Gobbledygook by Don Watson

Watson’s slim book on jargon is in the form of a discursive essay tracing the history of “sludge and management-speak” back to the rise of business schools and the large corporations which employ their graduates. He follows this sludge into public speech, media jargon and the workplace. An irreverent look at management and the language it uses is welcome. Why and whither are we all going forward? Why are we enhancing? Why are we content to call parents and students consumers? Once one begins to deconstruct the language, the deconstruction of ideas follows.

Watson is good on the parrot aspect of jargon: it catches on unquestioned. There is nothing sadder than the previous decade’s buzz words:

In institutions where we might expect the most resistance the capitulation is most complete. Managerialism came to the universities as the German army came to Poland. Now they talk about achieved learning outcomes, quality assurance mechanisms and international benchmarking.

Watson argues that such jargon is inadequate and unnecessary, a language of public-relations rather than truth telling. Here, he echoes Orwell’s view of the function of jargon – the little lie masking the bigger lie.

A glossary of jargon provides much fun. Here they all are, the linguistic sludge, the tired baseball terms, the strutting verbs, the midget words on elevator shoes: issue, implement, input, core, key, strategic, deliver, workshop, scenario, point in time.

Now that documents are being generated about documents, Watson’s little book is as astringent as a good mouthwash.