Jargon

Amity Business School

Jargon is the professional language of a specialized group. It is the technical vocabulary that allows for efficient and accurate communication. Negative Use: used as a kind of secret code or badge to reinforce its group identity. Used as a weapon to impress, browbeat or bamboozle outsiders. Sometimes it is just plain showing off. It obscures meaning

Amity Business School

If you are talking to or writing a message to someone who is not in the industry, you should steer away from jargon. If you have to use it, define and explain the terms you use. If you are communicating to people within the industry, your credibility and expertise can be enhanced by the skilful use of jargon.

Amity Business School

The celebrated American jargon-monger and language-mangler Alexander Haig when he was secretary of state said Because of the fluctuational predisposition of your positions productive capacity as juxtaposed to government standards, it would be momentarily injudicious to advocate an increment

Amity Business School

Here bad jargon is valued precisely for its lack of precision. Without officialese, bureaucrats might have to express their thoughts plainly and thereby give offence. With officialese, they can be bland and inoffensive and can avoid committing themselves to definite decisions and can avoid responsibility when things go wrong.

Amity Business School

Haig was simply turning down an application for a pay increase. Sometimes socialese permeates journalism and fashionable conversation to a great extent. This manifests in the buzz-phrase generator These are meaningless but impressive sounding jargon phrases. e.g.1. operational diagnostic dysfunction. 2. elitist compensatory validation.

Amity Business School

When confronted by a jargon word or phrase apply the jargon test. Ask these common questions 1.Does it really convey a meaning? 2. Would I use it in conversation? Could it be replaced by a simpler synonym or paraphrase? 3. Is it being used for any other purpose other than clear communication?