Language Investigation Two

Over the course of my summers I work at a business which rents party equipment. This business specifically is known for renting tents. When I started this job a couple years ago I quickly learned that every employee was equipped with a specific discourse that I was quite unfamiliar with. The party rental language. It is more or less universal among the party rental community but if you are on the outside and hear a conversation in this language you would begin to feel like a foreigner. Communication among this community is essential to the day to day operations of these businesses and as an outsider you are expected to acquire this language quickly. For example as a driver for my company my boss will give you very specific instructions for the day starting with the truck one might be driving. At Party Time (the rental company I work for) trucks are not referred to as trucks they are referred to as numbers, such as 35, 45, 242, 212, 243, etc. He will then inform you to grab your contracts, check 43 for support equipment, grab your temp(s)/assistant(s) and start your route. When referring to contracts this identifies what the customer has ordered and what the driver needs to have loaded on his truck. It is very important when reading your invoice to take note of whether you are scheduled to deliver or pick up the order. Whether it be a pick up or delivery drivers always need support equipment. This is the gear needed to not only make the delivery go smoothly but also many times to make it possible. Support equipment includes Tent Jacks to help lift the heavier tents, White Straps to secure the tent to the ground, Stakes, also used anchor tent, Pins to fasten the tent parts together, and so on. When my boss informs me to grab my temps he is referring to actual workers, these workers are Temporary Employees hired through employment agencies who are day laborers. Assistants are Party Time employees who are not drivers but assist the drivers. Other types of language that is important to know is terms like Pole Tent and Frame Tent. Pole tents are just like the giant circus tents with huge center poles and Frame tents are smaller tents with no center poles but are like a framed house with no roof or walls. To continue with tents 20x, 30x, 40x, 60x and so on are different sizes of tents. Outside of the tent language there are many types of tables and chairs that are rented. Rounds and Banquets are the most common. Rounds are simply round tables and Banquets are rectangles. The Chairs can be referred to by brown plastics, natural woods, white resins, or black canes. These different terms depict different types of plastic chairs and wood chairs. With many more terms and phrases you can understand that there is a bit of a learning curve just as Rose had when trying to learn and understand academic speaking and writing.