An introduction into the perplexing world of military lingo

 

The military, like any other profession, group or class has its own specialised vocabulary that is specific to itself. This field-specific lexis contains numerous acronyms and abbreviations intended for speeding up communication and improving coherency during times of urgency by reducing the number of syllables needed to be spoken. As well as acronyms and abbreviations, many aspects of the lingo are humorous, playing on the stereotype of a soldier.



Acronyms such as AWOL (absent without leave), FOB (forward operating base) and HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) allow for common phrases to be spoken quickly; 'forward operating base' goes from seven syllables to just one when recalled as 'fob'. Reduction of syllables is a common trait in this lexical field.



When you think of a soldier, you wouldn't be wrong in conjuring up an image of a stalwart, unkempt man in muddy uniform. Although there are of course many women serving in the military in most countries around the world, the general stereotype still holds truth that males dominate the military world. Those in the military recognise these assumptions and, not only accept it, but embrace it: ^[1] from the military section of the Hollinsclough website, terms such as 'beer tokens' (money), 'canteen medals' (food stains) and 'slop jockey' (chef) demonstrate typically manly attributes, but far over-exaggerates them: the sole reason for money being obtained is for the purchase of beer, stains on clothing from food being 'medals'. One of these terms that really stands out is 'bible banger' which is used to refer to a chaplain or preacher. Religion can be perceived as a sophisticated concept requiring higher levels of thought, something which a soldier whose job is to kill opposing men and women might disregard. Humour like this acts only as a morale booster during desperate times.



Dr. Tomasz Pajzderski highlights in his paper on military lingo the importance of the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, not only utilised by militaries but also emergency services of various different countries; 'alpha' stands for 'a', 'bravo' for 'b', all the way to 'zulu' for 'z'. The purpose for this is to standardise what we say for when we are calling out individual letters or numbers. You may be aware of how Americans pronounce 'z' like 'zee', rhyming with 'bee', whereas British speakers tend to pronounce the letter as 'zed' rhyming with 'bed'. Problems can arise here: an American soldier communicating with his British counterpart may say 'zee' for 'z', but the British soldier may think he said 'bee' for 'b'. This can be exceptionally fatal in situations such as giving coordinates for a mortar strike, something which has become increasingly common since World War II. ^[2] Pajzderski writes:


"This way of representing acronyms or letters in general
really works as there is no doubt where to provide fire support when the request was for
example: Fire mission. Grid coordinates: Zero, Four, Foxtrot, X-ray, Two, Yankee,
Zero. Fire for effect. Out. As seen in this example the precision is sometimes a matter of
life or death as mistake here could be very costly."
 
As bizarre and sometimes amusing this language can be, it is the fundamental foundation of all militaries, from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe. Anyone who calls their money 'beer tokens' can vouch for the fact that, without this lexical field, militaries would function inefficiently and life could be very different.



Sources:
[1] - http://www.hollinsclough.org.uk/military.htm
[2] - http://ifa.amu.edu.pl/~krynicki/teaching/seminars/bitexts/bas/finals/ba_tomasz_pajzderski.pdf​



By Joseph Rosario