Harty 49-115

Jargon is a technical language unique to a particular business and becomes a problem when this language is used outside of that business. Gobbledygook must be avoided whenever possible as it is an extreme version of jargon that leads to little other than confusion. I personally think that jargon should generally be kept to a minimum as much as possible so that communication will flow as freely as possible. Unfortunately gobbledygook has found its way into most places in the world that require higher education, such as legal areas as well as academic ones. A good way to keep such language to a minimum is to not over embellish phrases; instead of saying “give consideration to” say “consider” for example.
When writing in the workplace it is important to use specific examples and references. Do not try to be overly vague. It can be very tempting to use jargon to fill space in a memo and to actually say very little, but this should be avoided whenever possible.
Non-sexist communication in the workplace and in any setting is important. Many companies are developing their own ways of doing away with such language. One example is Franklin and Marshall College who have developed 9 ways of doing this.
1) Address your reader
2) Eliminate the pronoun
3) Replace the pronouns with articles
4) Use plural nouns and pronouns
5) Alternate male and female pronouns throughout text
6) Use both pronouns and vary their order
7) Use specific genderless nouns
8) Substitute job titles or descriptions
9) Repeat the noun or use a synonym
English has become the language of choice in the business community across the world. As such many people devote large amounts of time and energy into perfecting the use of it. The problem arises though, that since they are not native speakers they have the potential to make errors that are taken as offensive or that cause massive misunderstanding. The better their grasp of the English language becomes the more dangerous and likely these mistakes become because people are not expecting them.