jargon

Dictionary: jar·gon   (jär'gən)

1. Nonsensical, incoherent, or meaningless talk.
2. A hybrid language or dialect; a pidgin.
3. The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group. See synonyms at dialect.
4. Speech or writing having unusual or pretentious vocabulary, convoluted phrasing, and vague meaning.

To speak in or use jargon.

[Middle English jargoun, from Old French jargon, probably of imitative origin.]

noun

1. Unintelligible or foolish talk: babble, blather, blatherskite, double talk, gabble, gibberish, jabber, jabberwocky, nonsense, prate, prattle, twaddle. See words.
2. A variety of a language that differs from the standard form: argot, cant², dialect, lingo, patois, vernacular. See words.
3. Specialized expressions indigenous to a particular field, subject, trade, or subculture: argot, cant², dialect, idiom, language, lexicon, lingo, patois, terminology, vernacular, vocabulary. See words.

Definition: specialized language; dialect
Antonyms: standard

A special language belonging exclusively to a group, often a profession. Engineers, lawyers, doctors, tax analysts, and the like all use jargon to exchange complex information efficiently. Jargon is often unintelligible to those outside the group that uses it. For example, here is a passage from a computer manual with the jargon italicized: “The RZ887-x current loop interface allows the computer to use a centronics blocked duplex protocol.” (See slang.)

Language that is used or understood only by a select group of people. Jargon may refer to terminology used in a certain profession, such as computer jargon, or it may refer to any nonsensical language that is not understood by most people. Literary examples of jargon are Francois Villon's Ballades en jargon, which is composed in the secret language of the coquillards, and Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, narrated in the fictional characters' language of "Nadsat".

Quotes:

"Psychobabble is... a set of repetitive verbal formalities that kills off the very spontaneity, candor, and understanding it pretends to promote. It's an idiom that reduces psychological insight to a collection of standardized observations, that provides a frozen lexicon to deal with an infinite variety of problems." - Richard D. Rosen

"Jargon is the verbal sleight of hand that makes the old hat seem newly fashionable; it gives an air of novelty and specious profundity to ideas that, if stated directly, would seem superficial, stale, frivolous, or false. The line between serious and spurious scholarship is an easy one to blur, with jargon on your side." - David Lehman

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Technical terminology. (Discuss)

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (February 2009)

For Wikipedia jargon, see Wikipedia:Glossary. For hacker slang, see Jargon File. For the gemstone, see Jargoon.

Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, or group. In other words, the term covers the language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest. Much like slang, it develops as a kind of short-hand, to express ideas that are frequently discussed between members of a group. A standard term may be given a more precise or unique usage among practitioners of a field. In many cases this causes a barrier to communication with those not familiar with the language of the field. As an example, the words RAM, Hard Disk Drive, CPU, and Graphics Card are jargon terms related to computing.

In Jewish communities at the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the term "jargon" was occasionally used as a pejorative term for Yiddish. Such usage was current both among assimilationists, who felt that Jews would do better to speak the majority language of the surrounding society, and among Zionists who urged them to speak Hebrew.

See also

Look up jargon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Colloquialism
• Corporatese
• Corporate jargon
• Critical vocabulary
• Jargon File
• P convention
• Pidgin
• Polari
• Slang
• Sociolect
• Sociolinguistics
• Terminology
• Wobbly lingo
• Yan Tan Tethera

and for contrast

Plain Words

External links

• The Jargon Wiki - A wikified version of The Jargon File.
• nickselby.com - 2007 BullsIT awards for worst in high-tech marketing jargon
• [1] - Uzbek Jargon Dictionary. O`zbek Jargon Lug`ati. Словар Узбекского Жаргона

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - jargon, specielt ordbrug
v. intr. - bruge jargon

2.
n. - ædelsten, skat, blandingsmineral af kisel og zirkon

Nederlands (Dutch)
vaktaal, ruige taal, jargon, kletsen, jargon gebruiken, in jargon veranderen

Français (French)
1.
n. - jargon, argot de métier
v. intr. - jargonner

2.
n. - variété de zirconium

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Jargon, Fachsprache
v. - unverständlich daherreden, einen Jargon sprechen

2.
n. - Jargon, (Abart des Zirkon

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - επαγγελματική φρασεολογία, (μτφ.) ακαταλαβίστικα, αλαμπουρνέζικα, (ορυκτολ.) γιαρκόν, παραλλαγή του ζιρκονίου
v. - μιλώ ακατανόητα, χρησιμοποιώ δυσνόητη επαγγελματική γλώσσα

Italiano (Italian)
gergo, esprimersi in gergo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - jargão (m), fala (f) ou conversa (f) incoerente ou sem sentido
v. - falar em ou utilizar jargão

Русский (Russian)
жаргон

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - jerga, lenguaje profesional
v. intr. - hablar en jerigonza, hablar de modo ininteligible

2.
n. - jergón, tipo de zircón opaco

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - jargong, fackspråk, struntprat, rotvälska
v. - använda jargong

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
专门术语, 梦话, 行话, 说行话, 喋喋不休, 说难懂的话

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 專門術語, 夢話, 行話
v. intr. - 說行話, 喋喋不休, 說難懂的話

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 은어, 사투리, 알아 들을 수 없는 말, 특수 용어
v. intr. - 은어를 쓰다, 사투리를 쓰다, 재잘거리다, 횡설수설하다

2.
n. - (보석) 지르콘의 변종

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 専門語, わけのわからない言葉

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) رطانه, لغه غير مفهومه, جوهرة او حجر كريم (فعل) تكلم كلام من ذهب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שפה מקצועית, מישלב דיבור, ז'רגון, קשקוש (בדיבור), עגה עממית נמוכה‬
v. intr. - ‮דיבר בלשון עילגת או מיוחדת‬
n. - ‮סוג זירקון שקוף למחצה וחסר-צבע‬

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