Werner Herzog says language shapes how you see the world. During a recent interview at the Berlin Film Festival, he refused to answer questions in French even when the festival team offered translation. Herzog argues that each tongue carries its own worldview—and slipping into another language dilutes that vision. He told the interviewer he won’t mask his German accent or hide behind English, either. “I need the rough edges of my mother tongue,” he said, pointing out that French feels too smooth for the dark landscapes and obsessive characters he brings to film. He went on to compare languages with instruments. German, he claims, is like a Wagnerian horn—brutal, majestic and filled with raw power. English sits somewhere between an alto sax and a clarinet, flexible but less rooted. Herzog admitted he learned English on movie sets in the 1970s and treats it like a borrowed tool; he speaks it when he must, but never to craft the personal narratives at the heart of his work. By sticking to German on camera and in interviews, he preserves the intensity he builds into every frame.