Jargon

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For the glossary of hacker slang, see Jargon File. For the gemstone, see Jargoon.

Jargon is terminology that relates to a specific activity, profession or group. Much like slang it develops as a kind of shorthand, to quickly express ideas that are frequently discussed between members of a group. In many cases a standard term may be given a more precise or specialized usage among practitioners of a field.

Uses of Jargon

Jargon is used in several fields:

• Sports: One can find Jargon just by watching a sports broadcast, where commentators will often use jargon specific to the game which may hold little or no meaning to those not familiar with the sport.
• Religion: Jargon is widely used to refer to concepts within the belief systems of organised religion.
• Medicine: Particularly in the operating room or under emergency conditions, particular jargons have developed that allow medical professionals to communicate quickly and effectively where common language would take much longer. This kind of jargon is also known as technical terminology.
• Information Technology and the Internet: Computer and programming jargons used by computer scientists, programmers, system architects, enthusiasts and hackers to communicate. (See the Jargon File.) The proper usage of these words is a sometimes considered prerequisite for inclusion in these groups (leetspeak).
• Nautical Terms, an example of an ancient form of jargon.
• Politics: Jargon is used by ministers and commentators to refer to political strategies and tactics.

Pitfalls of Jargon

In some cases it is used as a shibboleth to distinguish those who belong to a group from those who do not. This is sometimes called "guild" or "insider" jargon. Those unfamiliar with a subject can often be tagged by their incorrect use of jargon. The use of jargon by outsiders is considered by insiders to be audacious, since it constitutes a claim to membership of the insider group. Conversely, since outsiders may not see the reference made via jargon, they are all the more sensitive to its more visible elitist social framing. Jargon often comes across as pedantic, nerdy, and divorced from meaning to outsiders.

See also

• Buzzword
• Chinook jargon
• Christianese
• Colloquialism
• Computer jargon or Jargon File
• Corporate jargon
• Jargon code
• Law enforcement jargon
• List of buzzwords
• List of UK railfan jargon
• Mathematical jargon
• Military slang and jargon
• Pidgin
• Poker jargon
• Slang
• Sociolinguistics
• Scientology terminology
• Terminology
• Wobbly lingo

External links

• Plain English
• LanguageMonitor - Watchdog on contemporary English usage
• The Jargon Wiki - A wikified version of The Jargon File.
• CorporateJargon.net
• nickselby.com - 2007 BullsIT awards for worst in high-tech marketing jargon
• The Online Dictionary of Language Terminology - A concise online dictionary of language terms
• USA Today article on sports jargon used in business

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 15:26:34 PDT (GMT -0700)
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