Chapter 3
Jargon, Bafflegab and Yadda Yadda

He that uses many words for explaining any subject, doth,
like the cuttlefish, hide himself for the most part in his own ink.
—JOHN RAY

THE GAGE CANADIAN DICTIONARY gives several definitions of jargon. Two of them are of use to us here.

• The language of a particular group or profession.
• Language that fails to communicate because it is full of long or fancy words, uses more words than necessary, and contains lengthy, awkward sentences.

We tend to think of jargon always in a negative sense, but it is not always so. In fact, everyone uses it and when it doesn’t exist, we invent it. Supposing we were builders and didn’t know the term a two-by-four. Most immigrants to Canada, even English-speaking ones, are unfamiliar with the term, although it is common enough here. Each time we needed one, we would have to ask for a piece of wood that is two inches deep and four inches wide. That is many more words than just asking for a two-by-four. The term is just short-hand, developed to save time. It is construction jargon. Have you changed the baby is parenting jargon, and it doesn’t mean we have swapped the baby for something else or transformed it into something different. Nursing jargon has been known to include Have you fed the appendix in bed 5? When doctors talk about harvesting, they are more likely to be taking bone marrow from a donor than cutting down wheat or rye. It’s just medical jargon.

We all know what we mean when we talk about medical jargon, engineering jargon or any other kind of jargon. It is specialized vocabulary used by an “in” group and it excludes others, albeit perhaps not intentionally. A doctor may talk jargon to another doctor, but when the patient is included, doctors should try to avoid jargon, so that the patient understands as well.

Excluding people from a conversation makes them peevish, not surprisingly, which is why jargon has a bad reputation. While using jargon is convenient, sometimes it is also a way for a speaker or writer to demonstrate power over people. When others cannot understand, they can be silenced or intimidated.

Acronyms and initialisms
Jargon incorporates acronyms and initialisms. Just think how many people would be prepared to say “United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund” every time they talked about UNICEF, or the “Young Men’s Christian Association” each time they went for a swim at the Y? Shortening lengthy names of organizations is extremely common and can be extremely confusing to someone hearing them for the first few times. Some organizations even create crib sheets for new employees so they can memorize what the abbreviations stand for.