Jargons now a part of chitchat
‘Net-net’, ‘eat you own dog’, ‘synergy’, ‘influencer’, etc, no these words aren’t the new terms being added to the Oxford Dictionary but jargons used by office workers as part of their daily vocabulary. With fun and technical language becoming a trend, employees have often been found to overuse these words that are not even real, according to career and workplace columnist, Michelle Goodman. While few feel that speaking the language will help them fit in, others find it irritating.
Young executives in the capital share their office idioms, new phrases and jargons. Himanshu Shivnani, a computer engineer, who works with a Japanese company says, “It’s fun to use office vernacular. It feels like I am a part of my company. Every industry has its idioms and set of phrases. ‘Circle back’ and ‘take this offline’, is what I use. Another weird phrase my friends often use is ‘eat your own dog food’ which means you’re to use your company’s product only.”
On one hand, while some like inventing fun words, others are simply not impressed.
Garima Vats, who works with an MNC shares, “I end up using office jargons with friends, which annoys them. I use terms like ‘404’, for someone who is clueless, ‘cube farm’, which is used for an office full of cubicles. Then there is ‘idea hamsters’ for people who are always up with some idea or the other. Then there is ‘blamestorming’, a discussion to find a scapegoat and to reason why a deadline was missed or a project failed.”
Agrees Karan Singh (name changed), who works with a corporate firm, “I often use these terms at home too. Like the other day I was telling my mother about ‘square-headed spouse’, a term I use for my computers. Then there is ‘brain fart’, a term for a burst of useful information. I also use ‘dog-fooling’ which means ridiculous. It’s software jargon.”
But for Divya Gupta, a CA, these phrases and idioms are effective communication tools. “When I joined my firm, I initially found them silly, but it’s exciting now. We often use terms like ‘pick your brain’ when someone wants to ask you something and ‘sweat equity’, means asking people to give their time and talent, for no pay. Then there’s ‘dilberated’ for being exploited and oppressed by your boss and ‘chips and salsa’, where chips stands for hardware and salsa is software. These are fine if use in limit. People should not go overboard with it.”
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