How did Johann Gottfried von Herder define a Volk through language tradition history and religion?

Johann Gottfried von Herder defined the Volk (people) as a distinct cultural entity possessing a collective identity, or Volksseele ("ethnic soul"), which is shaped by its unique historical and environmental context.1

Herder posited that language is the primary vessel for this identity. He argued that within a culture's language "dwell its entire world of tradition, history, religion, principles of existence: its whole heart and soul". Because language is formed during a culture's "youth" or poetic age, it becomes a resilient repository of that people's spirit, resistant to external influence.2

For Herder, the Volk is not defined by political borders but by this shared cultural and spiritual heritage. He believed that the authentic characteristics of a Volk are expressed through its folk literature and oral poetry (Volksdichtung), which serve as the most direct manifestations of the Volksseele. By elevating these cultural expressions, Herder rejected the notion that any one culture is superior to another, instead advocating for a form of cultural relativism that encourages each people to realize and perfect their own unique nature.21