Troublesome Language - Keri

TROUBLESOME LANGUAGE

Troublesome language is something we have all encountered at one time or another. When you look at it from the outside it can be pretty funny but it can also be a big problem. Let's take a look at what the different types of troublesome language are and how we could prevent any misunderstandings of these types.

Equivocal Language

Sometimes people use words that can be interpreted in more than one way. These words are often words with more than one definition in the dictionary or are words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Sometimes people will write in a word and use the wrong spelling of it for their intended meaning. Be careful when choosing your wording if it is a very important message. Try to choose words that have a single very clear meaning.

Relative Words

These words are used to express a meaning that is based on comparison. When a person says something like 'my house is bigger than theirs,' you need to know how big the second house is in order to get any meaning from this kind of statement. Try to give a more definite description. In this example, you could say how many square feet the house is rather than comparing it to another house that might be unknown to the listener.

Slang and Jargon

Slang and jargon are words that are specific to a particular group of people. Slang is usually used by younger people and jargon I usually specific to a line of work. These types of words are great for communicating within these specific groups. They are usually words that are designed to communicate information that would primarily hold meaning only within that particular group. When using these types of words, make sure they are words that your intended audience will understand. If they are not familiar with these words, try to find an alternative choice of words that will be more easily understood.

Overly Abstract Language

Sometimes the meaning gets lost when you are too vague in your communication. You need to be more specific to get the full meaning of your message across. For example: 'I ran my book back to the library.' You would get a better idea of the meaning if I said, 'As soon as I realized what time it was, I ran my overdue book back to the library so it could get checked back in before the end of the day and I added more to my past due fines.' The first statement doesn't communicate all of the information needed to create the accurate picture of me returning my library book. The best way to avoid being overly abstract is to answer the following three questions: Who is involved? In what circumstances does the behavior occur? What behaviors are involved?