Language and Power Jargon and Plain English. Flashcards
Define Jargon.
Special words of expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand.
Specialist vocabulary.
How can Jargon be used to dominate?
Jargon is often necessary when specialists communicate with each other - it is a precise form of labelling objects, processes and conditions, meaning technical information can be communicated quickly.
People who understand the jargon have a sense of inclusion in a group, who often bring a higher status.
When specialists use it to communicate with non-specialists, it can cause a barrier to understanding.
Can intimidate non specialists and exclude them from the high-status group. In cases like this, specialists have more power and can dominate the situation.
Can be used to impress non-specialists and they may desire to be apart of the high status group that uses such specialist terms.
Can also be used to hide what’s going on.
What are alternatives to using Jargon?
Can cause problems if used inappropriately, therefore there are alternatives to prevent this:
- Change the language to make it more understandable.
- Using plainer language promotes equality as everyone has an equal chance of understanding what’s being said.
- Therefore can’t be used to intimidate.
Define gobbledygook.
Language that is meaningless or is made unintelligible by excessive use of technical terms.
Define a discourse group.
An alternative term for a community of practice.
Define a discourse structure.
The internal structure of a text.
Define an inference.
Using assumed knowledge in order to determine meaning.
Outline John Swales (2011)’s argument.
Swales defined a discourse as having members who:
Share a set of common goals.
Communicate internally, using and ‘owning’ one or more genres of communication.
Use specialist lexis and discourse.
Possess a required level of knowledge and skill to be considered eligible to participate in the community.
Outline language in the workplace.
Bosses have instrumental power because of their role as the boss, so everyone expects them to issue commands to others.
Within an organisation, there will be an asymmetrical power.
What will the relative power of a participant in an occupational context be defined by? (Workplace).
Hierarchy.
Status - level of authority.
Role - the function of a person within a conversation, group or authority.
Authority - the level of power because of their role, or other factors.
Define Parallelism.
Parallelism (also called parallel structure or parallel construction) is the repetition of the same grammatical form in two or more parts of a sentence.
