Just recently I’ve recognized a phenomena that’s probably been happening since the dawn of higher education; adults talking “baby talk” to adults.
“Baby talk” is “dumbed down” language from adult expert “A”, trying to converse with clueless adult “B”. As a fictitious example, Poly Sci. graduate brings his Volvo into an auto repair shop: “Mr. Mechanic, I filled up the gas tank and even washed the car and it still won’t run. I don’t get it.” The mechanic has just learned from two spoken sentences, that Mr. Car owner has never peered under the hood of any vehicle. So instead of responding in car mechanic language that the fuel pump isn’t providing enough pressure to the throttle body, Mr. Mechanic has opted for baby talk to answer the car owner’s complaint: “Yeaah. Well sir, the engine’s not getting enough gas. You’ll be able to zoom-zoom now.”
Now that I’ve got some varied experiences in my life, I’ve learned to recognize when I’m being spoken to as a peer or as a “newbie”. For my own interest, I’ve been doing a lot of research on dog food nutrition, including raw diets. I guess I picked up a few more terms and ideas to include in my Biology background. I was having trouble finding an answer, so I decided to contact a nutrition professor at a university. I stated my question over the telephone. “Can a dog absorb calcium through the consumption of raw bones? If so, could a dog receive adequate calcium through eating these bones?” I must’ve sounded like a newbie or an idiot that would consider feeding my pet raw bones because the professor quickly replied that I should stick to a premium commercial dog food and that bones can splinter, etc., etc. When I cited several studies to the contrary, a silence persisted at the end of the line. Finally I heard him breathe. “Oh. What’s your background?” When I told him it was Biology/Naturalist, immediately the flow of conversation revved to a scientific level. By the end of our chat, the professor had lots of questions and no answers for me!
Because George is a woodworking instructor by trade, I’ve picked up enough timber terminology to be dangerous. Dangerous because it’s almost a game for me to blow the baby talk sawdust from other adults who assume I’m “just” George’s “helper”. Well hanging around “helping” all these years has developed a pretty good shop vocabulary for me.
Adult baby talk isn’t all bad, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had to ask for some explanations to be “dumbed” down for me because I was learning something completely new. I hate it when a teacher can’t identify her students and she continues to converse as if
we newbies came to simply revel in her expertise.
How do you know what’s appropriate, baby talk or expert talk? Engage in conversation and listen. Ask questions. Never assume your party’s level of expertise. You know what they say about the word, ASSUME, don’t you?
