Jargon is a loaded word. One dictionary defines it, neatly and neutrally, as ‘the technical vocabulary or idiom of a special activity or group’, but this sense is almost completely overshadowed by another: ‘obscure and often pretentious language marked by a roundabout way of expression and use of long words’. For most people, it is this second sense which is at the front of their minds when they think about jargon. Jargon is said to be a bad use of language, something to be avoided at all costs. No one ever describes it in positive terms (‘that was a delightful piece of rousing jargon’). Nor does one usually admit it oneself: the myth is that jargon is something only other people employ.
The reality, however, is that everyone uses jargon. It is an essential part of the network of occupations and pursuits that make up society. All jobs present an element of jargon, which workers learn as they develop their expertise. All hobbies require mastery of a jargon. Each society grouping has its jargon. The phenomenon turns out to be universal – and valuable. It is the jargon element which, in a job, can promote economy and precision of expression, and thus help make life easier for the workers. It is also the chief linguistic element which shows professional awareness (‘know-how’) and social togetherness (‘shop-talk’).
When we have learned to command it, jargon is something we readily take pleasure in, whether the subject area is motorcycles, knitting, cricket, baseball or computers. It can add pace, variety and humour to speech – as when, with an important event approaching, we might slip into NASA-speak, and talk about countdown, all systems go, and lift-off. We enjoy the in-jokes which shared linguistic experience permits. Moreover, we are jealous of this knowledge. We are quick to demean anyone who tries to be part of our group without being prepared to take on its jargon.
If jargon is so essential a part of our lives, why then has it had a bad press? The most important reason stems from the way jargon can exclude as well as include. We may not be too concerned if we find ourselves faced with an impenetrable wall of jargon when the subject matter has little perceived relevance to our everyday lives, as in the case of hydrology, say, or linguistics. But when the subject matter is one where we feel implicated, and think we have a right to know, and the speakers uses words which make it hard for us to understand, then we start to complain; if we suspect that the obfuscation is deliberate policy, we unreservedly condemn, labelling it gobbledegook and calling down public derision upon it.
No area is exempt, but the field of advertising, politics and defence have been especially criticized in recent years by the various campaigns for Plain English. In these domains, the extent to which people are prepared to use jargon to hide realities is a ready source of amusement, disbelief and horror. A lie is a lie, which can be only temporarily hidden by calling it an ‘inoperative statement’ or ‘an instance of plausible deniability’. Nor can a nuclear plant explosion be suppressed for long behind such phrases as ‘energetic disassembly’, ‘abnormal evolution’ or ‘plant transient’.
While condemning unnecessary or obscuring jargon in others, we should not forget to look out for it in ourselves. It is so easy to ‘slip into’ jargon, without realizing that our own listeners/readers do not understand. It is also temptingly easy to slip some jargon into our expression, to ensure that others do not understand. The motivation to do such apparently perverse things is not difficult to grasp. People like to be ‘in’, to be part of an intellectual or technical elite; and the use of jargon, whether understood or not, is a badge of membership. Jargon, also, can provide a lazy way into a group or an easy way of hiding uncertainties and inadequacies: when terminology slips plausibly from the tongue, it is not essential for the brain to keep up. Indeed some people have developed this skill to professional levels. And certainly, faced with a telling or awkward question, and the need to say something acceptable in public, slipping into jargon becomes a simple way out, and can soon become a bad habit.
Jargon is a loaded word. One dictionary defines it, neatly and neutrally, as ‘the technical vocabulary or idiom of a special activity or group’, but this sense is almost completely overshadowed by another: ‘obscure and often pretentious language marked by a roundabout way of expression and use of long words’. For most people, it is this second sense which is at the front of their minds when they think about jargon. Jargon is said to be a bad use of language, something to be avoided at all costs. No one ever describes it in positive terms (‘that was a delightful piece of rousing jargon’). Nor does one usually admit it oneself: the myth is that jargon is something only other people employ.The reality, however, is that everyone uses jargon. It is an essential part of the network of occupations and pursuits that make up society. All jobs present an element of jargon, which workers learn as they develop their expertise. All hobbies require mastery of a jargon. Each society grouping has its jargon. The phenomenon turns out to be universal – and valuable. It is the jargon element which, in a job, can promote economy and precision of expression, and thus help make life easier for the workers. It is also the chief linguistic element which shows professional awareness (‘know-how’) and social togetherness (‘shop-talk’).جب ہم نے اس کا حکم دینا سبق سیکھا ہے، شبدجال کچھ ہم آسانی سے خوشی لے میں ہے، اس موضوع کے علاقے بنائی، موٹر سائیکلوں، ہے چاہے کرکٹ، بیس بال یا کمپیوٹر ۔ یہ رفتار, مختلف قسم کا اضافہ کر سکتے ہیں اور مزاح کو ایک اہم واقعہ کا مقام، کے ساتھ خطاب – جب، کے طور پر ہم ہو سکتا ہے سلپ ناسا-بولنے میں اور الٹی گنتی کے بارے میں بات کریں کہ تمام نظام جانا، اور lift-off ۔ ہم جو لسانی تجربے کے اجازت نامے میں مشترکہ in-jokes کا لطف اٹھائیں. اس کے علاوہ، ہم اس علم کے حاسد ہوتے ہیں ۔ ہم جو کوئی بھی بغیر اس شبدجال پر لینے کے لئے تیار رہنا ہمارے گروپ کا حصہ بننے کے لئے چلنا کے لیے سریع ہیں ۔شبدجال ہماری زندگیوں کا اتنا لازم حصہ ہے تو کیوں پھر اس کے پریس کو برا ہوتا ہے؟ اس کی سب سے اہم وجہ شبدجال خارج بھی شامل ہیں کے طور پر کر سکتے ہیں جس طرح سے حاصل ہوتی ہے ۔ اگر ہم اپنے آپ کا موضوع تھوڑا مائیات، کے معاملے کی طرح ہماری روز مرہ زندگیوں کے ساتھ نسبت کا کہنا ہے کہ جب یہ معلوم کیا ہے نہ کئے ہوں، یا لسانیات کی ایک ابھیدی دیوار کے ساتھ سامنا مل جائے تو ہم بھی تشویش میں مبتلا نہ ہو ۔ لیکن جب کا موضوع ایک ہے جہاں ہم محسوس کرتے ہیں اس میں دخل، اور لگتا ہے کہ ہم جاننے کا حق ہے، اور مقررین جو ہم کو سمجھنے کے لئے مشکل بنا الفاظ استعمال کرتا ہے، تو ہم شکایت کرنے کے لئے شروع کیا ۔ ہم کو شبہ ہے کہ ظلمت کو جان بوجھ کر پالیسی ہے کہ اگر ہم بالکل، یہ گوبلیڈگوک پر شناخت چسپاں کرنا اور عوام ہنسی پر نیچے بلا مذمت کرتے ہیں ۔کوئی علاقہ مستثنی ہے، لیکن اشتہار بازی، سیاست اور دفاع کے میدان میں خاص طور پر حالیہ برسوں میں مختلف مہمات کی طرف سے سادہ انگریزی کے لئے تنقید کا نشانہ بنے ہیں ۔ ان ڈومینز میں، جس کے لوگ شبدجال حقائق کو چھپانے کے لیے استعمال کرنے کے لیے تیار ہیں حد تفریحی، کفر اور دہشت کا ایک تیار منبع ہے ۔ جھوٹ جھوٹ، جو صرف عارضی طور پر یہ ایک 'رُک بیان' یا 'ظاہردار دانیابلاٹی کی ایک مثال' کال کرکے پوشیدہ ہو سکتا ہے ۔ اور نہ ہی ایک جوہری پلانٹ دھماکے کے لیے دیر تک اس طرح کے جملے 'ؤرجاوان داسسمبل'، 'مستثنیٰ ارتقاء' یا 'پلانٹ عوامی' کے طور پر پیچھے کچل دی جا سکتے ہیں ۔While condemning unnecessary or obscuring jargon in others, we should not forget to look out for it in ourselves. It is so easy to ‘slip into’ jargon, without realizing that our own listeners/readers do not understand. It is also temptingly easy to slip some jargon into our expression, to ensure that others do not understand. The motivation to do such apparently perverse things is not difficult to grasp. People like to be ‘in’, to be part of an intellectual or technical elite; and the use of jargon, whether understood or not, is a badge of membership. Jargon, also, can provide a lazy way into a group or an easy way of hiding uncertainties and inadequacies: when terminology slips plausibly from the tongue, it is not essential for the brain to keep up. Indeed some people have developed this skill to professional levels. And certainly, faced with a telling or awkward question, and the need to say something acceptable in public, slipping into jargon becomes a simple way out, and can soon become a bad habit.
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