I'm fascinated by the language used within small companies and how it shapes the culture of the company (and big companies as well I suppose though I have less exposure to them). I recently wrote a post all about the internal memes we have and how language and behaviour are very closely linked:
http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/40478/Startup-Culture-Memes-Do-You-Have-A-Duck-Of-Awesomeness.aspx
Some of the memes we have within distilled:
- breakfast of champions - getting shit done - delivering change - the duck of awesomeness - getting close to clients - phone ninjas - the skiing trip - labs - you can't outsource giving a shit - actionable insights - communication solves all problems
You can find an explanation of some of these in the post. I'd love to know what memes and language patterns have appeared in your startups?