Re: dialect/jargon

From: Bryan <bethexton_at_...>
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 16:01:41 -0000

I think the point of trade-talk is mostly to be the opposite of this. Think of it more like the writing in People magazine, but slanted towards trade rather than celebrity gossip. Either way it is meant to be simple and easily understood. Sure, not everyone knows it, but I think that is more a matter of most people don't know how to limit their vocabulary, weed out idioms, and simplify their grammar well enough to stay within Trade Talk. I think the only area where Trade Talk has extensive vocabulary and nuanced meanings is with regard to commerce, and non users may not understand the exact shades of meaning, but most can probably at least take a fair guess.

but for the
> Gloranthaphiles out there, are there other such occupational
languages
> anywhere, or languages associated with magic use, perhaps?
Does "SurEnslib
> Tradition Knowledge" or "Myths of Kolat" give you such knowledge to
speak a
> special language of the spirits, for instance? Or should it come
along with?

When it comes to jargon and technical terminology, I think that it is inherent in almost every activity. Ask a skiier about snow conditions, a knife sharpener about types of stones and steel, or a parent about their childrens' moods--they will all have a specialized vocabulary to let them precisely talk about these things. Sometimes using words that others would not normally use, sometimes using words in a different sense or emphasis than is common. It probably happens somewhat with every skill, and moreso with professions, local groups, and religions (so you could say it belongs with key words, for example)

I would say that shared skills probably augment language abilities when trying to communicate across a language barrier, when talking about that skill--two carpenters who don't understand each other in general can probably still manage to communicate reasonably well about wood.

On the other hand, for those not having a particular skill, trying to understand talk about it is probably a test of language skills. Do you know enough of the words, do you know enough of the uses of other words, are you good enough at infering meaning, to make sense of what the brewer is talking about, even if you know nothing about brewing?

Likewise for trying to explain a technical matter to a non-practioner, language skills are probably important-- that a sailor can think of how to describe how to tack the boat without losing the audience by using nautical terminology. So the sailor with low language skills ends up repeating slowly and loudly "No, you hitch that sheet to the port cleat" while the one with good skills can explain "Oh, take that rope and tie it around that sort of bent post over on the left."

Regards;

Bryan

Powered by hypermail