ABSTRACT
Sociologists are frequently accused of using complicated jargon where short everyday words will do. Why use 'teacher socialization' when 'learning to teach' is straightforward and avoids the problem of using a verb as a noun. 'Learning to teach' is easily understood and better English, so why not use it and avoid jargon? It would be easy to answer that one man's jargon is another man's terminology, and if people wish to learn sociology they must learn the terminology, just as students who learn medicine, astronomy or physics have to learn a great deal of complex and often unnecessary terminology. However, I find this line of argument particularly unattractive. It is important that new terms are introduced only if they have a job to do, for example, if they describe a new phenomenon or are more inclusive or exclusive than words already in use.
