author, Allan Duff : 28th. March, 2017

All industries have their own jargon and the world of finances is certainly no exception. Jargon is not necessarily good as it interferes with the uninitiated understanding what is probably important for them. Even so it does have a use, perhaps limited, as it creates an immediate understanding amongst those who are the initiated.

Acronyms, a fabulous source of noise (more jargon and we’ll get to this in another article), are today’s vogue and track along narrow alleys of description as a rule; not making their meaning open to many.

There are also the clichés that can clutter. How about the latest? “Pushback”, for resistance. Now used as adjectives and verbs cropping up to describe street riots, demonstrations, moaning about new laws and anything else that is a reason for complaint.  Are they serious? The old ellie in the room is becoming stale, so shall we get back  to,”ignoring the obvious”?

We have to laugh at ourselves for if we take all this as mature communication we’ll know we’re daft. It is even heard in the boardrooms of high finance and powerful industries. I have a feeling that the ‘journos’ are not to blame for it all and much of this actually does start in those boardrooms.

So from where did jargon in today’s world begin? I believe it was the glory, fly boys, the RAF fighter pilots of World War Two who are responsible. I can quote my father on a number. Here are a couple to kick off on what I hope shall be a mini-series of jargon within this serious blog. Most shall be serious articles on the subject and simpler than the example below.

Wilco, old boy, or wilco, sir. Not really in use today but is, Will Carry Out (an order), an agreement. There was awol, still in use.

Still used in modern aviation is, ‘squawk’. Air Traffic Control (ATC) shall give departing aircraft that are to be flying in controlled airspace an identity code. This comes across, in among other data such as weather, as “Squawk, 3120”, for example. The pilots repeat this and set a dial on their navigation aids to this code. It is a transponder, no more. It tells all radar, ground and air, around it who and what they are, aircraft type, airline, etc. This equipment was secret in its’ day and initially placed into the RAF craft for identity in combat. It was code named, parrot. So a parrot code was given to each craft. It took the British humour no time to refer to their parrots as their squawks.