Taking jargon to the "next level" !

I've just read a great article in the newspaper about jargon. We Kiwis use a lot, and Kiwi churches are no exception. It's different to metaphor and idiom which can be creative and clarifying. It's like another language, the trouble is it's nonsense and, according to Harvard Business review "feeds and encourages lazy minds." I agree, and am determined to avoid insulting people's intellect with it.

Here are my most disliked:

• "Thinking outside the box" - let's just say 'creative thinking,' or even just 'thinking'
• "Giving 110%" - let's face it, this is just inefficient. How can anyone do more than they're actually capable of??? Let's use "Giving 100%"
• "Going forward" oooow I really dislike this one. Have you ever really seen anyone or any company or any organisation "going backwards"? 
• "Pushing the envelope" - what on earth is that?! Have you ever seen anyone do this? Surely words like 'innovative' and even 'edgy' would be far more descriptive. 

What are yours? add a comment.

Language is one of the primary communicators of cultural values. Not only the actual words we use, but also the way we use them (or abuse them). When we fill our sentences with jargon we are expressing a low level of interest in insight and articulation. A society's ability to communicate powerfully is dependent on its people sharing the same meanings and associations of words. The more we use secret gobbledegook for our church friends or workmates, the less we will actually understand each other and the more we will simply confuse.

If you value clear communication let's commit to use intelligible and creative speech and avoid confusing each other. If we want to speak another language I suggest we learn a known tongue and actually bless people. uurrr, I mean encourage them with truth they can understand and enjoy.

Now is a great time to make friends with Muslims.

When you drive down the road and see men in Arabic garb and women in headscarves do you immediately think: There go possibly the friendliest people in the neighbourhood? Even though I already knew that Middle Eastern hospitality rivals any in the world my recent research has confirmed to me that Arab Muslims living in New Zealand are consistently friendly, hospitable and approachable people. In fact, Arab Muslims are literally asking Kiwis to make friends and get to know them.

For my MA I recently interviewed numerous Muslims studying or living long term in New Zealand and when given the opportunity to say anything to their Kiwi neighbours their response could be summarised like this: Arab Muslims are good people, not bad, we are humans just like you, please get to know us.”  Wow! If that isn’t an invitation to friendship, what is? Furthermore, Arab Muslims feel respected by New Zealanders and generally liked and accepted in society.

So what do New Zealanders think? Well, apparently we don’t think a lot about our Muslim neighbours. When I surveyed New Zealanders’ opinions of Arab Muslims I found that while many do respect Muslims and see them as a benefit to New Zealand society, the largest group of answers were “no opinion” or “indifferent.” On an encouraging note, most Kiwis who had Muslim acquaintances were quite positive in their replies. It was, by and large, those without contact with Muslims who sat on the fence.

Other research of the four largest immigrant receiving regions of the world (USA, Western Europe, Canada and Australia) found that immigrants eventually transform the dominant culture, to various degrees, reducing its Western character. This transformation may mean host nations become “less European, less Anglo-Saxon, and less Christian”. As the immigrant impact increasingly alters the way of life in the host country, the host society takes notice and begins to care more and more.

This insight could well explain our situation in New Zealand. It is quite possible that the number of Arab and Muslim immigrants has not yet reached a point where New Zealand society experiences any significant transformation, and Kiwis therefore don’t really care. New Zealanders do not feel their way of life is impacted enough to form and express a particularly strong opinion either way.

While some people express concern at the increasing number of Muslims in New Zealand, our peaceful coexistence to date and lack of serious controversy on New Zealand soil says to me that we in New Zealand are at a significant place in our multicultural history. Now is the time to reach out and make the most of our good relationships. Now is the time to get to know your neighbours. Don't worry about what to say, it will probably be fascinating if you just ask questions like: "I'm interested to know about your home country, tell me about daily life there." Once we get to know our culturally "different" neighbours we have much more right to share our own lives and thoughts.

So, next time you see a Muslim close up, I suggest you introduce yourself, welcome them to New Zealand, and see where the conversation goes. What do you think?
Kiwi catalyst