Why did Johann Gottfried von Herder think each language expresses its users' outlook?

Johann Gottfried von Herder believed that language and human nature are inextricably linked, positing that language is the essential medium through which knowledge and consciousness are formed. For Herder, language is not merely a tool for communication but a reflection of the "whole heart and soul" of a culture, or Volk, containing its traditions, history, religion, and principles of existence.12

Herder argued that every act of signification—the process of assigning meaning to something—necessarily includes an emotional attitude toward that object. Because feeling and reflection interpenetrate within the human mind, the words we use are inseparable from the specific sensitivities and experiences of our environment. Consequently, the structure of a language serves as a true image of its users' nature, as it captures the unique way a people has come to terms with reality through their specific historical and cultural context. By viewing language as the "mother tongue of mankind," Herder emphasized that it is the primary vehicle through which a people's outlook is distilled and preserved.132