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Deprogramming Scientologese

Rabaluga

New Member
Hello,

I was never in Scientology, nor did I have any close friends or relatives in that organization (but in other cults). However, I grew up bilingual and there are quite some almost identical words which have a different meaning in one of my two mother tongues than in the other, so I tend to mess up things there (both languages are loosely related, and from neighboring countries so they share a bit of common vocabulary, sometimes with different definitions).

Now I know Scientology is a lot about language, they have their own dictionaries, I went through a Church of Scientology glossary made for "wogs" out of curiousity and it's really not easy to find your way into Scientologese, these were several hundred words and just the beginning. Some of the stuff is just shortening words to make it easier, other stuff is special terminology which you really can't replace, as the religion with its concepts is difficult to explain without using any special vocabulary. But apart from that, there were also words which gave me an Orwell-like "1984" feeling. Weird distortions, redefinitions and stuff.

That said, I just wonder how you get along with this vocabulary, especially the suggestive and ideological parts, as these tend to get hammered in in Scientology, and how you get rid of them. Do they fade away easily, does it just take time and patience, or do you need to hammer them out again and look up redefined words in normal dictionaries and stuff? And do you end up hating dictionaries after some time in Scientology?
 

Sindy

Crusader
Hello,

I was never in Scientology, nor did I have any close friends or relatives in that organization (but in other cults). However, I grew up bilingual and there are quite some almost identical words which have a different meaning in one of my two mother tongues than in the other, so I tend to mess up things there (both languages are loosely related, and from neighboring countries so they share a bit of common vocabulary, sometimes with different definitions).

Now I know Scientology is a lot about language, they have their own dictionaries, I went through a Church of Scientology glossary made for "wogs" out of curiousity and it's really not easy to find your way into Scientologese, these were several hundred words and just the beginning. Some of the stuff is just shortening words to make it easier, other stuff is special terminology which you really can't replace, as the religion with its concepts is difficult to explain without using any special vocabulary. But apart from that, there were also words which gave me an Orwell-like "1984" feeling. Weird distortions, redefinitions and stuff.

That said, I just wonder how you get along with this vocabulary, especially the suggestive and ideological parts, as these tend to get hammered in in Scientology, and how you get rid of them. Do they fade away easily, does it just take time and patience, or do you need to hammer them out again and look up redefined words in normal dictionaries and stuff? And do you end up hating dictionaries after some time in Scientology?

Good question. I am finding it surprisingly easy to stop using the terminology. I can tell this not necessarily the case for all. I also think it's okay to use the terminology knowingly if you want to. I am just working hard to not use it right now and I see some very fascinating things happening because of it. It is REALLY helping me to ditch the language.

I'll always love dictionaries :)
 

Leon

Gold Meritorious Patron
I don't have a problem with Scientologese. It comes easily. No doubt many will see this as one of my failings, but there it is.

For the most part they describe things - concepts, whatever - that have no equivalent in English and so were coined for special use. For the most part too they evolved out of the slang used by Hubbard and his cronies over the years. Often the meaning was only dimly perceived at first and developed over the years as understanding of the undelying principles improved.

Scientologese has always been a work in progress, and continues to be so among practitioners even after Hubbards (often unlamented) demise.
 

Rabaluga

New Member
Good question. I am finding it surprisingly easy to stop using the terminology. I can tell this not necessarily the case for all. I also think it's okay to use the terminology knowingly if you want to. I am just working hard to not use it right now and I see some very fascinating things happening because of it. It is REALLY helping me to ditch the language.

I'll always love dictionaries :)

I love dictionaries as well, very useful, but they don't always offer a good solution, as the context is missing. Plus there is some very specialized lingo which you will never find there. What I love is http://www.linguee.com/ It shows you the word the way it is used in context, it's like an internet search engine as a translation help. Or Google Pictures, when it comes to words which have no abstract meaning.

I was just wondering, as I know how extreme Jehova Witnesses' Jargon can get, but Scientologese beats it by far. Not kidding, I'm considering writing a doctor's thesis about Scientologese, the effects it has and stuff. I studied languages, so that would fit very well.

In my country, we have some very strong dialects, and words and their meanings shift a lot here depending on the region where you're living. But I don't think it compares to the Scientologese effects.

Now you really make me curious: what are the fascinating things which happen to you because of switching from Scientologese to general English?
 

Outethicsofficer

Silver Meritorious Patron
I tend to slip into and out of the use of the Scio language, I too have made a conscious effort to not use the lingo but it is to some degree always there even if only a shade of it. Probably more stuff like, cycle of action, ARC, new unit of time etc, etc...they have tended to stick.

The rest is lessening.

James
 

Rabaluga

New Member
Good question. I am finding it surprisingly easy to stop using the terminology. I can tell this not necessarily the case for all. I also think it's okay to use the terminology knowingly if you want to. I am just working hard to not use it right now and I see some very fascinating things happening because of it. It is REALLY helping me to ditch the language.

I'll always love dictionaries :)

Maybe you knew the original meanings before, and had heard the words in the original meaning hundreds of times before, so it was easy to go back to them again?
 

Rabaluga

New Member
I tend to slip into and out of the use of the Scio language, I too have made a conscious effort to not use the lingo but it is to some degree always there even if only a shade of it. Probably more stuff like, cycle of action, ARC, new unit of time etc, etc...they have tended to stick.

The rest is lessening.

James

So how do you deal with it if people around you go like ????

In my country, people from regions with dialects tend to have this problem as well, but less pronounced, as special word uses only come up in combination with certain dialects so it seems easier to rid yourself of them if speaking the standard version of the language (or trying it at least).

And does the Scientology lingo decrease in your case over time, or does it stay the same?
 

Outethicsofficer

Silver Meritorious Patron
I love dictionaries as well, very useful, but they don't always offer a good solution, as the context is missing. Plus there is some very specialized lingo which you will never find there. What I love is http://www.linguee.com/ It shows you the word the way it is used in context, it's like an internet search engine as a translation help. Or Google Pictures, when it comes to words which have no abstract meaning.

I was just wondering, as I know how extreme Jehova Witnesses' Jargon can get, but Scientologese beats it by far. Not kidding, I'm considering writing a doctor's thesis about Scientologese, the effects it has and stuff. I studied languages, so that would fit very well.

In my country, we have some very strong dialects, and words and their meanings shift a lot here depending on the region where you're living. But I don't think it compares to the Scientologese effects.

Now you really make me curious: what are the fascinating things which happen to you because of switching from Scientologese to general English?

One of the things I notice is there seems to me to be a physiological shift as I shift from Scientologese to more general language, I don't know how really to convey the sensation adequately but if I said there seems to be a minute 'vibration' that goes along with the shift, you may track with me!
But that probably doesn't convey it well either.

You work it out, I don't really bother with it too much as the whole thing has proved out to be a mind fuck anyway. The church is convinced I'm nuts anyway...maybe they're right.:whistling:

James
 

Feral

Rogue male
One of the things I notice is there seems to me to be a physiological shift as I shift from Scientologese to more general language, I don't know how really to convey the sensation adequately but if I said there seems to be a minute 'vibration' that goes along with the shift, you may track with me!
But that probably doesn't convey it well either.

You work it out, I don't really bother with it too much as the whole thing has proved out to be a mind fuck anyway. The church is convinced I'm nuts anyway...maybe they're right.:whistling:

James

That's the valences rubbing against each other as you swap terminals James.

BTW, I'm joking.

ARC Kev
 

Outethicsofficer

Silver Meritorious Patron
So how do you deal with it if people around you go like ????


In my country, people from regions with dialects tend to have this problem as well, but less pronounced, as special word uses only come up in combination with certain dialects so it seems easier to rid yourself of them if speaking the standard version of the language (or trying it at least).

And does the Scientology lingo decrease in your case over time, or does it stay the same?

The ???? factor isn't a problem as I can speak Scientologese and wog very well, I know when to use what. If I am talikng to an ex-scio then we may or not use the lingo. Probably no rules to define that other than our individual desire or not to use or not the terms.

Sciogese is just a specialized lingo, the concepts are easily available by use of non-sciogese language...wog terms are fine, I find at least. Hubbard wanted stultified minds rather, despite what he wrote to the contrary.

Obviously if I associated heavily with Scios then the lingo would be used heavily and it would be hard to drop it.

The use of the lingo is decreased and more so over time, but it is still there available to use.

James
 

Outethicsofficer

Silver Meritorious Patron
That's the valences rubbing against each other as you swap terminals James.

BTW, I'm joking.

ARC Kev

I know you're NOT joking! You have me worried...will they create that much friction with their rubbing that I might spontaneously combust????

Get back to me soon...pleeeease:nervous::nervous::omg:
 

Rabaluga

New Member
The ???? factor isn't a problem as I can speak Scientologese and wog very well, I know when to use what. If I am talikng to an ex-scio then we may or not use the lingo. Probably no rules to define that other than our individual desire or not to use or not the terms.

This kind of makes me wonder as I know from Jehova's witnesses that they get briefed and trained well not to use Jehova's witnesses slang when they go out recruiting - as otherwise they might mess it up. Then again, their lingo might be less exotic for a western country than Scientologese, so a "hard" switch from Scientologic lingo might actually be easier than a "fuzzy" switch from J.W.ese to usual language. Plus they seem to have many more members who grew up in the cult and therefore really need training to make themselves understood when talking about religion.
 

HelluvaHoax!

Platinum Meritorious Sponsor with bells on
I stopped using Scientologese when I realized that Ron was not my only "terminal".

That happened at the same moment I realized that Ron and Scientology were....terminal.
 

LongTimeGone

Silver Meritorious Patron
Some Scieno words have real English word equivalents or phrases :
Out ethics becomes 'unethical'.
Stable Terminal becomes 'person you can rely on'.
Downstat becomes 'lazy bastard'.
MU phenomenon becomes 'Yawn, because you haven't had sufficient sleep'.
VGI's becomes 'smile'.
Make it go right becomes 'She'll be right mate' - In Australia.
Hat becomes 'the job you are doing.'
Snr C/S INT becomes 'job someone holds for 10 minutes before they are sacked.'
Dev-T becomes 'road block'.
Blinkless TRs becomes 'the silliest thing I ever heard.'
BT becomes 'What the fuck are you talking about?'
Scientology becomes 'bullshit'.

D.
 

British Mom

Patron with Honors
Re: Deprogaming

Hi, I found when I came out of Scientology I just stopped using the words, then I replaced them with the real world word, if you know what I mean. But I have found that some words have disappeared from my mind but sometimes they pop back in. Dont think they will ever go, but they dont have any affect on me now. It has taken 15 years for me to get over Scientology, if you ever get over it.:angry:
 

Outethicsofficer

Silver Meritorious Patron
Hi, I found when I came out of Scientology I just stopped using the words, then I replaced them with the real world word, if you know what I mean. But I have found that some words have disappeared from my mind but sometimes they pop back in. Dont think they will ever go, but they dont have any affect on me now. It has taken 15 years for me to get over Scientology, if you ever get over it.:angry:

Hi British Mom,
Nice to see you around, yeah i doubt you ever get over it, and really i am thankful to not get over it completely as it serves as a constant reminder to stay the f**k away from it in the future.
James
 

Student of Trinity

Silver Meritorious Patron
A good new word is worth having. I think you can still talk about anything you want even if you don't have specific words for it; you'll just have to use a bunch of words together to describe whatever it is. But coining a new word specifically for some concept says, Hey, this concept is important, and you'll want to refer to it a lot. And sometimes that's true, and it's a valuable insight.

Of course that's why every specialized field develops its own special jargon — there are ideas that are important and often used in that field, that don't come up often enough outside it to have already gotten their specific names in common speech.

But sometimes somebody comes up with a new name, for a new concept, that actually is of broad value. It's possible that Scientology has one or two of these. I've heard 'service facsimile', with its convenient abbreviation as 'ser fac', as a candidate for this status, for example. I think people often do construct self-justification scenarios that they try to live out, and which they try to get other people to go along with, even without really being conscious of what they're doing. (And I've had no direct exposure to Scientology, so I can say this without any worry that it's just lingering indoctrination.) So 'ser fac' may be a worthwhile item for anyone to add to their lexicon. It's common sense stuff, but I don't know of any other short name for it, and yet it's common and important enough to deserve a short name.

Of course, for all I know it already has a short name, that's just not in quite common enough use for me to know it, but that didn't come from Hubbard.

And it seems to me that Hubbard coined far, far too many new terms. Maybe one or two of them are genuinely worth adopting, but there's no way most of them can be. The great majority are sure to be just pointless replacements for existing terms, that tend to isolate Scientologists mentally, by training them to think in a different language from everyone else.

And many of them may be even more insidious than that, in that they subtly direct Scientologists' thoughts into certain associations, or dissociations. If the only Scientologese term for a certain common concept happens to have a more specific meaning, then Scientologists will find their thoughts warped in the direction of always associating the general concept with the narrower one. (If the only word you have for 'love' were one that actually had the more specific meaning of 'infatuation', you'd likely have some trouble thinking about healthy relationships.)

Conversely, if a Scientologese term is ambiguous, having two different possible meanings, then Scientologists may become blind to all kinds of logical errors, or flat-out lies, that involve surreptitiously switching between the two definitions. (If you had only one word to cover the two meanings of 'friendship' and 'passion', you could find it hard to consciously recognize the fact that your relationship had developed — or broken up.)

Scientology doctrine heavily emphasizes tight logical arguments full of technical Scientologese terms. Scientologists are supposed to 'word clear', and all confusion is attributed to 'misunderstood words'. So the danger of manipulative terminology seems especially great in Scientology. I can imagine that a Scientologist might become convinced that they clearly understand a large body of rigorous thought, when in fact they have only a ramshackle hodgepodge of gibberish learned by rote. Manipulative language can do that much damage.

So, as people keep saying about Scientology in general: there may be one or two gems in Scientologese, but they're surrounded by a lot of dangerous crap. Maybe there's a baby or two that's worth saving when you throw out the bathwater. But maybe it's more important not to let the one or two good things lure you back into all the crap.
 

HelluvaHoax!

Platinum Meritorious Sponsor with bells on
Scientology provides you the words, just like a Vegas dealer deals you a hand.

You always get Jokers.

800px-Joker_playing_cards.jpg

And Scientology is the house.

They always get to tell you what those wild cards mean in any situation and the house always wins.

The words can mean anything....everything...nothing...or the opposite of what they just meant a moment earlier.

"Scientology is the only game in the universe where everyone wins!" (L. Ron Hubbard)

Everyone -pronoun. 1. every person; everybody. 2. Ron Hubbard or his assigns. 3. Scientologists who are in-ethics. 4. Affluent philanthropists who put their money where their Bridge is.
 

Sindy

Crusader
Scientology provides you the words, just like a Vegas dealer deals you a hand.

You always get Jokers.

800px-Joker_playing_cards.jpg

And Scientology is the house.

They always get to tell you what those wild cards mean in any situation and the house always wins.

The words can mean anything....everything...nothing...or the opposite of what they just meant a moment earlier.

"Scientology is the only game in the universe where everyone wins!" (L. Ron Hubbard)

Everyone -pronoun. 1. every person; everybody. 2. Ron Hubbard or his assigns. 3. Scientologists who are in-ethics. 4. Affluent philanthropists who put their money where their Bridge is.

I put my bets on Definition Number 2 only :)
 

SchwimmelPuckel

Genuine Meatball
<snip> Everyone -pronoun. 1. every person; everybody. 2. Ron Hubbard or his assigns. 3. Scientologists who are in-ethics. 4. Affluent philanthropists who put their money where their Bridge is.
Hmm.. Has to do with being 'unreasonable' with Hubbard's 'tech' and scripture.. You're not supposed to take it literally! You're supposed to take it BLOODY LITERALLY!!!

I recall having to claydemo 'Non existence' as an 'ethics condition' and a state of existence once.. So conclusion was that SP's and other riff raff aren't included in 'everyone' or humanity.. They are 'non existent' and thus not to be counted.

So.. There's a definition missing: Scientologists in good standing and not currently in 'non existence'.

:duh:
 
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