[aclimatt]

I'd guess (almost) everyone wishes everyone else wrote in plain language. But there's potentially a more fundamental reason people don't. bambax in another comment pointed out the power of ambiguity, and that's one of the reasons especially in legal / government, but there's another.

Language, specifically jargon, is an expression of culture. It's an expression of power, education, experience, or lack thereof. It's a quick way to gauge if someone is "like you" or not. If they have the same experience, and especially in professional settings, a quick (yet often incorrect) measure of competence.

Take everyone's favorite, "Business English":

You don't try again, you iterate. You don't take another call, you jump or hop to another call. You sync, and you align. Against the article's recommendation, you nominalize all day, by "bringing projects to completion" and "moving forward with the engagement".

Jargon and style, while often utter bullshit, is a way of measuring people quickly. I once had someone ask me, "would you say you practice disruptive innovation methodology?" My answer to that question was a quick way to learn that unlike them, I did not have an MBA. Complexity is often synonymous with education.

> Jargon is a type of language that is only understood by a particular group of people. You can use jargon when writing to people who will understand the terms and phrases. It can be a useful form of shorthand. But try to avoid using specialist jargon on the general public.

Unless your goal is to identify if someone is part of said particular group. And therefore in the vast majority of business and technical cases, Plain English -- at least jargon and nominalization -- unfortunately may close more doors than it opens.

[nicbou]

There is a place and a time for culture. Your electric bill is not one of them.

I disagree with your last paragraph. Speaking clearly and decisively is a good thing, and people will usually appreciate it. People become famous for speaking clearly. I remember some general made the rounds for his plain, no-nonsense COVID-19 address. I wish I could find it again.

I can only think of this scene right now.

https://youtu.be/Hhy7JUinlu0

[aclimatt]

I'd say that actually is my point though. If you're a high-ranking official giving a speech, speaking the same language as the general population will make you well-received and well-understood by using the language of your constituents.

Speaking a language people understand is decisively a good thing, and what people understand varies dramatically by situation. "Plain English" isn't always the answer. (Also hierarchy -- when you're on top, you get to set the tone.)

If you want to be part of a club, you need to sound like a member. Unless you own the club.

[nicbou]

In the end, you have to adapt your speech to your audience. If you address the members of a club, you can speak their language. When the club is 300+ million strong, you might have to pick a broader tone.

[noisy_boy]

Your last line beautifully captures your point. Very well made.

[drdeadringer]

> "Business English"

I'm not sure why it took me until now to name that style of speaking.

Over 10 years ago I was in a room where someone said "let us dialogue about this offline" to actually mean "shut up, let's continue".

I am often reminded of the phrase "It does not require many words to speak the truth", but here we are with "Business English".

[jedimastert]

> "would you say you practice disruptive innovation methodology?"

My eye genuinely twitched reading this sentence

[naringas]

there's something illogical about "disruptive innovation methodology"

how can something disruptive and innovative -- which I take to imply unpredictable novelty -- be methodological?

I take methodology to imply that something has become normalized; that it has become common enough and happened enough times that its practice can be systematically described as a method.

"Our scientific and engineering production pipeline makes 10 disruptive innovations every year! 100% satisfaction guarantee. invest now!"