2021年经济学人 为什么管理者们总爱使用行业黑话(2)（在线收听）

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 spouted a very grand vision of how they would reshape society but their rhetoric often clashed with the hard reality of what they were doing, which was to sell advertising 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 jargon is to establish their credentials.

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 expertise 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 qualified 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 acting 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 corporate 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 sufficiently 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 promotion prospects.

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 inevitably 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 ushered in a range of terms, such as hardware and software, which were once unfamiliar 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。