Talk Nerdy To Me

I enjoy reading literary theory, but sometimes, the jargon is just too much.  If it takes me ten minutes to read a few sentences because I have to “unpack” (a Dr. Anna Jones term) every other word, I one, get annoyed and two, become extremely frustrated.  That being said, I love the terminology of literary theory.  I get a thrill out of hearing these words spoken, or just reading them on the page.  Sometimes, when I hear the same term repeated over and over again, or I write it over and over again, it doesn’t even seem like a real word.  This happened the other day with book, it was very surreal.  Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order.  (Please note: not all the terms are strictly literary theory terms, but since this is my blog, I can do whatever I want).

[click for a larger image]

Do you ever picture the authors of these terms saying the word?  Or maybe someone you like?  Can you see their lips forming the word, hear their voice tripping or gliding over the constants and vowels?  Does it make you giddy?  Do you get goose bumps or the shivers?  Do you get the giggles?  Does it thrill you?  Does it make you blush?  Am I weird for suggesting such bodily responses?  Probably, but hearing these words, in certain circumstances, cause me to react in unexpected ways.  And I’m betting I’m not the only one.


And if you think my fascination with jargon is limited to literary theory terms only, you’re sadly mistaken.  I recently re-read Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series and it is filled with an abundance of military jargon, which I fell in love with.  The scenes with Mat Cauthon were my favorite because he’s the general of the Red Hand (Shen an Calhar).  Not only that, he has the memories of hundreds of men stuffed into his head, all of whom were involved in the military, so his vocabulary is quite expansive.  I also recently re-watched Ronald D. Moore’s Battlestar Galatica, and my love affair with military jargon was rekindled: KAG, bring in the cat, Viper jocks, Raptors, Cylon Raiders, mutiny, insurrection, civvies, FTL (faster than light), ambush, and action stations, action stations, this is not a drill, set condition one throughout the ship.     

What are some of your favorite jargon terms, literary or other?


[Word cloud created on the Wordle site.]