8.4: Language

Language is a critical aspect of all communication, written or oral, on every topic. When the topic is science, especially climate change science, some aspects of language become especially important. My first bit of language advice to anyone communicating about climate change science is to avoid the mistakes that climate scientists themselves often make. If you read enough research articles written by scientists, you are certain to discover that they tend to follow a peculiar format, one that is quasi-chronological. They typically start with background information, such as summarizing what previous research has been done on the particular topic being investigated. After that, the usual research paper moves on to an account of all the preparations that were made to start the research project being reported. Perhaps scientific instruments were procured or constructed, and then tested. Perhaps an expedition to a remote location had to be arranged. Perhaps computer programs had to be written and revised. Measurements or observations may have been taken, then processed and analyzed. At the end of this very long story, the authors present their results and conclusions.

Having read thousands of scientific research articles myself, I sometimes think that scientists force themselves to follow this structure, even though the way the research was actually carried out may have been very different. It has been said that making a scientific discovery and finding new knowledge is like climbing a treacherous mountain trail on a pitch-dark night. The climber stumbles and falls often, suffers many severe bruises from rocks and many sharp cuts from thorny plants, then is forced to turn back several times and try alternative routes, and finally reaches the top of the mountain, exhausted and in pain. Only then, as the sun comes up, is the climber able to see a smooth and gently sloping path, the route to success that should have been taken, a path that leads easily and painlessly from the bottom of the mountain to the top. When writing the article reporting the research, it is that smooth path that the scientist describes, starting with a calm and thorough search of previous work, then the making of orderly preparations for the research, and finally the logical carrying out of a swift and successful project, leading triumphantly to important new results. There is not a word about the long nightmare on the mountain and the many cuts and bruises endured on the route actually taken.

Figure 8.4.1 From Somerville and Hassol 2011.

Don’t follow the example of the scientist who communicates all the details and background first and then announces the results and conclusions at the end. In journalism, this sin is called “burying the lead.” Reporters learn to compose a lead, the first sentence of a news story, in a way that conveys the main point of the story and also captures the reader’s attention and motivates the reader to continue reading. We are speaking here of written stories and articles, but the point applies to oral presentations of all kinds too, including informal conversations. Figure 8.4.1 is taken from an article that my climate communication partner, Susan Joy Hassol, and I published, in which we urged climate change science communicators to start with the important result, not with background information. If a communicator has the scientist’s habit of giving a lot of unimportant details first, and the important main result last, we say, “Turn your world upside down.” Everyone should remember, “Don’t bury the lead.”

Scientists in any specialty tend to speak to one another in a strange and private language that seems bizarre to nonscientists or even to scientists in other specialties. Jargon and mathematical terms are part of normal conversational usage for scientists. Words that are unfamiliar to the wider world should be avoided. They always have clear and simple substitutes. Rather than “anthropogenic,” scientists could say “human-caused.”

Be sure to use units that are familiar to your audience. Scientists everywhere use metric units in their work, and they often publish articles using these units. When speaking to or writing for a nonscientific audience in the United States, remember that metric units will be both unintelligible and frustrating to the audience. Instead, use feet and miles rather than meters and kilometers, use pounds instead of kilograms, and use degrees Fahrenheit rather than Celsius.

Scientific jargon refers to a type of language used by scientists in communicating efficiently and precisely with one another. Most scientists realize that jargon will not be understood by the public. However, there is an insidious trap involving common everyday terms that are not jargon, and that many people use, but that scientists use to mean something completely different from what everybody else means. There are hundreds of such terms, and they should be avoided by anyone wishing to communicate climate change science effectively.

Many climate scientists are shocked to learn that people misinterpret the term positive feedback, which scientists always use to mean a self-amplifying process. Here’s an example: a warming Arctic causes less snow and ice, and so it makes the surface of the Earth darker. That darker surface is then less reflective, so it absorbs more sunlight, increasing the warming. This process is one of the main reasons why Alaska and other locations in the Arctic have warmed much more in recent years than the global average. For scientists, such a “positive feedback” increases global warming or climate change and thus is clearly bad. These scientists have temporarily forgotten that it is normal for people to be delighted when their boss praises their work, thus giving them “positive feedback”!

Terms that have different meanings for scientists and the public

Scientific term	Public meaning	Better choice
enhance	improve	intensify, increase
aerosol	spray can	tiny atmospheric particle
positive trend	good trend	upward trend
positive feedback	good response, praise	vicious cycle, self-reinforcing cycle
theory	hunch, speculation	scientific understanding
uncertainty	ignorance	range
error	mistake, wrong, incorrect	difference from exact true number
bias	distortion, political motive	offset from an observation
sign	indication, astrological sign	plus or minus sign
values	ethics, monetary value	numbers, quantity
manipulation	illicit tampering	scientific data processing
scheme	devious plot	systematic plan
anomaly	abnormal occurrence	change from long-term average

Figure 8.4.2 A sample of words that are not scientific jargon, but that are used differently by scientists and the public. From Somerville and Hassol 2011.

Similarly, when human activities add heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, climate scientists frequently refer to the consequence as an “enhanced greenhouse effect.” They mean that the natural greenhouse effect is increased in strength, producing more warming in the atmosphere and causing climate change. In using enhanced to mean “intensified,” these scientists overlook the everyday meaning of enhanced, which is “improved,” as when attractive clothing or good health is said to enhance a person’s appearance. Thus, just as in the case of positive feedback, scientists intend to describe something harmful and undesirable with the word enhanced, but their use of the term is confusing and creates misunderstanding because normally enhanced describes something beneficial and desirable. Figure 8.4.2 lists a few other terms that scientists often misuse, along with suggestions for improved communication of these concepts. There are many more such terms. Climate science communicators need to realize that such words should be avoided. They can always be replaced by better choices.

Much of my advice on language is not confined to this section but can be found throughout this chapter. I urge every climate change science communicator to compose messages that are simple and memorable, to repeat them often, and to partner with trusted messengers. I heartily endorse the use of metaphors and other vivid imagery. If climate change is very important to you, do not speak or write about it in dry and unemotional language that conveys boredom and resignation. Instead, let your passion show. Seize opportunities to learn from expert communicators and to get useful feedback from your audiences. Nobody is born knowing how to ski or play chess or drive a car. Like all these skills, communication skills can be taught, developed, practiced, and improved.