of language education in national development

Abstract

Language is an integral part of man. It surpasses communication and social interaction. Language influences thought, and thought often conditions action, and also influences conduct. Language therefore is the strongest medium of transmitting culture and social reality. Democracy is part of the present world order which is not genetically inherited but learned. Democracy is an acquired form of knowledge as well as in practice; it requires the use of language for its cultivation, survival and blossoming. For democracy to flourish and be entrenched, its norms, tenets and practices must be couched in cultural idioms that are indigenous to the people.

International Journal of Emotional Psychology and Sport Ethics Vol. 6, 2004: 87-90