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academic jargon (thelemmy.club)
submitted 2 weeks ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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here's your monthly (/ yearly) reminder to use simple language wherever possible.

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[–] 98 points 2 weeks ago (19 children)

Jargon isn't inherently bad, but it's often weilded for evil. When a scientist uses jargon it's usually for precision and clarity. But corporations and conmen use it to obfuscate, confuse, and add a veneer of science/legitimacy to their bullshit.

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  • [–] 63 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

    Jargon is great when the word used is the most accurate word for that thing, describing why it exists and what its purpose is.

    Jargon is terrible when they start using that as a synonym for a simpler word, and want to sound busy and smart

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  • [–] 22 points 1 week ago (7 children)

    Respect synonym of simpler words, nothing more hilarious as the German "Amtssprache".

    nicht lebende Einfriedung (non-living enclosure) = Zaun (fence)

    raumübergreifendes Großgrün (large vegetation that extends spatially) = Baum (tree)

    Lautraum (soundspace) = Diskothek

    Grundstücksentwässerungsanlage (Land drainage system) = Regenrinne (gutter)

    Einachsiger Dreiseitenkipper (Single-axle three-sided tipper) = Schubkarre (wheelbarrow)

    Personenvereinzelungsanlage (Personal isolation facility) = Drehkreuz (turnable)

    Grüngutsammelplatz (Green goods collection point) = Komposthaufen (compost heap)

    Bedarfsgesteuerte Fußgängerfurt (Demand-controlled pedestrian crossing) = Ampel (pedestrian traffic light)

    Lebensberechtigungsbescheinigung (Certificate of eligibility for life) = Stammbuch (family tree)

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    Reading a German journal must be exhausting

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

    Not so if you know German, but the reading is slower as normal. German words are often very long, but only because it is a compound word, which in other lenguages need a whole sentence to say the same. The advantage is that it is very easy to invent new words in German which everybody understand, but this is also used often used in legal jargon in an absurd and not needed way. German is a very flexible language with not so much grammatic, the most difficult are the articles. A very precise and uniform pronunciation of the letters in the alphabet used in a word (same as in Spanish), not so in English or French, where letters have different phonetics in different words.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    i think the legal speak is actually charming, somehow. it's often much more precise than what we would say in our everday-language. kinda like programming, very precise. but i guess it can be really challenging for somebody who doesn't have a lot of experience with the german language yet.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

    Yeah, but as said it's often not really needed, everybody knows what is a tree or a fence, there isn't any need to use an absurd wordmonster which isn't more precise, only fucking up the people in documents.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    these are hilarious. i just don't get the last one. "Lebensberechtigungsbescheinigung"? when would you use that?

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  • [–] 22 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

    Corporate abuse of language is frustrating. I've worked with a lot of product manager types that really want to use extra words. "Let's just swag it". "We need to force rank these initiatives". "Can you do a research spike this sprint?"

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  • [–] 9 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    We had a guy that was famous for wanting to use the latest words. Everytime he heard a new buzzword or jargon, he'd basically be a child with a new toy and use it every other sentence for the coming month.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 week ago

    In the lead up to getting fired for being disabled, HR (and everyone I spoke to) switched exclusively to bullshit legal jargon instead of just talking to me like a human. It was confusing and alienating, which I think was the point. Had to pull out a dictionary for every Slack message.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago

    How should layman distinguish between the two, if they don't understand it?

    It's easy to see why conmen use it: if you know, you won't buy it anyway; if you don't know you might think it's legit because the guy sounds like a scientist.

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