Chapter 6 in our text discusses using "insider talk" and jargon in our projects. I loved the example from the waitresses: discussing crappy tips and difficult customers -- complaining about the boss is the next natural progression. It reminded me so much of my job at the good ol' chicken joint, but I'm still not sure how I can include this in my project.
When transcripting my interviews, I'm just not really seeing much of that excepting nicknames and perhaps some food items. So my question: will I still need a dictionary, or will I be able to pull it off with occasional commentary? Also: what is the purpose of using jargon or "insider talk" in a more professional endeavor, like the Lake James Research we'll be doing later? Is something like this approiate, or is it only acceptable in pointedly deliberate efforts, like Huston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God"?
But even if I don't use any of the suggestions in this book, I'm really enjoying the reading in Field Working for all the great ideas for a multi-genre project.
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You wrote: “what is the purpose of using jargon or "insider talk" in a more professional endeavor, like the Lake James Research we'll be doing later? Is something like this appropriate, or is it only acceptable in pointedly deliberate efforts, like Huston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God"?
ReplyDeleteJargon and “insider talk” is the heart of ethnographic research. One of the things that gets misunderstood is that “professional endeavors” do not necessarily mean “formal.” When one deals with actual people, the information gathered is going to sound colloquial. People just do not talk the way that they write, and if you are being true to the community you are researching, you’ll want to represent them as accurately as possible. This means, writing what they say, jargon and all, to give the most honest and unaffected picture. As a researcher, though, who is writing to other researchers (for example), it is your job to offer “translations” and to distill that jargon into bits of truth or your thoughts about the community to show a particular exemplification of your theory. Does that make sense?