How did Johann Gottfried von Herder connect language to human nature?

Johann Gottfried von Herder fundamentally connected language to human nature by viewing it as the essential medium through which human consciousness and knowledge are formed. Rather than seeing language merely as a tool for expressing pre-existing thoughts, Herder argued that language and human rationality developed together.12

For Herder, the human individual is a unified whole where feeling (Gefühl) and reflection (Besonnenheit) interpenetrate. He posited that while humans apprehend reality through feeling, they use language to specifically designate and recognize these experiences, thereby transforming them into objective meaning. Because every word carries both sound and significance, it reflects the unique outlook and emotional attitude of its user. Consequently, Herder concluded that the structure of language serves as a true image of human nature itself.1

Furthermore, Herder believed that language is the repository of a culture's "heart and soul," containing its traditions, religion, and history. By emphasizing that language is the medium of thought, he moved away from the rationalist view that language was simply a system of signs invented by already-rational beings, instead framing it as the very foundation of human intellectual development.321