THE POWER OF LANGUAGE | By: Maima Dukuly

Language is more than the arrangement of words; it is the root of a person’s identity. In every syllable rests history, in every proverb lies wisdom carried through centuries. A mother tongue is not just a communication tool; it is a mirror of thought, a rhythm of culture, and a vessel for memory. To speak is to walk in the steps of those who came before, to seal the gap between past and present.

When a language is lost, so too is a world of understanding. The stories once told for generations, the songs once sung in their tones, vanish into silence. A way of naming the stars, a method of describing the earth, a proverb that carried guidance through hardship, all become shadows, intangible and unreachable.

But it becomes a bridge when language is preserved, taught, and spoken. It connects generations, ensuring that children do not grow up strangers to their heritage. The power of language lies not only in its ability to transmit thought, but in its power to shape speech. The words we inherit influence how we see the world, whether time is measured as a cycle or a line, whether nature is viewed as possession or kin, and whether people are addressed as individuals or family.

Language forms the lens through which culture understands existence. Honoring language is honoring the voices of ancestors and protecting the future of descendants. When people speak their tongue with pride, they do more than communicate; they remember, reclaim, and root themselves deeply in the soil of identity. And in a world where voices are often drowned out, the preservation of language itself is an act of resilience, a declaration that culture and memory will not be silenced.