This is part of why I think I'd like to become a translator - even within a language, the meanings of words and phrases differ both wildly and subtly from person to person. I've found that a lot of disagreements can be calmed or settled by rephrasing and reconfirming what the people actually mean by what they say; you'd be surprised at how often I see two people who are actually on the same page about an issue thinking they're on opposite sides, because they're not interpreting the words the other person is using in the same way that the speaker meant them.
Explaining unfamiliar terminology works much the same way. Within a field or area of knowledge, certain words are often defined in a set way that mean something different than the definitions a person outside the area of knowledge is familiar with. It requires the speaker to back out of their sphere of knowledge and rephrase the meaning of the new definition in terms that the listener is familiar with.
Something I find interesting is that writing poetry led me to this line of thought. When writing poems, I look for words with precise shadings of meaning, so that I can convey what I think and feel in whatever meter I'm using. Thinking about precise meanings in that way led me to consider personal interpretation of language, and how it differs from person to person; once I realized that personal interpretation could vary so much, I started paying much closer attention to how people used words.
Explaining unfamiliar terminology works much the same way. Within a field or area of knowledge, certain words are often defined in a set way that mean something different than the definitions a person outside the area of knowledge is familiar with. It requires the speaker to back out of their sphere of knowledge and rephrase the meaning of the new definition in terms that the listener is familiar with.
Something I find interesting is that writing poetry led me to this line of thought. When writing poems, I look for words with precise shadings of meaning, so that I can convey what I think and feel in whatever meter I'm using. Thinking about precise meanings in that way led me to consider personal interpretation of language, and how it differs from person to person; once I realized that personal interpretation could vary so much, I started paying much closer attention to how people used words.
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