How can it be possible that English has words that don't exist in other languages and vice versa?

Answer 1

One reason is necessity. Think of the tribes in the Amazon forest. They've never seen a computer before. They don't have computers. So they could never develop a word to describe computer. Since they don't have electricity, they couldn't even string a bunch of words together to describe it, whereas some languages would allow for that to occur (thinking German here...numerous twenty+ letter words).
People in Florida don't have much use for the word "snow." Snow is white stuff falling from the sky. Eskimos, while they don't have hundreds of terms for snow, do have more than one. It helps describe conditions at any one time, so preparations for a day's, week's, month's, etc. activities can be made.
There is no reason to include a word in a language if you won't use it for anything. You won't use it if it isn't needed. Necessity.

Answer 2

It's not only possible, but certain. There are a couple caveats, however.

First of all, the list of words that exist only in English change constantly. One of the big reasons for this is that foreign words that are useful are often adopted into other languages. New words, however, are constantly being coined to take their place. This occurs in all languages, so all languages have words that aren't in others'.

Second, although single words may not exist elsewhere, usually there are ways to describe the same thing, albeit with a number of words. So it's not like any particular thought-concept is unique to any language. Most concepts I know of circulate for quite a while, sometimes under many different names until one catches on. So it goes.

I'll give you two examples. One in English, and one in Japanese.

One of the more recently coined English words was 'wikiality'. Originally a joke (by comedian Stephen Colbert), the word has caught on to the degree where it has been added to dictionaries. It describes the idea of something that is accepted true simply because it is agreed upon rather than because it is factually so. You can obviously describe this concept in any language, but until they adopt wikiality themselves (if they haven't already), it is an English-only word.

Another more persistant example is the Japanese word 辻斬り, which is generally transcribed as 'tsujigiri'. Literally, it means 'crossroads cut'... it dates historically back to a time when wealthy warriors with almost unlimited authority to act on their own would want to test a brand new sword out on an actual human being, so they would wait at a crossroads and slaughter the first passerby. It is still used occasionally with various flavours of its original context. But again, I can describe the concept in English, even if a single applicable parallel word fails to exist.

Answer 3

If the language is older than English and hasn't really grown in years, then it's understandable that the vocabularly would be limited. For example, there's no Latin word for "cell phone". But aside from those obvious type of examples, keep in mind that there are always going to be more objects and concepts than any language has single words for. The decision to attach labels to certain things and not others seems to change from culture to culture. In English, for example, we have lots of different words that describe beef: T-bone, hamburger, beef, prime rib, ground chuck, rump roast, etc. But in some cultures that do not really eat beef (either due to popular religious concerns or just not having wide flat lands one which to raise cattle) their language probably wouldn't have 20 different words do describe all these preparations.

Other times it's just the way the language itself is set up. In German, it's not uncommon to have really long nouns made of different words combined together. They have one 32 letter-long word that essentially means "favorite free-time activity". Then you get some other languages who don't seem so big on nouns.

Answer 4

All words have an origin. It can be popular, alien language etc. The roots of English are German (Richard Brave heart and his courtesans spoke German) and in a lesser amount French, so if you don(t know the root of a word don't believe necessarily that it does not exist somewhere else.
Actually (this is a French word but it does not have the same meaning in French and in English) etymology gives the answers.

Answer 5

Well, we had Shakespeare, who was a great inventor of words. Not sure what you mean with vice versa - if every language had all the English words in it then we wouldn't have a language problem. Just go back to your 'bungalow' (not an English word,) drink a cup of Marsala chai, take off your jodphurs, slip into your pyjamas and sleep well. Inshalah. It's all just down to kismet!

Answer 6

Ancient English, spoken by the Anglo Saxons, had alot of changes made to it, I listened to a recording of Bao Wolf which was translated. Then pre Shakespear words have been changed and arrangements of sentences have become easier to say. Shakespear had a vocabuluary of words he, I suppose, made up with prefixes and suffixes from other words. Then the more moddern words have been added as fashion has changed.

Answer 7

It's because England has things that don't exist in other cultures and places. In Ireland we have many words for rain (go figure), but I imagine that in desert countries there is only one word to describe rain. Likewise in Ireland we simply have the word 'sandstorm', but I imagine that in desert countries there are various words to describe the different types of sandstorm, the degree of sand blowing, the wind strength, etc.

Answer 8

Very possible; that's the way it is.

Not all words or expressions have been incorporated into all the other languages.

One of the interesting things about German, is that they sometimes have just one word to describe a whole phrase, such as "schadenfreude," which is "happiness at the misfortune of others."

Answer 9

LANGUAGES ARISE FROM A NEED TO COMMUNICATE AN IDEA OR DESCRIBE A "THING" OR AN EMOTION. PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN AFRCA, FOR INSTANCE, HAD NO NEED FOR THE WORD "BISON". NEW TECHNOLOGIES BRING NEW VOCABULARIES. THESE MAY NOT BE USED IN RELATIVELY UNDEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
"SOCCER" IS AN INTERESTING SITUATION BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THE GAME IS THE SAME, ALL THE OTHER COUNTRIES CALL IT "FOOTBALL"

Answer 10

That defines the difference between languages, I would have thought.