# Language is a view of the world Philosopher Wilhelm von Humboldt thought language was not *ergon*, a finished work, but *energeia*, a formative force. Indeed, **a language both ==reflects the current state of a society== and ==offers a certain lens== through which one can see the world**. As society evolves, **new ideas give birth to new words and, conversely, sometimes new words can pave the way for new ideas**. For instance, during the French Renaissance, poets from the group La Pléiade endeavoured to renew the French language so as to free it from the grasp of other "noble" languages, notably Latin.