Jargon (language)

Jargon (language), vocabulary used by a special group or occupational class, usually only partially understood by outsiders. The special vocabularies of medicine, law, banking, science and technology, education, military affairs, sports, and the entertainment world all fall under the heading of jargon. Examples of occupational jargon include such formal technical expressions as perorbital hematoma (black eye, to the layperson), in medicine, and escrow and discount rate, in finance, and informal terms such as licorice stick (clarinet, among jazz musicians). Cant, sometimes defined as false or insincere language, also (like argot) refers to the jargon and slang used by thieves and beggars and the underworld. Colorful terms and phrases such as mug (either a police photograph or to attack a victim), payola (graft or blackmail), hooker (prostitute), and to rub out or to blow away (to kill) are examples of cant that eventually became commonly known to, and adopted as slang by society in general.


Some writers reserve the term jargon for technical language. Applied to colorful occupational expressions such as licorice stick, the concepts of jargon and slang overlap greatly. In general, however, slang is more casual and acceptable to outsiders than jargon. Slang and cant are more vivid than jargon, with a greater turnover in vocabulary. The special in-group speech of young people and of members of distinct ethnic groups is generally called slang, especially when it is understood by outsiders. Some writers use the term argot in a generalized way that covers cant, in-group slang, and occupational jargon—no uniform terminology has been adopted for these common ways of using language. The term jargon, however, also pertains in general to gibberish and unintelligible language and to overinflated, needlessly technical language. In addition, it can refer to specific dialects resulting from a mix of several languages (as in Chinook Jargon, used by Native American traders).

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