Paper short abstract:

This paper examines how the language used by anthropologists might limit their opportunities for engagement outside academia thus making public anthropology difficult. The paper also explores possible responses by anthropology departments to the new tuition fees regime.

Paper long abstract:

"Think straight, talk straight" was the motto of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen (founded 1913), reflecting its founder's emphasis on honesty in its accounting duties (Enron 2000 notwithstanding). Staff at their consulting division (now Accenture), where this writer worked, are admonished to communicate in this manner with both colleagues and clients.

In contrast the language of anthropologists has been described by academics as being "hermetically sealed", "a language which ordinary people cannot understand" and, by business associates, "gobbledygook".

The UK tuition fees regime makes "employability" a key concern. Employers expect graduates (even non-British ones) to hit the ground running. Anthropologists who preach a "holistic" perspective must acknowledge that the goalposts have shifted. In order to preserve traditional anthropology it might be that anthropology departments must engage more with the non-academic world.

Business anthropology is one potential "growth area" because anthropology graduates trained in ethnographic research could become very good management and product design consultants. However, would business students who have merely read about ethnography - but who write succinctly - have the edge over anthropology graduates with ethnographic experience?

This writer would

• contrast language used in anthropology and in business, using the Gunning Fog Index to analyze selected writings, and explain the importance of learning how to write for business

• interrogate the linkages between language use/choice and its impact on public anthropology, and

• propose responses to this changing university "market-place" to ensure the preservation of traditional anthropology at universities.