The
Language of
the Economy
Words shape how we think about money. Decode economic jargon, spot framing in the news, write a clear explainer, meet money in stories from Aesop to Leacock, read the language of ads and tell your own money stories.
- 00First Principlesp.2
- 01Jargon decodedp.4
- 02News framingp.5
- 03Writing an explainerp.6
- 04Money in literaturep.7
- 05Ads & money storiesp.8
- ✦Self-check · Make it · 5 Questions · Side Questp.9
You'll need: pencil, a notebook, a newspaper or news site, and a friend.
Principles
A first principle is a basic truth you can build on. Money language rests on four: jargon can hide simple ideas, framing changes feelings, clear writing is a skill and stories teach values.
What do I already know?
What is necessary?
Everything in this module is built from four bricks. Rate yourself on each one, then check the example to see if your rating holds up.
What is the objective?
By the end, you’ll be able to translate common economic jargon, spot framing and loaded words in news on all sides, write a short explainer, discuss money in literature, decode ad language and tell a personal money story.
- 01Translate 10 economic terms.
- 02Spot framing in headlines.
- 03Write a plain-language explainer.
- 04Discuss money in a story.
- 05Decode ad wording and fine print.
- 06Tell a personal money story.
The list on the left is ours. Now make it yours. What do you want out of this?
How much do you know about the language of the economy right now? Shade the boxes in pencil. You'll come back at the end (p.9) and shade it again in pen.
Why start this way? When you know what you already have (1), what you need (2) and where you're going (3), you learn faster and you notice the gaps. Every module on the Economy Path starts with these same three questions.
Jargon decoded
Big money words often hide simple ideas.
Big words, plain meanings
| Word | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Inflation | prices rising overall |
| Recession | a big, broad drop in economic activity (often two falling quarters of GDP) |
| Deficit / debt | one year’s shortfall / all the borrowing added up |
| Fiscal / monetary | about government budgets / about interest rates and money |
| Bull / bear market | prices rising / falling a lot |
| Liquidity | how fast you can turn something into cash |
Not always to confuse
Experts use precise words to save time with each other. Problems start when jargon reaches the public unexplained, or when it’s used to sound clever or hide bad news.
Canada’s recessions are dated by a panel of the C.D. Howe Institute, which looks at more than just two quarters of GDP.
Checked October 2026
Equalization is a federal program (since 1957, in the Constitution since 1982) that pays provinces with less ability to raise revenue, so all can offer reasonably comparable public services. It’s paid from federal general revenue, raised from taxpayers in every province, not by provinces directly. For 2026–27 it totals about $27.2 billion; Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan receive none.
Views differ: many Albertans argue the system is unfair, since Albertans pay high federal taxes and the province last received payments in the mid-1960s. Supporters call it a fair way to share across a country, noting any province can qualify if its economy changes.
Department of Finance Canada.
Jargon jar
Find 5 money words in a news story. Write a plain meaning for each that a 10-year-old would understand.Why might a politician of any party prefer to talk about the deficit, not the debt (or vice versa)?
News framing
The same fact can be told to make you cheer or worry.
A made-up example
| Headline A | Headline B |
|---|---|
| Unemployment rises to 6.5% | 93.5% of the labour force has work |
| Gas prices soar 10 cents | Gas still cheaper than last spring |
| Tax cut gives families $500 | Tax cut costs $2 billion |
Both columns can be true. Each makes you feel differently.
Across the spectrum
- “tax relief” vs “tax cut” vs “giveaway”
- “investment” vs “spending”
- “job creators” vs “corporations”
- “safety net” vs “handouts”
- “reform” (who decides it’s better?)
Every side uses them. Notice the word, then ask for the number.
Four questions
Charts can frame too: a cut-off axis can make a tiny change look huge (Lens 1 and Lens 7).
Flip the frame
Take one economy headline. Rewrite it to sound positive, then negative, using the same facts.Why do headlines often focus on bad economic news?
Writing an explainer
If you can explain it simply, you understand it.
Five steps
Example
Why do interest rates matter? When the Bank of Canada raises its policy rate, borrowing costs more, so people and businesses tend to spend less, which helps slow inflation. Lowering it does the opposite. In September 2026 the rate was held at 2.25% (Bank of Canada, checked October 2026). For you: it can change what families pay on loans and earn on savings.Balanced explainers show what different experts think, without deciding for the reader. Say “some economists argue… others say…”.
Plainer choices
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| consumer price index increased | prices went up |
| monetary policy tightening | raising interest rates |
| fiscal consolidation | cutting spending or raising taxes |
| labour market slack | people who want work but can’t find it |
60-second explainer
Pick a term (inflation, GDP, interest). Write a 60-second explainer using the five steps.Why include the date with a number?
Money in literature
Writers have wrestled with money for thousands of years.
Old lessons, new readers
| Story | Money idea |
|---|---|
| Aesop, “The Ant and the Grasshopper” | saving vs enjoying now (and is the ant kind?) |
| Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice (c. 1596–97) | loans, debt and prejudice |
| Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843) | greed, generosity, change |
| O. Henry, “The Gift of the Magi” (1905) | love, giving, sacrifice |
| Stephen Leacock, “My Financial Career” (1910) | a nervous first visit to a bank |
Debt and fairness
Stephen Leacock’s funny story, from Literary Lapses, follows a young man so nervous at the bank that he deposits and then withdraws his whole $56. Margaret Atwood’s 2008 Massey Lectures, Payback, explored debt as an idea in stories, religion and nature.
Many stories cast lenders, rich people or the poor as heroes or villains. Ask: is this fair, or a stereotype?
Not every tale is about getting rich
In the folk tale Stone Soup, hungry travellers start a “soup” with just a stone; each villager adds one ingredient until everyone eats. Versions exist in many cultures. Stories like it celebrate cooperation, generosity and community: a reminder that economies run on more than money.
Retell it
Retell “The Ant and the Grasshopper” in modern Edmonton. Does the ant share? What’s fair?Why might Scrooge be a useful character for economists?
Ads & money stories
Ads tell stories to sell. You can tell stories to understand.
Words that work on you
| Wording | Ask yourself |
|---|---|
| “Only $9.99” | Is $10 really “only”? |
| “Up to 70% off” | How many items are 70% off? |
| “Free*” | What does the asterisk say? |
| “From $29” | What’s the price of the one I want? |
| “Limited time!” | Will it really end? |
Everyone has one
Money stories help families talk about values. Ask an adult: What was your first job? What did you buy with your first pay? What money mistake taught you something?
Respect privacy: some people don’t want to share amounts, and that’s fine.
Canadian protections
The Competition Bureau warns against misleading prices, like hiding mandatory fees (“drip pricing”) or fake “regular” prices. Ad Standards runs a code for Canadian ads that people can complain to.
For a family money story
- Ask open questions: “What was it like…?”
- Listen more than you talk.
- Ask permission before recording or sharing.
- Thank them, and share what you learned.
Fine-print hunt
Find 3 ads with an asterisk or fine print. Write what the big words promise and what the small words say.Why do prices end in 99?
Quick self-check
Six questions, covering every stop. Show your thinking. Answers are upside down at the bottom; no peeking till you're done.
1 · What’s the difference between a deficit and a debt?
2 · Give an example of a loaded word.
3 · What are the five steps of an explainer?
4 · What happens in Leacock’s “My Financial Career”?
5 · What does “up to 70% off” really promise?
6 · What is drip pricing?
Re-shade your knowledge meter
How much do you know about the language of the economy now? Flip back to p.3 and shade the meter again in pen (or shade this one). Did any of the four bricks on p.2 move from "Not yet" to "Got it"?
The 90-second explainer
Write and record (or perform) a short, fair explainer of one money idea for a real audience.
1 · Plan
Choose a money idea and an audience (a younger sibling, a grandparent, your class). Use the five explainer steps.
- Pick a term
- Write a one-sentence answer
- Find a dated number + source
- Record or perform it
2 · My script
| Step | What I’ll say |
|---|---|
| 1 Question | |
| 2 Answer | |
| 3 Example | |
| 4 Number + source | |
| 5 What it means |
3 · Must-haves
- Under 90 seconds
- No unexplained jargon
- Source and date
- Fair to different views
4 · Feedback
What did your listener understand? What confused them? What would you change?
Record only people who agree. Ask an adult before posting anything online.
5 Questions
I Still Have
This module didn't answer everything. Good. Write 5 new questions it didn't answer, one of each type below. There are no wrong questions, only ones nobody's asked yet.
★ Star the one question you'd most like answered. You'll need it on the next page.
1What I'll find out
Break your big question into 2 or 3 smaller ones you could actually answer.
2Where I'll look
3How I'll share it
Who I'll share it with:
Done by: