Final answer:
Jargon is specialized language used within a particular field, often hard for outsiders to understand. It involves specific lexicon and grammar, and can be influenced by cultural dialects and individual idiolects. Language can also reflect biases and become a source of cultural identity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The language of a specialized type, usually dealing with a narrow area of study or knowledge, is often referred to as jargon. Jargon allows experts in professional fields to communicate complex ideas efficiently among themselves. However, this specialized language can be incomprehensible to nonexperts and can carry a slightly negative connotation, suggesting that it might be unnecessarily complex or mere word play. Familiarity with the lexicon and grammar of a particular field is essential to understanding its jargon.
Cultural factors also influence the use of language. An individual's personal idiolect, which is their unique manner of speaking and writing, is informed by cultural language use and can include biased language. Similarly, dialects reflect regional and group variations within a common language, often containing unique lexical and grammatical characteristics that can evolve over time.
Language can also function as a means of discrimination or marginalization; hence, public discourses often privilege certain elite forms of language, pressuring individuals to abandon their nonstandard vernaculars. An alternative is to embrace and celebrate one's home language, a form of linguistic activism that reinforces cultural identity.