TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: When users want jargon From:SteveFJong -at- aol -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 5 Jun 2002 10:44:17 EDT
Shauna <SIANNON -at- VISUS -dot- JNJ -dot- com> disagrees with my example of "migrate" as a
bad jargon word, and asks for criteria. To me, bad jargon is either a made-up
word whose meaning is synonymous with a standard word, or a standard word
used contrary to its standard meaning. Bad jargon creates confusion in the
minds of literate readers. (One cannot help but suspect ignorance on the part
of those who coin the terms in the first place.)
The wireless term "provision" is a standard word used in a standard way--no
objection here. For "migration," the link Shauna provides gives a more
correct usage than the engineering manager I cited yesterday, who used
"migration" as a transitive verb; that is, he intended to forcibly migrate
users, which is nonsensical. (As I said, he was really talking about
herding.) Similarly, people today speak of "incenting" behavior when what
they really mean "encouraging."
Living languages evolve, and making up new words and meanings is how they
evolve. Just don't expect to start misusing words as an aid to understanding.
(And if you don't like it, then flaws to you 8^)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Free copy of ARTS PDF Tools when you register for the PDF
Conference by May 15. Leading-Edge Practices for Enterprise
& Government, June 3-5, Bethesda,MD. www.PDFConference.com
Check out RoboDemo for tutorials! It makes creating full-motion software
demonstrations and other onscreen support materials easy and intuitive.
Need RoboHelp? Save $100 on RoboHelp Office in May with our mail-in rebate.
Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
