How does vocabulary shape our knowledge?

Authors Avatar

Candidate Name: Amber Perng

Candidate Number: 001407-039

Taipei European School

The vocabulary we have does more than communicate our knowledge; it shapes what we can know”. Evaluate this claim with reference to different areas of knowledge.

Vocabulary— to my thought, is the fundamental conformation of a language, the representation of substances for knowledge to be obtained through communication. Oxford Dictionary gives its definition as “The body of words used in a particular language, occasion or sphere.” While Cambridge Dictionary gives a similar explanation but with further extension: “All the words known and used by a particular person.” These are brief definitions of the word ‘vocabulary’ in which, contain a great proportion of vagueness as to the statement they have given. To start, one cannot prove a particular person’s understanding of vocabulary to be identical as another person when comparing to different linguistic backgrounds. Furthermore, when the knowledge obtained in a particular vocabulary is differed by both sides due to variables as large as culture, where a substance, subject or

circumstance can be interpreted into “good” and “bad”, or as small as one’s perspective, we approached in different ways by the variety of words one chooses to view from; therefore, we would wonder the truthfulness of this piece of understanding and the origin of its imperfection. To what extent can the truth of a knowledge claim be fully interpreted in the hands of language?

History consists of many factors that cause the evolution and the invention of many words; some are formed exclusively in a certain language under specific environment and culture, where other languages might be hard to interpret. As different cultures develop through time, languages are formed and began to vary themselves to fit the growth of their culture. Take Italian as an example, there is a word to describe the mark being left on a table by a moist glass: culacino, while the Scottish Gaelic consists of a word to describe the sudden itchiness that appears on the upper lip, before enjoying a sip of whiskey: sgirob. 

Join now!

From the aspect of culture, Scotland is famous for its alcohol beverage: whiskey. The word “sgirob” is specially invented to describe such specific sentiment with clear indication of this certain type of drink, which no other languages in the world can translate this definition within a single word. On the other hand, Italy has great reputation of sea transportation and local cuisine. Despite from the given definition, “culacino” also means, “ the trail of a vessel leaving a place” and “the round end of a salami”. Although all definitions indicate the trail of something or the certain part of ...

This is a preview of the whole essay