JW Jargon

by Scully 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Scully

  I mentioned in an earlier post that I had a visit the other day from a former friend, a JW woman, who wanted to invite me to the District Convention on the weekend. I almost got the impression from her casual dress that it was a social visit, until she whipped out the tract. One thing that I noticed was her trying to soft pedal the JW jargon that is practically second nature to JWs.

  She talked about how one of her kids was "gone" for a few years, but had recently "come back to us" and that she was happy to have her child's company again. It was almost as though she couldn't bear to say the words Disfellowshipped™ and Reinstated™. She went on to let me know that this child had "married an..... unbeliever" - there was a long pause as she mentally groped for what she hoped would be an inoffensive word to me. She said the word Unbeliever as though she were talking about something putrid and disgusting, even though this person is the parent of her grandchildren.

  I almost felt sorry for her - until I was thinking about it later and realized that's likely what she thinks of me and my family too.

  Time for me to put my sign back up again. I'd taken the original one down a few months ago because it had faded ... but I'm making a new one right now.
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  zeroday

  In my 28 years in the inside I had all the words down pat. "In the Truth" "The Time is short" "We are in the last days of the last days" I lived and breath them. Funny I never gave it a second thought really. It was my life as it is with this person. You never question anything, just drive on cruise control actually mind control. Wasted years and wasted lives. I know so many still on the inside and feel pain at their wasted lives but there is nothing I can do for them....
• 

  esw1966

  I remember as I was nearing my exit I was describing elders who gave the Sunday talk as 'that guy'. I would always get reprimanded by my wife and by another elder who was married to her cousin.

  I find it amusing now and then. Almost as if I should have been saying 'Reverend' instead of Mr.
• 

  Hortensia

  it was a long time ago and since I was raised in the org., it seemed natural to me. Now, after being out for many years, it seems insincere and pretentious.

  I just realized I was meaning to post to another thread - about being called "brother" or "sister" but the jargon is something I was used to also, until I got out and began to hear it all with an outsider's ears - it sounds so ridiculous and of course it serves the purpose of any kind of special jargon - it identifies insiders and keeps outsiders out.
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  YoursChelbie

  Come to think of it, I started to view their "jargon" as repulsive when I first began to see the fraud the JW religion really is (before the Dateline report, the UN and Silentlambs confirmed it for me.)

  I remember well that I stopped referring to the elders as "Brother so and so" instead using their first and last names or only their last name. For example, if a certain elder would phone and say "Hi, this is Brother Doe, is Brother xxx at home?" I'd say "Just a minute," and then call my then JW husband: "John Doe is on the phone."

  I didn't want to feel even superficially related to these power hungry, self righteous, boys-club "brothers."

  YC
• 

  sass_my_frass

  There must be a word that psychs use to describe that feeling I get when I face some form of JW reasoning and know that what they're saying is crazy, but I can't fight the maddening, frustrating emotions that the memories bring back. At least, not enough to counter the argument with the cool perception I have of it when they're not around. Maybe I'm just not that bright. Anyway, this situation you described, I wouldn't have known what to say to her, and that's why.

  btw congrats on 13K! (And thanks for being here).
• 

  Highlander

  The j-dub special word that I hated the most, even when I was a True Believer™, was the word Worldly™. It just never sat right with me.
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  Marcel

  this special language jws have was always getting on my nerves.
  so many JW-only words or words with a very special meaning in jw terms...
• 

  blondie

  FAI

  Theocratese dictionary:

  http://www.jehovah.to/glos/index.html

  Definitions of euphemism on the Web:

  • The expression of an unpleasant or embarrassing notion by a more inoffensive substitute.
    www.cus.cam.ac.uk/~cjp16/spanish/linggloss.htm
  • The substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one, as in the use of "pass away" instead of "die." The basic psychology of euphemistic language is the desire to put something bad or embarrassing in a positive (or at least neutral light). Thus many terms referring to death, sex, crime, and excremental functions are euphemisms. Since the euphemism is often chosen to disguise something horrifying, it can be exploited
    home.cfl.rr.com/eghsap/apterms.html
  • The use of a more palatable word or phrase in place of a more direct or crude one.
    courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellibst/lsl01-tm.html
  • eufemismo (substitution of a word or expression of comparatively favourable implication or less unpleasant associations for the harsher or more offensive one that would more precisely designate what is intended -- "partes pudendas" = genitals);
    www.dur.ac.uk/m.p.thompson/rhetoric.htm
  • An inoffensive substitute for a term considered offensive or inappropriate. For example, Cottonelle UltraSoft Double Roll bathroom tissue is a lengthy euphemism for toilet paper. [Greek eu "good" + pheme "speech"]
    www.catch-word.com/glossary.html
  • "A mild word or phrase that substitutes for another that would be undesirable because it is too direct, unpleasant, or offensive. The word 'joint' is a euphemism for the word prison. 'WC' is a euphemism for bathroom" (University of Victoria Writer's Guide).
    www.baylorschool.org/academics/english/studentwork/stover/toolbox/figlang.html
  • Expressing something unpleasant in milder, more inoffensive language. Euphemism, or 'fine speech' is a verbal device for avoiding an unpleasant concept or expression, as when, instead of saying a person 'died', we say he 'passed away'.
    members.fortunecity.es/fabianvillegas/drama/glossary-e.htm
  • 1. a socially acceptable word or expression used to replace unacceptable or taboo language, as words or expressions for bodily functions. 2. a substitution for straight-forward language that tactfully conceals or, in the extreme, falsifies the meaning of that which it replaces.
    www.nde.state.ne.us/READ/FRAMEWORK/glossary/general_a-e.html
  • the use of a word or phrase that is less direct, hut that is also less distasteful or less offensive than another; eg he is at rest is a euphemism for he is dead.
    annahutcheson.tripod.com/id8.html
  • is the use of inoffensive language in place of language that readers or listeners may find hurtful, distasteful, frightening, or otherwise objectionable. Writers sometimes use euphemism out of consideration for reader’s feelings, but just as often they use it to deceive readers or shirk responsibility.
    members.tripod.com/hjohnsonmac0/TermsToKnow.htm
  • a figure of speech; a mild or indirect expression that means something different from what it seems to say. It is used to avoid mentioning what would seem blunt, disrespectful, or offensive (eg death or intimate sexual matters) within a cultural group. Example: I do not know a man (LU 1.34).
    www.biblecentre.net/nt/greek/alex/glo.htm
  • An innocuous term substituted f or one considered to be offensive or socially unacceptable, eg, "passing awav" Ior"dving."
    www.li.suu.edu/library/humtxt/glossary/glossary.htm
  • the use of a mild, inoffensive expression for something which is unpleasant or embarrassing. Death is a common subject for euphemism, as seen in Roger McGough's poem Defying Gravity (p.97).
    www.aberconwy.conwy.sch.uk/curriculum/english/y11/module_7/glossary.htm
  • Soft words masking a hard reality, as "he passed away" to relate death.
    www.bucks.edu/tutor/literms.html
  • the substitution of a less distasteful word or phrase for a more offensive one ("to pass away" for "to die")
    mitglied.lycos.de/FrankGemkow/lyrik/lyrik3.htm
  • Use of neutral or inoffensive words in place of harsher, more realistic words.
    belmont.sd62.bc.ca/teacher/tolman_english/sw12assignments/Ofmiceandmen/poetry%20terms.htm
  • n. the use of a mild or indirect expression instead of one that is harsh or unpleasantly direct. a word or expression used in this way. "pass away" is a common euphemism for "die."
    www.geocities.com/apenglish00/laura.html
  • an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive
    wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
  • An euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces. See the list of euphemisms for examples.
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism
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  Frequent_Fader_Miles

  Yeah, reminds me of that "Pure Language" District Convention a few years ago where everyone went so giddy over JWs speaking a so-called "pure language". Sheesh .... more like pure garbage!