English Language - Occupation

Occupational jargon

Words or phrases used solely in a particular job or on occasion have originated in a particular occupation before becoming more widely used

Occupational register

The words/lexis, grammer and tone associated with a profession

Occupation + Acronyms

Many professions use a lot of jargon e.g.

-Education with acronyms such as AFL, CPU and EAL

-The Metropolitan Police has a lot of acronyms, with approximately 61 entries/items under A alone

for many reasons such as saving time, protecting info and making record keeping easier

Grice’s Maxims

Conversational ‘rules’:

Quantity (don't say too much or too little), Manner (speak clearly), Relevance (keep to the point), Quality (be truthful)

Floating a maxim

Breaking a maxim on purpose to interpret a hidden meaning to your words (implicature)

Codes

a system for sending messages/information efficiently and secretly (helps quantity and revelance, floats manner)

Code examples - American police code crimes

215 = carjacking

211 = robbery

586 = illegal parking

Acronyms

an abbreviation pronounced as a word

Initialism

an abbreviation that you pronounce each letter individually

Convergence

To lower or higher your language (accent + dialect) to show that you and the other person are equals and that you respect them

Divergence

To lower or higher your language (accent + dialect) to show that you and the other person are not equals and/or you don't respect them

Legalese examples

-archaic language (‘herefore')

-multi-clausal sentences

-conditional clauses (if _, then _)

-performative language (preforms an act)

-declartive sentences

Reasons for divergence in occupation

-to establish dominance/power over lower employees

Business jargon

-a lot of the time it comes from humour e.g.:

Low-hanging fruit - an easy, achievable goal

Shoot the puppy - do the unthinkable

Think outside the box - be creative

Solutionising Business Jargon - BBC Scotland News Article (Opinions on Business Jargon)

-boring -pretentious -unoriginal -unnecessary -alienating

Secret Teacher: jargon is ruining our children's education - The Guardian (Opinions)

Primary school children shouldn't know education jargon (like learning objectives, non-negotiables and targets) because:

-they often don't know what it actually means

-makes them feel unnecessarily pressured

-forces them into a “numbers game”

Not fit for purpose? The jargon-laden language of politics - The Guardian (Opinion)

-Jargon usage in politics makes facts vague + unclear

-A report by some MPs criticised political language as being deliberately unclear to hide unpleasant truths (e.g. downsizing = budget/staff cuts)

→ stops real people accessing services or benefits