"Language also encodes our past. We want to know who we are. To know who we are, we have to know who we used to be. Consequently, our literature, written in the past, anchors us in that past"

Andrzej Wajda's quote explores the profound relationship in between language, identity, and history, highlighting the role language plays in linking us to our past. By recommending that "language likewise encodes our past", Wajda highlights how language is not just a medium of communication however a vessel of cultural and historical heritage. Our languages consist of idioms, expressions, and stories that bring the imprints of previous generations, reflecting their experiences, worths, and worldviews. Thus, language serves as an archive of human experience, protecting the nuances of our cultural evolution and offering insights into who we were.

The quote further suggests that identity is inextricably connected to understanding our history: "We wish to know who we are. To know who we are, we have to understand who we used to be". This reveals the intrinsic human desire to comprehend ourselves and our location worldwide, a task that can not be satisfied without acknowledging and comprehending our roots. Our individual and collective identities are shaped by our histories, and knowing where we come from is essential in specifying who we are today.

Wajda's reference to literature as an anchor to our previous highlights literature's powerful role in this process. As a written type of language, literature is a repository of human idea and imagination from bygone periods. Through stories, poems, and essays, literature captures the zeitgeist of times previous, providing readers windows into various durations and lifestyles. By engaging with these texts, we are invited to review historic contexts, social standards, and cultural paradigms that have actually influenced our present. Literature not just protects the voices and stories of the past; it likewise challenges us to relate them to our current truth, bridging the space in between where we have been and where we are going.