When we acquire knowledge in the areas of science, mathematics, history and art, we use language as a tool to understand or communicate certain concepts. Language consists of vocabulary, a set of words that a person can use while communicating these concepts. If we consider living without any language, would we still know what we know? The answer is most likely no. Of course, since vocabulary is part of a language, it too plays an essential role in understanding and communicating these concepts. However, to what extent can we say that it actually shapes our understanding of those concepts? Is it justified to say that lack of vocabulary implies lack of knowledge? If knowledge can be acquired excluding the use of vocabulary, is it vocabulary that only shapes our communication of knowledge and not exactly its acquisition? If we depend solely on vocabulary to shape what we can know, this may limit our understanding of certain concepts because essentially not all humans have the full knowledge of words or the contexts in which they can be used. If you do not have a thorough understanding of the vocabulary, any knowledge you may gain from using it may be incomplete. For example, psychobabble, when people use commonly used psychological terminology to describe something remotely related to the term. For example, “I have a lot of OCD about food,” when the person only has to worry about the taste of food, they may not realize they are referring to a serious disorder. Because the context in which they use words may be vaguely related to the true meaning, they show an incomplete understanding of the word and what it represents. On the other hand, if a psychologist refers... half of paper......this knowledge is complex. Let's just imagine knowledge as water and a bottle as vocabulary. You can run the water through the bottle or pour it into a different glass or container depending on your needs. The container can only change the form in which the water solidifies but cannot change its quantity or essence. The essence is the same, only the physical form changes. Likewise, how much we drink is limited by how much the container can hold. So if we drink only from a container of knowledge and not from an ocean, what we can know will remain limited. Works Cited1. Odishaw, Hugh. The earth in space. New York: Basic Books, 1967. Print.2. Frank, M.C., D.L. Everett, E. Fedorenko, and E. Gibson. “Number as cognitive technology: Evidence from Pirahã language and cognition.” Cognition 108 (2008): 819-824. Elsevier. Network. August 25. 2011.