Gibberish

For the language game, see Gibberish (language game).
"Gobbledigook" redirects here. For the Sigur Rós song, see Gobbledigook (song).

Gibberish, jibberish, jibber-jabber and gobbledygook refer to speech or other use of language that is nonsense, or that appears to be nonsense. It may include speech sounds that are not actual words,[1] or forms such as language games or highly specialized jargon that seems non-sensical to outsiders.[2] Gibberish should not be confused with literary nonsense such as that used in the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll.

The word gibberish is more commonly applied to informal speech, while gobbledygook (sometimes gobbledegook, gobbledigook or gobbledegoo) is more often applied to writing or language that is meaningless or is made unintelligible by excessive use of abstruse technical terms. "Officialese", "legalese", or "bureaucratese" are forms of gobbledygook. The related word jibber-jabber refers to rapid talk that is difficult to understand.[3]

Etymology

The term gibberish was first seen in English in the early 16th century.[4] Its etymology is not certain, but it is generally thought to be onomatopoeia imitative of speech, similar to the related words jabber (to talk rapidly) and gibber (to speak inarticulately).[5][6]

Another theory is that gibberish came from the name of a famous 8th-century Islamic alchemist, Jābir ibn Hayyān, whose name was Latinized as "Geber." Thus, "gibberish" was a reference to the incomprehensible technical jargon used by Jabir and other alchemists.[7][8][9]

Another theory, since discredited, asserts that it is derived from the Irish word gob or gab (mouth)[10] or from the Irish phrase Geab ar ais (back talk, backward chat).[11] The latter Irish etymology was suggested by Daniel Cassidy, whose work has been criticised by linguists and scholars.[12][13][14] The terms geab and geabaire are certainly Irish words, but the phrase geab ar ais does not exist, and the word gibberish exists as a loan-word in Irish as gibiris.[15]

The term gobbledygook was coined by Maury Maverick, a former congressman from Texas and former mayor of San Antonio. When Maverick was chairman of the Smaller War Plants Corporation during World War II, he sent a memorandum that said: "Be short and use Plain English. . . . Stay off gobbledygook language."[16][17] Later, writing in the New York Times Magazine, he defined gobbledygook as "talk or writing which is long, pompous, vague, involved, usually with Latinized words." The allusion was to a turkey, "always gobbledygobbling and strutting with ridiculous pomposity."[18][19]

History

The term "gobbledygook" has a long history of usage in politics. Nixon's Oval Office tape from June 14, 1971, showed H. R. Haldeman describing a situation to Nixon as "a bunch of gobbledygook. But out of the gobbledygook comes a very clear thing: you can't trust the government; you can't believe what they say."[20] President Ronald Reagan explained tax law revisions in an address to the nation with the word, May 28, 1985, saying that "most didn’t improve the system; they made it more like Washington itself: complicated, unfair, cluttered with gobbledygook and loopholes designed for those with the power and influence to hire high-priced legal and tax advisers."[21]

Michael Shanks, former chairman to the National Consumer Council of Great Britain, characterizes professional gobbledygook as sloppy jargon intended to confuse nonspecialists: "'Gobbledygook' may indicate a failure to think clearly, a contempt for one's clients, or more probably a mixture of both. A system that can't or won't communicate is not a safe basis for a democracy."[22]

Utilizing gibberish whilst acting can be used as an exercise in performance art education.[23] Another usage of Gibberish is as part of Osho's Gibberish meditation[24] which has been derived from an old Sufi practice.

In Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu the inscription on the base of an idol of Cthulhu is first described as "gibberish" because it consists of unpronounceable jumbles of consonants, not meant for human vocal organs. It is "R'lyehese" the language of the Great Old Ones and their minions.

In the Harry Potter novels, Gobbledygook is the language of the goblins, they speak English when dealing with humans at the bank in Diagon Alley.

Other terms and usage

Further information: Officialese and Legalese

The terms officialese or bureaucratese refer to language used by officials or authorities. Legalese is a closely related concept, referring to language used by lawyers, legislators, and others involved with the law. The language used in these fields may contain complex sentences and specialized jargon or buzzwords, making it difficult for those outside the field to understand.[25] Speakers or writers of officialese or legalese may recognize that it is confusing or even meaningless to outsiders, but view its use as appropriate within their organization or group.[26]

Bafflegab is a synonym, a slang term referring to confusing or a generally unintelligible use of jargon.[27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Robertson, J.P.S.; Shamsie, S.J. (1959). "A systematic examination of gibberish in a multilingual schizophrenic patient". Language and Speech. Sage. 2 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1177/002383095900200102. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Laycock, D. (1972). "Towards a typology of ludlings, or play-languages". Linguistic Communications: Working Papers of the Linguistic Society of Australia. 6: 61–113.
  3. ↑ Stevenson, Angus; Lindberg, Christine A. (2010). jibber-jabber. New Oxford American Dictionary. Oxford University Press USA. ISBN 978-0-19-539288-3.
  4. ↑ Chantrell, Glynnis (2002). The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 231. ISBN 0-19-863121-9.
  5. ↑ "gibberish, n. and adj.". Oxford English Dictionary online. Oxford University Press. 2013.
  6. ↑ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  7. ↑ Seaborg, Glenn T. (March 1980). "Our heritage of the elements". Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B. Springer Boston. 11 (1): 5–19. doi:10.1007/bf02657166.
  8. ↑ Jack, Albert (2011). It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words. London: Random House UK. ISBN 978-1847946690.
  9. ↑ Quinion, Michael (3 Oct 2015). "Gibberish". World Wide Words. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Mackay, Charles (1887). A Glossary of Obscure Words and Phrases in the Writings of Shakspeare and his Contemporaries Traced Etymologically to the Ancient Language of the British People as Spoken Before the Irruption of the Danes and Saxons. S. Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington. pp. 183–184. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Cassidy, Daniel (2007). "A Dictionary of Irish-American Vernacular". How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads. CounterPunch. pp. 155–156. ISBN 978-1-904859-60-4.
  12. ↑ Brady, Michael Patrick (17 October 2007). "How the Irish Invented Slang by Daniel Cassidy". PopMatters. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  13. ↑ Barrett, Grant (9 November 2007). "Humdinger of a Bad Irish Scholar". Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  14. ↑ Zwicky, Arnold (9 November 2007). "Gullibility in high places". Language Log. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
  15. ↑ Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla. An Gúm. 1992. p. 630. ISBN 978-1-85791-037-7.
  16. ↑ Maverick, Maury (24 March 1944). "Memorandum from Maury Maverick to Everybody in Smaller War Plants Corporation". The National Archives Catalog. US National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 21 January 2016. Subject: Lengthy Memoranda and Gobbledygook Language. Be short and use Plain English.
  17. ↑ "Gobbledygook? Lay Off It, Maverick Says". Pittsburgh Press. 31 March 1944. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  18. ↑ Maverick, Maury (21 May 1944). "The Case Against 'Gobbledygook'". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2016. People asked me how I got the word. I do not know. It must have come in a vision. Perhaps I was thinking of the old bearded turkey gobbler back in Texas who was always gobbledygobbling and strutting with ridiculous pomposity. At the end of his gobble there was a sort of gook.
  19. ↑ Gartner, Michael (26 May 1985). "Gobbledygood". Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  20. ↑ Wheen, Francis (2010). Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age of Paranoia. Public Affairs. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-0-00-744120-4.
  21. ↑ Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations at Bartleby.com Archived December 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ "Contemporary Quotes". Chat11.com. October 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  23. ↑ Spolin, Viola (1999). Improvisation for the Theater: a Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques (3rd ed.). Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. ISBN 0810140098.
  24. ↑ Gibberish and Let-Go, last visited November 22, 2013.
  25. ↑ Garner, Bryan A. (2009). Garner on Language and Writing. American Bar Association. ISBN 978-1-61632-679-1. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  26. ↑ Czarniawska, Barbara (1997). Narrating the Organization: Dramas of Institutional Identity. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-13229-7. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  27. ↑ "bafflegab". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
Look up gibberish, gobbledygook, or jibber-jabber in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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