They matter.
If you can't explain a problem in simple terms, how's anyone supposed to fix it? When you break things down into everyday language, people get it. They can picture the solution without their brain hurting.
Here are some examples I came across this week:
- "Invoke" when they mean call or run.
- "Iterate" when they mean go through or repeat.
- "Cast" when they mean turn into or transform.
- "Instantaneous" when they mean immediate or right away.
- "Terminate" when they mean end or stop.
- "Acknowledge" when they mean okay or got it.
- "Concatenate" when they mean join or put together.
- "Execute" when they mean run or do.
- "Persist" when they mean save or keep.
The WCAG is certainly guilty of this as well. It's meant to help make websites accessible, but bloody hell, have you read it? It's dense! Or I'm dense! But half the time, I'm wading through jargon when the actual idea is dead simple.
- "Perceivable" when they mean can see, hear or sense.
- "Operable" when they mean can use or work with.
- "Programmatically determined" when they mean the code tells you what it is.
- "Cognitive load" when they mean mental effort or how hard you have to think.
- "Interstitial" when they mean in-between page or pop-up.
- "Conformance" when they mean it meets the rules.
We need to stop overcomplicating these things. Keep it clear. Keep it real. Make accessibility something people can understand and want to do, not something that feels like homework.
Use. Simpler. Words.