Is it possible to think of a concept that the English language doesn’t have a word for?

Language is a very useful tool, which helps us to express our thoughts and feelings to other people, and even to ourselves.  Most of us think to ourselves in words, which helps us to create complex thoughts and memories. But this leads us to an interesting question: If there is no language or word to describe something – no possible way of explaining a concept – is it still possible to actually think of this concept? Of course, animals and babies who have no knowledge of language still have feelings – hunger, pain, even freedom and love. Even if they cannot explain it, the feeling is still there. There are words in other cultures which are hard to translate, but which are still familiar ideas in English – The Indonesian word ‘jayus’ means ‘a joke so unfunny that it makes you laugh anyway’, the German ‘Shadenfreude’ – ‘the enjoyment people get out of watching other people’s misfortune’ and the Arabic ‘Ya’aburnee’, ‘the hope that you will die before someone else because you couldn’t live without them’. However, it is possible that the rules of the language we speak could restrict our thoughts and ideas in a certain way. For instance, in English, nouns are just nouns, but in other languages, nouns can be classified as feminine, masculine or neuter, or, in the language Ojibwemownin, as alive or dead, animate or inanimate. These concepts in themselves are not new in the English language, but if you only knew English, would you ever think of classifying nouns like this? In the language of the Baffin Island Inuit the word “uvatiarru” means both “in the distant past” and “in the distant future”. This is described in Carl Honoré’s book ‘ In Praise of Slow’ where he says “Time, in such cultures, is always coming as well as going.” These are just a couple of examples of how different cultures have concepts in their languages that English doesn’t have. The obvious problem is that, if there are concepts which cannot be thought of due to the restrictions of our language, how is it possible to explain what those concepts are? I believe that languages do affect the way that people think, but I also believe that there is understanding in all of us which goes beyond words and which is common to all humans. Language is essential to life, but thought can come without it as well.

http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/20-awesomely-untranslatable-words-from-around-the-world/

http://ask.metafilter.com/10490/What-concepts-do-not-exist-in-the-English-language