Word Spy - jargon gap

jargon gap

n. The inability to understand another person's jargon-laden writing or speech; a feeling of inadequacy (usu. ironic) caused by another's facility with jargon terms.

Example Citation:

"Partners and associates of the Bilgewater Consulting Corp., good morning.

I've gathered you in our boardroom today on serious business. I have uncovered evidence of a secret initiative undertaken by our biggest competitor — Beelzebub & Satan LLC — to bamboozle our clients. They promise, and I quote, 'to enter into value-added business process outsourcing engagements through which they will prospectively integrate core competencies with said clients to eliminate supply-chain redundancies, especially those within the professional services market space.' ... Ladies and gentlemen, we have a jargon gap."
—John R. Brandt, "Jargon Gap," Industry Week, October 2001

Earliest Citation:

"Familiarity with computer lingo is assumed. The writing definitely is not 'everyday language' as the cover mistakenly claims.

Attempting to bridge the jargon gap, the authors insert a massive 70-page glossary at the end."
—Timothy E. Levine, "Book by MBAs gives general look at CAD-CAM," Government Computer News, October 9, 1987

Notes:

The above citation nicely captures the ironic sense of today's phrase. Scarily, however, there do seem to be some executives who swear by the following equation:

many buzzwords + obscure jargon = more credibility

This is probably the main reason why jargon parodies such as the one above are difficult to pull off because there are so many examples of real press releases and marketing materials that actually use (and seem to revel in) such language. If you enjoy seeing this kind of language skewered, then by all means take a look John Walston's BuzzWhack site, particularly his "BuzzRant" columns:

http://www.buzzwhack.com/

Category:

Jargon and Buzzwords

Posted on October 26, 2001