ABSTRACT
Language is one of the main pillars of civilised society; a landmark in its evolution. It is the gateway to all levels of day-to-day interaction in the public and private spheres, to intellectual and cultural development and to furthering our understanding of the ways in which humankind functions. As much as it produces union and community, it also separates, creating invisible barriers, alienating outsiders whose otherness is manifested by language. Thus it is not only outward appearance which labels the alien in our midst, so too does speech. As Alladina and Edwards record:
The outsider, the immigrant and the oppressed have been repeatedly marked and condemned, first for not learning English and second for not learning the right kind of English. 2
