jargon/occupation Flashcards
paragraph plans:
- government
- doctor jargon
- in the workplace
- positives of jargon
intro:
No plain, no gain
Plain language doesn’t mean boring language
People are proud of their pretentious pomposity. I’m already proud of that first sentence — even though I know it might put some readers off. Whatever you’re writing or saying, there’s always a simple way to go about it. And the first step towards making things simple is to understand why we love to make things hard.
government paragraph:
The way we speak, speaks volumes. Whether someone begins a sentence with, “Mr Speaker…” or ends one with “innit?” tells us a huge amount about who they are, where they’re from and even what they’re doing. The same goes for the way we write. Words have power. Unfortunately, as civil servants we are serial abusers of that power.
Across government, our sentences are too long, our words too complex, and our phrases stuffed with management jargon, technical language and acronyms. It’s enough to bring people out in a rash.
Even if people do understand the words we use, they’re still unlikely to read them. In 2012, research by Christopher Trudeau at a Law School in Michigan, into the use of language in legal documents found two things, one obvious, the other surprising.
First, when given a choice, 80% of people preferred sentences written in clear English (for example, 97% preferred ‘among other things’ over the more traditional Latin phrase ‘inter alia’) But second, it found that the more educated the person, the more specialist their knowledge, the greater their preference for plain English.
More recently, New Zealand has passed a bill to make sure the government speaks as clearly as possible. They believe this will strengthen democracy by helping people understand their rights and what they’re being asked to do. It’s also a priority for the UK government, as shown with guidance on gov.uk and across organisations like Transport for London.
doctor paragraph:
The average reading age of adults in the UK is estimated at between 9 and 11 years and nearly 8% of people in the UK do not speak English as their first language. Could we save lives by toning down the medical jargon and explaining things in language everyone understands?
The Royal College of General Practicioners argued that ‘doctors should speak slowly and avoid using jargon with their patients’. A report by the college said that doctors often use familiar words, yet in unfamiliar ways. For example, using the word ‘chronic’ to refer to a persistent or ongoing illness. However, patients often panic after hearing the word chronic, as they relate the word to ‘severe’. You can imagine the chaos when sat in a hospital bed and being diagnosed with a chronic illness.
Further research by Kings College London found that 43% of England’s working-age population struggled to understand health information given to them. These reports often referred to older patients, ethnic minority groups, those with lower qualifications and those whose first language isn’t english.
workplace paragraph:
Despite these complaints, jargon continues to thrive in most professions. Whether you’re a consultant, nurse, truck driver, or librarian, you probably hear and use a fair amount of jargon. But if jargon is so disliked, why is it so common?
The fact that each company has a different language is a double-edged sword. Though it can help existing employees with clarity and community, it also creates a barrier for new employees. A survey of almost 3000 workers showed that management jargon had become a problem in the workplace and blamed jargon for a divide between shop-floor and management. 1/3 of the poll claimed that jargon caused a lack of confidence and made them feel inadequate. And over 1/3 complained that jargon is on the increase. “Blue-sky thinking” is used to describe a form of creative brainstorming. It encourages people to think creatively without being inhibited by existing beliefs or ideas. It’s also ranked top on Gen Z’s list of the most annoying phrases, according to the LinkedIn survey.
However, jargon thrives in workplaces because it fulfils a number of fundamental needs. In some contexts, it produces efficient and accurate communication. For example, air traffic controllers speak with a phonetic alphabet instead of letters for this very reason (for example, reading a plane tail number as “Alpha Bravo12” instead of “AB12”). Yet this ‘efficient communication’ most often actually leads to inefficient miscommunication. Research by Kim and Elder suggested that occupational language is culturally specific. Their study found that the majority of miscommunications between Korean and American air traffic controllers, was due to unhelpful abbreviations and misleading jargon that other cultures didn’t understand
positives for jargon paragraph:
Alright enough Gen-Z moaning, if jargon really is so prevalent in the English Language, then let’s find out why.
Those working in the corporate world often learn a new vocabulary on the job. Corporate jargon is prevalent at every company, and different companies often vary terms for the same concepts. However, it can be argued to show authority as a company. If investors or readers see your brand using jargon confidently, they might feel more inclined to keep reading or watching content, even if they don’t know what it means. Jargon can serve as an educative purpose, as the audience can pick up meaning in context.
The use of jargon may be more common than you think, not only in established companies, but all around you. Consider an automotive content company talking about ‘used cars’. The common term ‘used car’ is easy to understand, but it could be off-putting to some. Replacing the term with the jargon ‘previously-owned vehicle’ may seem like a cheap stunt, but really you’d be surprised how much more appealing and sellable the product appears.
