3.3 Language and profession

The reasons for using words that outsiders may not understand are not necessarily related to a need to keep people in the dark or to assert group identity. In most areas of human activity, the use of specialist vocabulary may be needed in order to refer to specific concepts that everyday language would not be able to express as concisely or accurately. Many professions have developed their own specialist terminology. The glossary that accompanies this course, for example, aims to help you to develop the terminology required in order to talk about linguistic and cultural matters in a more precise way. A professional with good communication skills is aware of the appropriate register to use with each target audience, and adjusts the amount of specialist terminology accordingly.