The term water table is never heard among British gun makers, it is a term I have only seen used by American writers. Nothing wrong with that, I learned it and now I understand it.
Turscrews are gunmakers screwdrivers, metal screws are pins, wood screws are screws.
Sleeving was the term used by the inventor of the procedure back in the 1950s and it has stuck when being used to refer to barrel repair by means of inserting new tubes into existing breech sections to restore the shootability of a gun with worn out barrels.
Monoblocking is a term used in manufacture of new guns my a number of modern makers.
I have noticed in recent years that some dealers refer to sleeved guns by describing them as having 'new barrels by monoblock'. To me this is just sales speak, akin to 'previously enjoyed' rather than 'used' etc.
The terminology of the gun trade is no different to any other specialist niche - all trades and closed communities have their own jargon and this varies from place to place. Sociolinguistically, it is covered by 'register'. It is in effect a regionless dialect linked to a trade, though the same trade in different geographical locations will vary this dialect. To give a medical example, two doctors may discuss your 'occlusion of the clavicle' but tell you you 'broke you collar bone'.
Human tend to fall into the speech patterns of the group in which they are operating in order not to feel, or appear as outsiders. Using the language of the group is inclusive, choosing to use outsider language is exclusive.
Nothing linguistically is 'right or wrong' when choosing from recognised standard and non-standard forms but each choice will have an effect on the listener and you choose your language according to the effect you desire.
Last edited by Small Bore; 10/24/11 04:54 AM.
