The Importance of Business Jargon

In addition to companies having their own organizational designs, communication channels, and corporate cultures they also tend to have their own jargon. Below is a lsiting of some of the most commonly used phrases that exist in business jargon. Companies do not expect that those outside of their company or their particular marketplace understand the jargon that exists within their company. However, they still continue to use common business jargon aside from the jargon that exists within their company and it is important to know these phrases and terms so that business communications is made easier on both parties involved.

Exercise A: Match the term on the left the correct definition on the right.

1-The “bottom line”                               A) What his motivation is

2-20/20 hindsight                                B) Getting something for free

3-Catch 22                                          C) It will never work

4-Deep pockets                                   D) Big business dealing at lunch time

5-Dog and Pony show                                    E) Doing well, moving forward

6-Fence mending                                F) To say something jokingly or not truthfully

7-Free ride                                           G) It is needed now or immediately

8-“I needed it yesterday”                   H) The final result (from accounting)
9-It will never fly                                I) Be truthful or honest

10-On a roll                                         J) Perfect knowledge but too late

11-Power lunch                                   K) Whatever you do, it won’t work

12-Lay your cards on the table           L) A financial presentation

13-To play hardball                            M) An apology, smoothing of bad relations

14-Tongue in cheek                             N) Wealthy or having the ability to pay

15-What makes him tick                     O) To do business in a hard/tough manner

Exercise B:Match the term on the left to it’s definition on the right.

1) Back door                                                          A) a complex problem

2) Bait and switch                                                  B) to falsify records

3) Bang for the buck/Bang for your buck              C) a hopeless person/situation

4) Basket case                                                        D) to expand, make stronger

5) Batting average                                                  E) no longer contributing

6) Beef up                                                              F) an unethical sales technique

7) Bells and whistles                                              G) an unsolvable problem

8) Can of worms                                                    H) of questionable ethics, dishonest

9) Catch 22 situation                                              I) questionable past activities

10) Dead wood/Dead weight                                J) % of the time you are successful

11) To cook the books                                                       K) most results for your money

12) Dirty laundry                                                   L) features/details of a product

Common Business Abbreviations

Introduction to Business Abbreviations

The use of business abbreviations in the business world is as common as the use of business jargon. Most businesses are unaware of the fact that they are using jargon or abbreviations because such forms of communications have become the standard in their workplaces. Abbreviations are typically used by businesses in an effort to save time and money. You will commonly find business abbreviations in memos, faxes, notes, emails and job advertisements. The following is a list of some of the most commonly used business abbreviations.

A/C- account current

adsd- addressed

adse- adressee

ad- advertisement

app- appendix

Attn.- attention

cc- copies

CEO- Chief Executive Officer

Co.- company

Corp.- corporation

Dept.- department

doc.- document

e.g./e.x.- example

exc.- except, excluding

FY- fiscal year

Inc.- incorporated

info- information

inv.- invoice

IOU- I owe you

L/C- letter of credit

LLC- limited liability company

mdse- merchandise

memo- memorandum

N/A- not applicable

PO- post office

pp.- pages

R&D- research and development

ref.- reference

V.I.P.- very important person

vs- versus

v.v.- vice versa

w/- with

w/o- without

&- and

@- at

#- number

Lesson 12

In-Class Final Project

Have class use “Order” terminology to write formal business letters. Break the class into two groups or four groups depending on the size of the class. One or two groups will be ABC company writing to Xerox company and one or two groups of the class will be Xerox company responding to ABC company’s request. The groups that are ABC company do not need to write their letter before the Xerox groups start their work. They can simply write a letter at the same time as the other groups since they know what the people who are part of the ABC group will be writing. Below is what the letters from each group should be based upon. This outline should go on the board for the class to better understand what they are doing.

Appendix A

English-Russian Business English Reference Guide

Useful Words and Expressions

Sample Letter

Quotations

Sample Letter

Orders

Sample Letter

Order Acknowledgement

Sample Letter

Cover Letter

Sample Letter

Opening Salutations

Referring Phrases

Notification

Request

Asking for information

Confirmation

Apology

Gratitude

Consent

Refusal and Disagreement

Expressing Worry

Assurance

Condolences

Congratulations

About Business Relations

About Assistance

About Enclosure

Connective Words

Closing Phrases

ЛИТЕРАТУРА

1. Богатский И.С., Дюканова Н.М., Бизнес курс английского языка, 5-е изд., - Киев: ООО «ИП Логос», 2003.

2. Business English and Communication, 7^th edition, Clark, Zinmer, Tineria, MacMillian/McGraw Hill, NY,1988.

3. Market Leader; International Management, Business English. Adrian Pilbeam, Pearson Education Limited, England, 2000.

4. Market Leader – Course book; Pre-Intermidiate Business Englaish. David Cotton, David Falvey, Simon Kent, Pearson Education Limited, England, 2002.

5. http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/Courses/LIS1230sharma/od2.htm

6. http://www.learningrussian.com

7. http://www.bash.edu.ru/konkurs/ibatullina/eng/categor.htm

8. http://www.eslgold.com