Jargon
Jargon is sometimes understood as a form of technical slang and then distinguished from the official terminology used in a particular field of activity.
[2] The terms jargon, slang, and argot are not consistently differentiated in the literature; different authors interpret these concepts in varying ways.
According to one definition, jargon differs from slang in being secretive in nature;[3] according to another understanding, it is specifically associated with professional and technical circles.
The primary driving forces in the creation of technical jargon are precision, efficiency of communication, and professionalism.
[11] While jargon allows greater efficiency in communication among those familiar with it, a side effect is that it raises the threshold of comprehensibility for outsiders.
[18] In colonial history, jargon was seen as a device of communication to bridge the gap between two speakers who did not speak the same tongue.
In the 1980s, linguists began restricting this usage of jargon to keep the word to more commonly define a technical or specialized language use.
Conversely, a lingua franca is used for the opposite effect, helping communicators to overcome unintelligibility, as are pidgins and creole languages.
[25] Precise technical terms and their definitions are formally recognized, documented, and taught by educators in the field.
For instance, the term firewall (in the sense of a device used to filter network traffic) was at first technical slang.
[26] Technical terminology evolves due to the need for experts in a field to communicate with precision and brevity but often has the effect of excluding those who are unfamiliar with the particular specialized language of the group.
[27] This can cause difficulties, for example, when a patient is unable to follow the discussions of medical practitioners, and thus cannot understand his own condition and treatment.
[30] Common phrases used in corporate jargon include: Medicine professionals make extensive use of scientific terminology.
[41] The argument as to whether medical jargon is a positive or negative attribute of a patient's experience has evidence to support both sides.
Jargon may serve this function by dictating to which direction or depth a conversation about or within the context of a certain field or profession will go.
It can indicate to the audience that a speaker is an insider with using specialized terms in the field to make an argument based on authority and credibility.
To combat this, several advocacy organizations are working on influencing public agents to offer accessible information in different formats.
In the professional world, those who are in the business of filmmaking may use words like "vorkapich" to refer to a montage when talking to colleagues.
