Why do some groups use special words that make understanding difficult for people outside the group?
Members of the group using jargon seem to like it. Maybe jargon provides a feeling of belonging, or of being able to exclude the “others,” or job security, or all of those things.
I remember going to Catholic mass every Sunday as a kid and not following a single word of the Latin that the priest used. In the sixties the church finally got away from using Latin during mass and you could finally understand what they said.
I can understand the need for precision in some professions. Medicine and science need some specialized words to be clear about what they’re saying.
Writers avoid using longer words when simpler ones will do. That’s the opposite of unnecessary jargon. Why beat around the bush or be confusing if you can avoid it?
These days I hear jargon in yoga and capoeira classes. The needless use of Sanskrit and Portuguese names for movements and ideas is only confusing to me, especially when names in the local language could be used.
Here are a couple of examples in English. In a yoga class for non-Indians, why use “chaturanga” when calling out a pose when you could more clearly say “crocodile?” Or in a capoeira class for non-Brazilians, why use “rasteira” when “scythe” (the tool the grim reaper carries) will do. And be understood.
If students want to pursue the history of an activity that’s a good thing. Or, if practitioners rise to a more advanced level and need to interact in other countries, the original names become useful.
Unnecessary jargon is confusing and elitist. For me authenticity and mystery are poor substitutes for clarity.