Jargon

Every institution, every interest group, every professional society, every subculture has its own in-house language, a coded way of speaking that among other purposes identifies members of the group. This is especially true in the Canadian military, where members of the CF speak in acronyms (C & C, LOCs, ATL, SOPs, TD, REMFs) or use words and phrases that have currency in military circles but may be little understood by outsiders. This is the language of jargon.

Jargon develops in one respect because it is an efficient way to use language. If everyone in the task force understands what is meant by their mission to deny the belligerents, the operation will proceed as planned without lengthy explanation. Jargon becomes a problem, however, when you need to communicate to people unfamiliar with the specialized language of your group. Ever gone computer shopping? It is virtually impossible to know that you are getting what you need when you do not know why it is to your advantage that the computer's motherboard has an advanced AGP port and the CPU has spooling capabilities.

A writer may use jargon for good reason. If you know that your readership will largely be computer geeks or career military personnel or stockbrokers or members of some specialized profession, and communication will be made easier if you use jargon, then use it. If you think your reader is not going to know what is meant by particular jargon terms you feel are necessary for a fit discussion of your topic, make every effort to use jargon words and phrases sparingly, and to define them on first use. If you do not have good reason to use jargon in your writing, don't use it.