This is an analysis and interpretation of the thematic content of statements of praise and commitment pertaining to a sample of vernacular languages from all over the world. It is an attempt to describe, classify, interpret and make a few quantitative comparisons in connection with the positive content of ethnolinguistic consciousness, a topic which has thus far been left untreated in the voluminous literature on ethnicity and nationalism. Among the questions asked are: What are the positive views about their vernaculars that have been expressed by peoples all over the world? Are there any regularities to these views, across time and across space? Are there more common and less common themes, and if so, which are which? This study of ethnolinguistic consciousness, that is, of what may become a component, a channel, and a goal of nationalism, will be obligatory reading for all interested in the relation between ethnolinguistic consciousness and nationalism.