“Language is the soul of a people.”Mihai Eminescu · Publicistică · 1880 · Timpul, 1880
Language is the core of a people's identity, through which their collective spirituality is expressed and perpetuated.
Eminescu identifies language with the soul because through it collective thoughts, emotions, and values are transmitted. Without language, a people cannot think complexly, create culture, or resist assimilation. The mechanism is interiority: language is not just a communication tool, but a way of being. An example is diaspora communities that preserve their mother tongue to maintain a connection with their origins.
Why it matters Today, when English dominates globally, the idea warns us not to neglect our mother tongue. Losing it means losing a unique worldview.