Radio jargon

For better or worse, a very large proportion of the technical radio terms used in all countries are taken directly from English or else translated literally from that language. The author presents a plead for some measure of agreement on the use of new words for describing new things. He cites as an example ´radar,´ which an official United States publication notes has a radio echo inherent in all radar systems. But the word ´radar´ is already being used here (under protest from some) to describe devices that make use of a triggered response instead of a natural echo. More loosely, it is beginning to be applied to any new radio positionfinding system. This is not just a plea for pedantic accuracy, and still less a diatribe against mere inelegance in radio terminology. It is a matter of more than domestic or even Anglo-American concern. We who share the English language have a world-wide responsibility towards other users of our radio jargon. At a time when the language of radio is, through its electronic off-shoots, encroaching on so many fields of human endeavor, it is worth while to take some pains to avoid ambiguity and confusion.