Tribal Language
Posted on June 24, 2008
This morning I dropped into Starbucks for a non-fat GRTL (Green Tea Latte). Vicariously I’m learning what one Barista called Starbonics, the tribal language of Starbucks. Tribal languages abound in every organization. To communicate effectively within any group it is important to pick-up their language. The development of a tribal language is a natural and critical element that builds cohesion between members. In some cases it facilitates higher thinking, in others more efficient processes, such as the case at Starbucks.
Some folks say, "I’m not good at learning languages." Often their experience with formal study of a foreign language resulted in a frustrating and intimidating experience. Truth is everyone learns multiple languages throughout their life. Here are just a few of the languages I speak:
- Geek Speak: Seen the bumper sticker "There’s no place like 127.0.0.1"? The default IP (Internet Protocol) address for every machine is 127.0.0.1 which is the home address.
- Design Terminology: Publishing text in a graphic from Photoshop is often kludgy (kludge meaning something is crude or inelegant). Text is more pristine when exported from a vector format such as .eps.
- Texan: Hi ya’ll.
The list goes on. Other languages I "speak": web developer, Engineering, Christianese, Higher-Ed, Austinisms, Marketing, business… and of course various standard spoken languages such as English, Spanish, Turkish and bits of Hebraic, Arabic, and Italian.
Think about all the life experience one gains over decades. With each job, each place you lived, each area of study, the first thing to pick-up is the language, the coding system for communication. Learning the right terminology is critical for success. How many tribal languages do you know? How many do you use from day-to-day? What tricks have you found in your station in life to pick-up new terminology?
Filed Under Productivity, communication strategy |
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4 Responses to “Tribal Language”
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I always like how everywhere has their own language, especially true of the military and of geeks. When I go to Starbucks, I still refuse to say Venti
Then again, I usually make my own coffee. It’s like Starbucks, without the bucks.
Great post Phil!
Mike, Yep on the bucks. I need to learn how to make my own Green Tea Lattes. Would save me big $s. Boy, I can’t imagine how much lingo you learn in the military. Seems like there’s an acronym for everything. It’s worse than tech speak.
I always used to get the cappuccino (with 3 extra shots), and ask for little or no foam, until one day one of the employees said, “If you don’t want the foam, you should just order a latte”.
According to the all knowing Wikipedia, a Latte is 1/3 Espresso, and 2/3 hot milk. The Espresso is poured into the milk.
This being said, I think you could just brew some really strong green tea, and pour it into hot milk.
I abandoned the Lattes because of cost, and if I do go to Starbucks, I get an Cafe Americano, Espresso and water.
Mike, Good thought on the green tea. I’ll have to look for some really good stuff, not the Lipton variety. I brew strong Turkish tea with a coffee press. I’m sure I could do the same with some good green tea. Starbucks throws in some melon so I’ll have to test for taste.
I used to order Cafe Americano myself before I ditched coffee altogether. It’s a great way to get a low-cost Espresso based coffee.