Making Abbreviations: Acronyms, Initialisms
2022-11-18
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1Have you ever seen, heard, or used these words before?
2"LOL."
3"Scuba"
4"ASAP"
5If you have, you know they are shortenings of longer expressions called abbreviations.
6So how can we make abbreviations?
7In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will look at two ways to make abbreviations.
8Both by using the initials of the words we want to shorten.
9By the end of this report you will start to identify abbreviations and maybe even start making some of your own!
10Abbreviations are shortened forms of words or phrases.
11They are used instead of the original words that they represent.
12For example, "appt." is an abbreviation for the word "appointment."
13We often use abbreviations in everyday life.
14Like when we write the time in the United States, we use the abbreviations "a.m." and "p.m."
15These are short for the Latin expressions "ante meridiem" meaning before noon and "post meridiem" for after noon.
16We can also use abbreviations for other time periods, also.
17For example, we might shorten the word for the month of "November" to "Nov."
18And we use them in other forms of online communication, especially in text messaging and in social media.
19Like "NVM" for "never mind" or "LOL" for "laugh out loud."
20There are many words in English that we do not realize are actually abbreviations like "scuba" or "laser."
21These are actually acronyms, and they are just one way to make abbreviations of longer phrases.
22Let's look closer at acronyms.
23Acronyms are a type of abbreviation for a longer phrase or group of words.
24We use the first letter of each word to create the acronym. Acronyms are said as a whole word.
25For example, we have the acronym "NASA," which stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
26NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on the moon.
27Since acronyms are said as a whole word, sometimes we do not even know they are acronyms.
28This has happened with the word "scuba."
29Scuba is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
30S stands for self.
31C stands for contained.
32U is for underwater.
33B is breathing.
34A is for apparatus.
35We do not say each individual letter. We pronounce the acronym as a whole, "scuba."
36Here is an example of how we would use "scuba" in a sentence.
37She wants to take scuba diving lessons before her trip to Hawaii.
38Another example of this is the word "laser."
39A laser is a narrow beam of intense light.
40We also call the devices that can create such energy, lasers.
41But, laser is an acronym of the words light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
42L is for light.
43A stands for amplification
44S is stimulated
45E is for emission
46R stand for radiation.
47Notice that the prepositions of "by" and "of" are not included in the acronym.
48Such smaller words are often removed in abbreviated forms.
49But not always. The international alliance ECOWAS is an example.
50It stands for the Economic Community of West African States.
51The letter "O" for "of" remains in the shortened version.
52The same is true for "DOJ," or the Department of Justice.
53However, the abbreviation of the Department of Justice to DOJ does not make it an acronym.
54DOJ is, in fact, an initialism, which brings us to our next subject.
55Initialisms are also abbreviations like acronyms, but instead of being read as a whole word, they are read as the alphabet letter or initial of each word.
56For example, Voice of America is V.O.A. Each letter is read by itself.
57Government agencies often go by initialisms.
58Another place you can see them is in the world of universities.
59Degrees, for example are most often represented that way.
60For example, if you completed a 4-year program of study in astronomy, you would earn a B.S. degree, meaning a Bachelor of Science.
61Other degrees include A.A. or A.S., meaning Associate of Arts or Associate of Science.
62Higher level degrees are called Masters.
63I have my M.A. in TESOL, or teaching English to speakers of other languages.
64And a Ph.D. is actually an initialism for the Latin term "philosophiae doctor" or, in English, Doctor of Philosophy.
65VOA Learning English's Dr. Jill has a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics.
66Some abbreviations can be read as either acronyms or initialisms like in this abbreviation, A.S.A.P., or ASAP. They stand for "as soon as possible."
67Please send Louise the money ASAP so she can pay the phone bill.
68In today's report, we learned how to create two kinds of abbreviations.
69We can create abbreviations by shortening a word or phrase.
70If shortening a phrase, we can take the first letter of each word in the phrase and put them together to create either an acronym or an initialism.
71We also learned the difference between these two.
72An acronym is pronounced as a whole word like the word "NASA."
73In an initialism, each letter is said separately like in Voice of America or V.O.A.
74Now it's your turn. At the end of this lesson is a list of abbreviations.
75Tell us if you think the abbreviation is an acronym or an initialism or just a regular abbreviation.
76And then tell us what the abbreviation means.
77You can write your answers in the comments or send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
78And that's Everyday Grammar!
79I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Have you ever seen, heard, or used these words before? 2"LOL." 3"Scuba" 4"ASAP" 5If you have, you know they are shortenings of longer expressions called abbreviations. 6So how can we make abbreviations? In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will look at two ways to make abbreviations. Both by using the initials of the words we want to shorten. 7By the end of this report you will start to identify abbreviations and maybe even start making some of your own! 8What are abbreviations? 9Abbreviations are shortened forms of words or phrases. They are used instead of the original words that they represent. For example, "appt." is an abbreviation for the word "appointment." 10We often use abbreviations in everyday life. Like when we write the time in the United States, we use the abbreviations "a.m." and "p.m." These are short for the Latin expressions "ante meridiem" meaning before noon and "post meridiem" for after noon. 11We can also use abbreviations for other time periods, also. For example, we might shorten the word for the month of "November" to "Nov." And we use them in other forms of online communication, especially in text messaging and in social media. Like "NVM" for "never mind" or "LOL" for "laugh out loud." 12There are many words in English that we do not realize are actually abbreviations like "scuba" or "laser." 13These are actually acronyms, and they are just one way to make abbreviations of longer phrases. 14Let's look closer at acronyms. 15What are acronyms? 16Acronyms are a type of abbreviation for a longer phrase or group of words. We use the first letter of each word to create the acronym. Acronyms are said as a whole word. 17For example, we have the acronym "NASA," which stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 18NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on the moon. 19Since acronyms are said as a whole word, sometimes we do not even know they are acronyms. This has happened with the word "scuba." 20Scuba is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. 21S stands for self. 22C stands for contained. 23U is for underwater. 24B is breathing. 25A is for apparatus. 26We do not say each individual letter. We pronounce the acronym as a whole, "scuba." 27Here is an example of how we would use "scuba" in a sentence. 28She wants to take scuba diving lessons before her trip to Hawaii. 29Another example of this is the word "laser." A laser is a narrow beam of intense light. We also call the devices that can create such energy, lasers. But, laser is an acronym of the words light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. 30L is for light. 31A stands for amplification 32S is stimulated 33E is for emission 34R stand for radiation. 35Notice that the prepositions of "by" and "of" are not included in the acronym. Such smaller words are often removed in abbreviated forms. 36But not always. The international alliance ECOWAS is an example. It stands for the Economic Community of West African States. The letter "O" for "of" remains in the shortened version. 37The same is true for "DOJ," or the Department of Justice. However, the abbreviation of the Department of Justice to DOJ does not make it an acronym. 38DOJ is, in fact, an initialism, which brings us to our next subject. 39What are initialisms? 40Initialisms are also abbreviations like acronyms, but instead of being read as a whole word, they are read as the alphabet letter or initial of each word. 41For example, Voice of America is V.O.A. Each letter is read by itself. 42Government agencies often go by initialisms. Another place you can see them is in the world of universities. Degrees, for example are most often represented that way. For example, if you completed a 4-year program of study in astronomy, you would earn a B.S. degree, meaning a Bachelor of Science. Other degrees include A.A. or A.S., meaning Associate of Arts or Associate of Science. Higher level degrees are called Masters. 43I have my M.A. in TESOL, or teaching English to speakers of other languages. 44And a Ph.D. is actually an initialism for the Latin term "philosophiae doctor" or, in English, Doctor of Philosophy. 45VOA Learning English's Dr. Jill has a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics. 46Some abbreviations can be read as either acronyms or initialisms like in this abbreviation, A.S.A.P., or ASAP. They stand for "as soon as possible." 47Please send Louise the money ASAP so she can pay the phone bill. 48Closing thoughts 49In today's report, we learned how to create two kinds of abbreviations. We can create abbreviations by shortening a word or phrase. If shortening a phrase, we can take the first letter of each word in the phrase and put them together to create either an acronym or an initialism. 50We also learned the difference between these two. An acronym is pronounced as a whole word like the word "NASA." In an initialism, each letter is said separately like in Voice of America or V.O.A. 51Now it's your turn. At the end of this lesson is a list of abbreviations. 52Tell us if you think the abbreviation is an acronym or an initialism or just a regular abbreviation. And then tell us what the abbreviation means. 53You can write your answers in the comments or send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. 54And that's Everyday Grammar! 55I'm Faith Pirlo. 56Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 57________________________________________________________________ 58List of abbreviations for homework: 59BRB 60Apt. 61D.C. 62FOMO 63FAQ 64DIY 65POTUS 66Radar 67NATO 68_____________________________________________________________ 69Words in This Story 70initial - adj. or n. occurring at the beginning of something; the first letter of a name or word 71aeronautics - n. a science that deals with airplanes and flying 72self-contained - adj. not requiring help or support from anyone or anything else 73apparatus - n. a tool or piece of equipment used for specific activities 74pronounce - v. to make the sound of (a word or letter) with your voice 75amplification - n. an act, example or product of making something louder by increasing its strength 76stimulated - adj. to describe making something more active or exciting to activity or growth 77emission - n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source 78linguistics - n. the study of language and of the way languages work 79________________________________________________________________ 80What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com or leave us a comment below. 81We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 82Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.