On Jargon
April 1, 2014
“The original machine had a base plate of pre-famulated amulite surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing in such a way that the two spurving bearings were in a direct line with the panametric fan.”
No, you’re not supposed to understand that quotation. It’s an engineer’s in-joke from 1944, part of a journal article that made fun of the excessive jargon found in technical writing. The Turboencabulator (as the fictional machine was called) has been the subject of many documents, videos, websites, and even an article in Time magazine. These videos are some of the best:
The Rockwell Turbo Encabulator Version 2
The Rockwell Retro Encabulator
But jargon is not limited to engineering! Every academic discipline and profession has a set of words and phrases that can be baffling to outsiders. When you’re studying at university, you’re effectively becoming an insider to that discipline. So how do you cope with the jargon?
Why jargon exists
The term jargon has negative connotations; positive terms for the same idea include terminology and terms of art.
Jargon carries special meaning within a discipline. It can be a new word, or a new meaning of an existing word. For example, in everyday speech, significance is another way of saying importance. But when you talk about significance in a statistical sense, it means something much more specific and precise.
Academic writing deals with some complex and multifaceted ideas. Terminology allows writers to avoid the need to re-explain that idea every time they use it.
Language is slippery, and one word can carry many meanings. The word set is supposed to have more than four hundred different meanings (“the sun sets,” “the chess sets,” “the jelly sets”). Terminology enables precision and clarity.
Why jargon is a problem
As you can tell if you read any academic text, jargon can obscure meaning. It’s difficult for an outsider to read in an unfamiliar discipline. It can be difficult as an insider too! Debates and arguments about definitions of key terms are common (and sometimes never-ending).
Overdependence on jargon is the most common criticism of academic writing. See, for example, Why Academics Can’t Write.
Reading jargon
Academic writing has been described as its own language, so treat it like one. Create a list of vocabulary items for your discipline. Note where you found them and how often they appear in your readings. Add definitions, written yourself or quoted from the source.
General dictionaries are often useless in clearing up jargon. Massey Library’s subject guides are a better alternative. Subject pages include “background information” and “more information” sections, and these often list specialist dictionaries and encyclopedias full of subject-specific definitions.
For example, the Food Science and Nutrition subject guide lists the following books and e-books:
- The Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
- A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition
- Arrow Bender’s Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology
- Arrow Dictionary of Food Ingredients
Textbooks will often include a glossary or list of terminology as well.
Writing jargon
The biggest risk with jargon is using it without understanding it. You might end up claiming something that you don’t actually mean. If you over-use jargon, your writing can become opaque and difficult to read.
The key is to find the right balance for your discipline: show your reader that you understand the topic and can communicate in the topic’s own language… but don’t use so much jargon that the meaning becomes hidden.
Consider your audience. If your assignment asks you to write an information guide for laypeople, then you should avoid jargon as much as possible. If your assignment asks you to write for a professional or academic audience, proper use of special terminology may be essential.
Despite calls to remove jargon from writing, it’s unlikely to ever completely disappear. Your goal, then, should be to tame it and make it work for you and not against you.
And if you ever need a jargon-heavy sentence entirely lacking in meaning, try out the Virtual Academic:
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