What is the Meaning of “subject to change”?

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I am convinced that I can speak English, at least to a decent level. However, I cannot count the number of times I’ve found myself listening to other people talk in “English” yet be unable to understand them at all.

I could even make out a few words here and there, but I was not able to follow the thread of the conversation.

However, after doing a little reading, I realized that my English wasn’t compromised.

Instead, the issue is that different subcommunities develop their own version of English, producing their own unique words and expressions.

For instance, the online gaming community has come up with countless expressions, such as Poggers and Pepega.

What’s more, these subcommunities indirectly influence how the rest of us communicate.

Today, we use emojis when texting, we tell each other that something made us “LOL,” and we use countless sports analogies, including “hitting a home run,” without even noticing.

That said, one of the subcommunities that use an extremely esoteric version of English is the business world, giving us the dreaded legalese and the unpenetrable finance jargon.

To make matters worse, unlike the gaming community or online chatters, the business world directly influences our lives, affecting our livelihoods and constraining our actions.

So, I would like to take some time today to explore a few unique business expressions, starting with something being “subject to change.”

 

What does “subject to change” mean?

When something is “subject to change,” this means that it will likely change if the surrounding circumstances dictate so. This is a term used by businesses to give themselves some leeway and to be able to adapt to changing circumstances. For instance, if a train station wants to let you know that they might change their train schedule at the drop of a hat, they’ll give you the schedule but add an asterisk, and next to the asterisk will be the phrase “these times are subject to change,” probably written in italics.

Right about now, you might be wondering why don’t business people just come out and say, “we might change the prices if we have to”? Why do they need to develop an incomprehensible language, one that needs to come with an interpreter?

This paves the way for a quick digression, one that will pay dividends later on.
 

Why is business lingo difficult to decipher?

For starters, when subcommunities develop their own lingo, they do this for several reasons. Firstly, it can be useful to have shorthand expressions to describe more complicated concepts.

This not only saves time but also helps keep the conversation concise. You can find this phenomenon among scientists, doctors, engineers, and any field that requires some level of expertise.

In fact, it is this requirement of expertise that allows these professionals to demand such a high price from their clients.

And, here comes another reason. When experts use esoteric terms, the kind that the layman wouldn’t understand, it creates a sense of exclusivity and guards the expert’s knowledge.

After all, finance experts want their clients to remain baffled when it comes to things such as the stock market, bonds, and derivatives.

And, when you have exclusivity, you also have inclusivity. In other words, these esoteric terms act as a badge of admission, a way to show that someone belongs to a certain group.

So, when a lawyer throws around a bunch of legalese that leaves you scratching your head, they’re showing you that they are part of a special group and you’re not.

However, even gamers will use esoteric language to show that they belong to a certain group or fans of a famous Twitch streamer.

All that said, there are a few things that set business language apart, and these are the ones that matter for our purposes. To begin with, businesses use plenty of qualifying language.

This means that rather than saying something definitively, businesses would prefer to use cautious language that hedges their position and covers their ass in case things go south.

Moreover, businesses are famous for using doublespeak. So, instead of saying that people were fired, which sort of sounds callous, a business will say that it had to downsize, which sounds more palatable.

And, do you think a business can come out and say, “We plan to steal our competitors’ best ideas”? Of course not.

But, they can say, “We plan to align ourselves with industry thought leaders,” which technically means the exact same thing but just sounds much better.

 

So, why do businesses use “subject to change”?

“Subject to change” is hedging language. It prevents businesses from committing to a specific decision.

Here is a simple example

Let’s say that you are at an electronics store that is having a sale, and you find a TV that you just fall in love with. The TV is 50 percent off, so you figure that this is perfect.

Unfortunately, it’s near the end of the month, and you won’t have enough money to buy the TV until you receive next month’s paycheck. So, you decide to go up to the nearest sales clerk and have the following conversation.

In essence, the sales clerk just told you that the price might change because the sale might end before you get a chance to buy the TV. So, if you go to the store next week and the TV is no longer on sale, you can not hold the store liable.

And, this is the heart of the matter. Declaring that something is “subject to change” absolves the business of any liability should said thing change.

Nevertheless, it is also worth pointing out that while businesses can use the “subject to change” clause as an escape hatch of sorts, there are limits preventing businesses from abusing the clause.

Simply put, when something is “subject to change,” the reason for the change has to be fair and the conditions leading to the change have to be sensible.

In other words, saying that something is “subject to change” is no excuse for a business to abuse its powers or to swindle its customers.