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Language is a very important aspect in business. Clear and precise use of language is necessary for comprehension of ideas, development and execution of plans, analysis of results, and more. Having an extensive knowledge of business vocabulary words gives you a great advantage in a variety of situations.

‘Business vocabulary’ and ‘business words’ are terms that are widely used by corporate employees rather than linguists. No precise definition exists as to which words and expressions are part of the corporate vocabulary, and which are not; nor is such a definition necessary. You can consider the words and phrases that you encounter and use mainly at your work place and for official communication, as part of the business vocabulary.

The corporate world develops and maintains words, expressions, and even a style of language, that is ideal in its dominion. And apart from this general vocabulary that can be used in any corporate environment, specific businesses develop their own terminologies, technical and nontechnical, to deal with their specific needs. ‘Business policy has a tendency for jargon that delineates and isolates the field from the uninitiated,’ (Leontiades, M 1982, p. 45).

Knowledge of business vocabulary words and phrases is important for communicating with your colleagues. It will help you identify yourself with your coworkers, and prevent you from sounding out of place. Here are two examples to clarify the idea. At your office, the statement, ‘We’ve got a project off the ground,’ sounds more like you're one of the team than the statement, ‘We’ve started a project.’ Similarly, if a project doesn’t go well, you have to ‘pull the plug on the project,’ rather than ‘abandon the project,’ or ‘end the project.’

To make matters more difficult, the corporate vocabulary keeps changing as expressions once in vogue become old-fashioned and out of use, and new expressions take their place. You have no choice but to learn constantly the changes in the usage of the idiomatic words and phrases at your place of work. ‘Certain terms and trends are more popular at one time than another. You may find it helpful to include these "buzzwords" in your plan. As you do your research, keep track of the terms and practices that are currently "hot" with investors or industry leaders,’ (Abrams, R 2003, p. 39).

You can learn, and keep yourself updated always, of the ever changing trends in the use of business vocabulary words, by employing the normal methods you use to build your vocabulary, with an emphasis on emerging business phrases. And it’s not necessary or even practical to know all expression and words currently in use. It is enough just to have a good, comprehensive knowledge of the commonly used terms.

REFERENCES

Abrams, R 2003, The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies, 4th edn, The Planning Shop, Palo Alto, CA.

Leontiades, M 1982, 'The Confusing Words of Business Policy,' Academy of Management Review, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 45-48.