2021年经济学人 为什么管理者们总爱使用行业黑话(2)

In her book about life in the tech industry, “Uncanny Valley”, Anna Wiener used the term “garbage language” to describe “a sort of nonlanguage which was neither beautiful nor especially efficient”.

安娜·维纳在她写的一本关于科技行业生活的书《诡异谷》中，用“垃圾语言”来形容“一种既不漂亮也不特别高效的非语言”。

Tech executives spouted¹ a very grand vision of how they would reshape society but their rhetoric² often clashed with the hard reality of what they were doing, which was to sell advertising³ or monopolise users’ time.

科技公司的高管们大谈特谈他们将如何重塑社会的宏伟愿景，但他们的言论往往与他们正在做的事情——出售广告或垄断用户的时间——这一残酷现实相冲突。

It is a variation on the old Ralph Waldo Emerson dictum: “The louder he mentioned his honour, the faster we counted our spoons.”

这是拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生那句古老格言的变体：“他提到自己的荣誉的声音越大，我们数勺子的速度就越快。”

The third reason why managers use jargon⁴ is to establish their credentials⁵.

管理者使用行话的第三个原因是为了证明他们的资历。

What makes one person fit to manage another?

是什么让一个人适合管理另一个人？

It is hard to identify any obvious attributes; managers are not like doctors, who prove their expertise⁶ through passing exams and practical training.

很难找出任何明显的特征；管理者不像医生，他们通过考试和实习训练来证明自己的专业技能。

If you can speak the language of management, you appear qualified⁷ to rule.

如果你会说管理学的语言，那你看起来就有资格管理别人。

If others don’t understand terms like “synergy” and “paradigm”, that only demonstrates their ignorance.

如果其他人不理解“协同”和“范例”这样的术语，那只能说明他们的无知。

In a sense, managers are acting⁸ rather like medieval priests, who conducted services in Latin rather than in the local language, adding to the mystical nature of the process.

从某种意义上说，管理者们的行为更像是中世纪的牧师，他们用拉丁语而不是当地语言进行仪式，这增加了仪式的神秘性。

Once corporate⁹ jargon is established, it is hard for managers to avoid using it.

企业行话一旦形成，管理人员就很难避免使用它。

The terms are ever-present in PowerPoint slides, speeches and annual reports.

这些术语经常出现在PPT幻灯片、演讲和年度报告中。

Not to use them would suggest a manager is not sufficiently¹⁰ committed to the job.

不使用它们就意味着管理者对工作不够投入。

Junior staff, for their part, dare not question the language for fear of damaging their promotion¹¹ prospects¹².

就初级员工而言，他们不敢质疑这种语言，因为他们担心会损害他们的晋升前景。

Of course, new words will inevitably¹³ be coined in the world of business, as in other areas of life.

当然，就像在生活的其他领域一样，在商业领域也不可避免地会出现新词。

Technology has ushered¹⁴ in a range of terms, such as hardware and software, which were once unfamiliar¹⁵ but are now widely understood.

技术带来了一系列术语，比如硬件和软件，这些曾经生僻的术语现在已经被广泛理解。

But a lot of the more irritating jargon has been brought in from other areas of life, like the self-help movement.

但很多更令人恼火的术语是从生活的其他领域引入的，比如自助运动。

All this matters because the continued use of obscure language is a sign that the speaker is not thinking clearly.

所有这些都很重要，因为持续使用晦涩难懂的语言是说话者思维不清晰的标志。

And if those in charge aren’t thinking clearly, that’s bad for the business.

主管们的思路不清晰对公司是不利的。

People who are in real command of the detail are able to explain things in a way that is easily understood.

真正掌握细节的人能够以一种容易理解的方式解释事情。

And if a manager’s colleagues understand the message, they are more likely to get the right things done.

如果管理者的同事理解了这一信息，他们就更有可能把正确的事情做好。

Jargon gets in the way.

行话碍事。

1 spouted   

adj.装有嘴的v.（指液体）喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水

参考例句：

• The broken pipe spouted water all over the room. 破裂的水管喷了一屋子的水。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lecturer spouted for hours. 讲师滔滔不绝地讲了几个小时。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

5 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

11 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

12 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

13 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

14 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。