Alternation Special Edition 38b (2021) 533 – 541 533 Print ISSN 1023-1757; Electronic ISSN: 2519-5476; DOI https://doi.org/10.29086/2519-5476/2021/sp38a22 Editorial: The Role of Language in Human Existence, Education, Innovation and Research, and the Intellectualisation of African Languages Langa Khumalo ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2694-9105 Sam Mchombo ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8431-8950 The Role of Language in Human Existence In attempting to define language, we refrain from using a litany of definitions found in the literature on Language and Linguistics that is drawn from Eurocentric theories. In appreciating what mother tongue means, we defer to the explication of mother tongue in isiZulu 1 , as simply ulimi lwebele (literally, the language that one sucks from their mother’s breast). Mother tongue in this sense means one’s first language. In isiNdebele, when a child utters the first word, the elders exclaim: Sekungumuntu! (Meaning: It is now a human being), (Khumalo 2020). We argue therefore that language is that which makes us HUMAN. Language is at the heart of our human existence. The mother tongue is inextricably linked to our cultural self-identity. It formulates and records our personal and social experiences. It has been persuasively argued in the literature that the use of the mother tongue in education stimulates and enables 1 IsiZulu and isiNdebele are languages of the Nguni group that are recognised by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) as part of the 11 officially recognised languages to be used, promoted and developed for scholarly engagement knowledge generation.