Thread: Unfamiliar terms and jargon

For those of you who have read my short story "AT-80", you probably noticed that there several terms that are made up. All those terms have been italicized for the purpose of identifying those terms. Aldous Huxley does something similar in Brave New World. Do you any of you think that the italics actually help? Or do they make the story more confusing.

Example from "AT-80" without italics:

"The fastrans units made it possible for one to get to and from work, school, shopping or anywhere quickly and efficiently. Fastrans solved all of the problems that were present with The Ancients’ archaic system known as Transit."

With italics:

"The fastrans units made it possible for one to get to and from work, school, shopping or anywhere quickly and efficiently. Fastrans solved all of the problems that were present with The Ancients’ archaic system known as Transit."

When it comes to technical jargon terms, I don't italicize them because they are not made up. I think it's good to add them in because it makes the setting sound more authentic. I have two short stories that are particularly jargon heavy (a WWII historical fiction and a sports fiction about archery) and I was thinking about "how much is too much". When it comes to the layperson readers, I don't want to confuse them with a barrage of unfamiliar words.

Peace,

Revekka

Just put them in in normal print, don't draw attention to them or readers may stop reading and ask why... If they are invented jargon it may help to point the reader in the right direction:

"The boomcracker valve had stopped working and no water was getting through..." That sort of thing, then when it is next mentioned the reader won't have to stop and think.

I don't see a problem with you italicizing the made up words. I have seen that technique used before to set such terms apart and point them out to the reader. But if you have segments where you have a bunch of these terms in a single sentence then it can get very ugly to look at. I guess it depends on how many made up terms you are using and how often.

Sparing use would not be problematic.

"AT-80" as well as "Opposing Force" (another short story I wrote set in the same universe) are loaded with made up words. They both take place in a dystopian future society.

The only issue I'd have with made-up jargon is the overuse of terms. It's fine to use it once and then devise a shorthand (or slang) way to refer to the item. Official-sounding things almost always become slangy or acronym'd in my experience, when they get to be used by the herd.
You can go way overboard in the invented language, a la Richard Lupoff or Anthony Burgess, or soft-pedal the terms a la Philip K. Dick. Jargonese is usually the province of science fiction or related fields (technothrillers especially). Military jargon is common also, but that's a more official made-up language.
Used properly, it can make the reader curious (what's that?). I like to hold off on explaining what the term means for a while, both to let it sink in subliminally, and to keep the exposition level low.