European Day of Languages Chapel Message

The Power of Words: How Language Influences Thought

As part of our celebrations for the European Day of Languages, pupils led a thoughtful and inspiring chapel service exploring “The Power of Words – How Language Influences Thought.” Through reflections, readings, and prayers in multiple languages, they invited us to consider how the words we use shape our perceptions, emotions, and understanding of the world.

Ollie

Friday 26th September is the European Day of Languages, a day celebrating the diversity of all languages and language learning. In school we have a photography competition running and please bring your entries for the Bake Off in by Friday morning ready to be sold during breaktime on Friday.

Today, we want to take you on a journey—not to another country, but into a new way of seeing the world. Something known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: It’s the idea first put forward by Edward Sapir and developed by Benjamin Whorf, that the words we use don’t just describe what we think, they shape how we think and understand the world around us.

Take a second to think about that. Is language just a tool to express what we already believe? Or does it go deeper, actually shaping the way we experience the world?

Sophie

Have you ever felt something, but you couldn’t put it into words?
What happens if your language doesn’t have a word for that feeling?
Would you still feel it as clearly?

Here are some examples of words that don’t translate perfectly into English, but capture whole worlds of emotion or culture in just one word.

Let’s start with the Portuguese word saudade.
It describes a nostalgic longing for something that may never return. It’s more than just missing someone — it’s remembering your grandmother’s cooking after she’s gone. It’s a bittersweet ache, a mix of sadness and beauty all rolled into one word.

English doesn’t have a single word that captures that complexity. We’d need a whole sentence to even begin to explain it.

If you grew up with the word saudade in your vocabulary, would you be more in tune with that kind of longing? That’s what Sapir and Whorf would argue.

Felicity

Yūgen is a Japanese word that describes a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of the universe. It’s like standing on a cliff and watching waves crash against the rocks, or listening to a piece of music that feels bigger than you. Yūgen is what you feel when you sense something vast and indescribable.

There are other Japanese words that capture these subtle experiences too. For example, komorebi describes the scattered, dappled light that appears when the sun shines through leaves and branches. It gives a name to a uniquely Japanese aesthetic appreciating nature’s fleeting and imperfect beauty.

Could having words like these help you notice those moments more often? Maybe they encourage us to slow down, look around, and really savour them. In that way, language becomes like a lens—helping us see the world more clearly.

By learning other languages we gain whole new perspectives and open ourselves up to another worldview.

Lucy

The German word Schadenfreude means “the guilty pleasure you feel at someone else’s misfortune” — like when a rival player misses a penalty.

English doesn’t really have one neat word for that feeling, but German does. And having a ready-made term might shape how often people recognise, talk about, or even allow themselves to enjoy that slightly guilty pleasure.

Izzy

Ubuntu is a word found in several African Bantu languages, and it can be translated as “I am because we are.” But it’s more than just a word; it reflects a whole way of seeing the world. The word carries the idea that a person’s identity and humanity are tied to the community around them.

When someone shares food even when they have little, or when neighbours raise a child together, that’s ubuntu. English words like kindness or togetherness get close, but they don’t capture the depth of meaning. The fact that there is one word—ubuntu—to hold this whole philosophy shows how language doesn’t just describe the world, it shapes how people understand their place in it.

Evelyn

Different languages don’t just have different vocabulary.

In Mandarin Chinese, time is often described vertically: “last week” is 上个星期 (shàng ge xīqī, “up week”) and “next month” is 下个月 (xià ge yuè, “down month”)—which may lead speakers to visualise time as moving up and down rather than forward and backward.

These examples show how language doesn’t just reflect our thoughts; it can shape the way we experience the world. That’s not magic. That’s language training the brain to pay attention to something differently..

Sophie

Think for a moment about your own language, or languages.

Have you ever noticed that you feel slightly different in that language? Maybe funnier? Maybe more polite? Maybe more assertive?

That’s not unusual. Studies show that people can actually shift personalities slightly when they switch languages. So when we say “language learning changes your brain,” we really mean it.

Now think about the power of words in your daily life:

• “bossy” vs. “a leader”
• “emotional” vs. “passionate”
• “failure” vs. “learning experience”
  And, the teachers’ favourite: when we add the word “yet” to “I can’t do it.”

Izzy

Think about our new school charter: choosing kind words shows kindness. Using respectful language helps build a strong community. Reframing words so everyone is seen fairly or to challenge stereotypes reflects equity.

The language we use doesn’t just describe our world or influence how we think; it shapes how we treat each other and the kind of school we are building together.

If we regularly use kind, inclusive, respectful language, that starts to build a more thoughtful and accepting community.

Charlie

So here’s your challenge this week:
Be more aware of your words.

• Notice the words you use to describe others, and yourself.
• Learn a new word in a different language that opens a window into a new emotion or idea.
• Ask yourself: Are my words building people up, or bringing them down? Am I seeing the world through a narrow lens, or expanding it with new ways of speaking and thinking?

Our differences are enriching, informative, and fun to share with others — and language is the tool to confer this magic! What a great incentive to learn languages!

To quote German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt. “The limits of my language are the limits of my world.”

Let’s hear the Lord’s Prayer in Afrikaans and then in Portuguese.

Lily-Anne (Afrikaans)

Onse Vader wat in die hemel is,
laat U Naam geheilig word;
laat U koninkryk kom;
laat U wil op aarde geskied,
net soos in die hemel.
Gee ons vandag ons daaglikse brood;
en vergeef ons ons skulde
soos ons ook skuldenaars vergewe.
Lei ons nie in versoeking nie,
maar verlos ons van die Bose.
Want aan U behoort die koninkryk
en die krag en die heerlikheid
tot in ewigheid.
Amen.

Sophie (Portuguese)

Pai nosso que estais nos céus,
santificado seja o vosso nome;
venha a nós o vosso reino;
feita a vossa vontade assim na terra como no céu.
O pão nosso de cada dia nos dai hoje;
perdoai-nos as nossas ofensas,
assim como nós perdoamos a quem nos tem ofendido;
e não nos deixeis cair em tentação,
mas livrai-nos do mal.
Amém.

Closing Reflection

The chapel concluded with these beautiful readings, reminding everyone of the deep connection between language, thought, and community. The service was a wonderful celebration of cultural diversity and linguistic curiosity — and a powerful reminder that learning new languages helps us see the world, and each other, with greater empathy and understanding.

We are so proud of our pupils for leading such a reflective and inspiring service.

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