‘Weasel Words’, Jargon, and eReseach!

A colleague of mine recently lamented the fact that his organisation was bloated by jargon.  A lot of organisations are bloated by jargon;  including parts of the English academy (that is supposed to advance the noble task of pursuing truth through evidence).

Here is a definition of ‘jargon’ or dare I say  ‘Weasel Words’ from Wikipedia.  ‘Weasel Words’ are endemic in the gigantic field of  eResearch because the field is so intellectually noisy and cognitively stupefying that ‘jargon’  may be one reactive response to the overwhelming intellectual questions that are extraordinary important to address but as yet lack a cognisant means of navigation.

Weasel words is an informal term for words that are ambiguous and not supported by facts. They are typically used to create an illusion of clear, direct communication.

Weasel words are usually expressed with deliberate imprecision with the intention to mislead the listeners or readers into believing statements for which sources are not readily available. Tactics that are used include:

• vague generalizations
• use of the passive voice
• non sequitur statements
• use of grammatical devices such as qualifiers and the subjunctive mood
• use of euphemisms (e.g., replacing “firing staff” with “streamlining the workforce”)