Business language

Business language is the combination of slang, jargon, and acronyms used in the business world. Americans use a variety of terms and phrases that are not standard English. Businesspeople are often in hurry. Slang and jargon are quick and easy ways to communicate. It saves time for people who know the terms, but for others it creates the potential for misunderstanding. A major problem in business communication is bypassing, where the speaker or writer knows what they want to communicate, knows what terms mean, and assumes the people they are communicating with also know the same terms. For example, a simple acronym AMA has at least three different meanings in American business: American Medical, Marketing, or Management Association. Similarly, “acid test” could mean the final decisive test or proof, or it could refer to a financial test for solvency. Users of business language need to consider their audience’s level of understanding and the multiple meanings of terms and phrases. Slang is a body of words intelligible to a large portion of the general public but not accepted as formal usage. Jargon is the technical vocabulary of a subgroup within the population. Slang and jargon are used more often in speech than in writing. “Baker’s dozen,” “bait and switch,” and “bargain basement” are all examples of widely used slang phrases. “Keystone,” “kicker,” and “puff piece” are examples of jargon used in marketing but unfamiliar to most Americans. Slang and jargon come from a variety of sources, usually industries or subgroups within society that are particularly important in a period of time. In the United States many colorful business language terms are historically rooted in the military (R&R;, boot camp, deep six); sports (batting average, air ball, on the sideline, full-court press); immigrants (el jefe, fait accompli, schmuck, Chinese wall); and politics (kitchen cabinet, port barrel, brain trust). In recent years financial markets (zombie BONDS, dead cat bounce, elves, zeros) and technology (DOT-COMS, chip jewelry, platforms, URLs, desktops) have been the major sources of new business language in the United States. U.S. business domination of electronic commerce has often led to worldwide acceptance of American business-language terms. Business language is constantly changing, challenging consumers and industry members alike.