“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to the heart.” —Nelson Mandela
In just the last few weeks of evening TV, I’ve seen three vivid, heartfelt reminders of what this quote means and why the work I do matters.
The message is unmistakable: Language is identity, and language is resistance.

In the German series Die Kaiserin, set in Habsburg-occupied Lombardy, a local defiantly greets passing Austrian soldiers with “Buongiorno.” When the soldiers demand he say “Guten Tag,” he repeats the Italian word and is subsequently beaten. His simple greeting is an act of defiance and cultural loyalty.

The new Hawaiian epic, Chief of War (co-created by and starring Jason Momoa), features dialogue spoken almost entirely in Hawaiian. This is a profound choice, considering it comes over a century after English-only laws almost wiped the language out entirely. It’s a massive reclamation.

And finally, in his SNL opening monologue, Bad Bunny broke into Spanish to address his fellow Spanish-speakers directly. He followed up with the punchline: “If you didn’t understand what I just said. You have four months to learn.” It was a powerful, humorous assertion of his cultural platform.

These three moments share one thing: they showcase how deep the language-to-heart connection runs. While it’s true that for those who grew up speaking English, the economic pressure to learn another language may be low, choosing to do so expands your world in ways you can’t imagine.

By Elizabeth Zackheim, co-founder of ABC Languages