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<\/p>\nWant to become better at reading and writing English?<\/p>\n
What’s the difference between abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms?<\/p>\n
Learn how to shorten words to improve your English writing<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We love to shorten everything in English. This is especially true in an age where texting has become the preferred way to communicate with one another. In writing, there are three common methods we can use to shorten words: <\/span>abbreviations<\/span>(1), <\/span>acronyms(2)<\/span>, and <\/span>initialisms(3)<\/span>. This blog will give you all the information you need to be able to read, write, and differentiate between them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s face it, writing long words can be a <\/span>nuisance<\/span>(4), especially when you\u2019re in a rush or need to write the same word multiple times. This is where abbreviations come in. Chances are, you\u2019ve already seen many of these abbreviations before, but here are some of the most common abbreviations you are likely to come across.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Days of the week: Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Months of the year: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec.<\/span><\/p>\n Measurements: \u201ccm\u201d for centimeter, \u201cmm\u201d for millimeter, and \u201cin\u201d for inch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Titles: \u201cMr.\u201d for mister, \u201cMs.\u201d for miss, and \u201cMrs.\u201d for mistress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Map Locations: \u201cst.\u201d for street, \u201cAve.\u201d for avenue, \u201cdr.\u201d for drive, \u201cblvd.\u201d for boulevard and \u201cln.\u201d for lane.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here are a few common abbreviations found in writing that tend to confuse people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n i.e. stands for id est, which means, \u201cin other words.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. I love to eat western food, i.e., pizza and cheeseburgers.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n e.g. stands for \u201cexample given.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. Tonight, we will explore some popular areas in Taipei, e.g, Taipei 101, Longshan Temple, and Daan Park.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n etc. stands for etcetera, which means, \u201cand other things.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. She bought way too much stuff at the department store. She walked out with shoes, a hat, pants, and a new blouse, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n One thing to note about abbreviations is that they are informal. Most of the time,\u00a0 they shouldn\u2019t be used in academic, professional, or formal writing. Before you use these, just <\/span>assess<\/span>(5) whether or not abbreviations are appropriate for what you are writing, i.e. save them for your texts or personal notes rather than your Master\u2019s thesis or C.V.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n People often confuse initialisms\u2014which we will cover soon\u2014and abbreviations for acronyms. Some dictionaries are making exceptions since so many people misuse these terms, but as far as acronyms go, they need to spell out another longer word or phrase while making a new word ( they often shorten the lengthy names of certain organizations).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Exam skills: 6 tips to help you with writing exams<\/a> One great example is NASA. You pronounce this word just as it\u2019s spelled, and it was created to shorten the official name, <\/span>National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a name that doesn\u2019t quite roll off the tongue like NASA does. If the abbreviation doesn\u2019t form a new word that is pronounced just as it\u2019s written, it isn\u2019t technically an acronym. Let\u2019s look at some of the most common acronyms to better understand this concept.<\/span><\/p>\n scuba: self-contained underwater breathing apparatus\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n radar:\u00a0 radio detection and ranging\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n GIF: Graphics Interchange Format\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Program\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n TED (talk): tell me, explain to me, describe to me<\/span><\/p>\n CAPTCHA: Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart<\/span><\/p>\n Yahoo: <\/span>yet another hierarchical officious oracle<\/span><\/p>\n ZIP: Zone Improvement Plan\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n IKEA: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd<\/span><\/p>\n CD-ROM: Compact Disc Read-Only Memory\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some people will claim that initialisms are acronyms, but that is <\/span>debatable<\/span>(6). Words like NBA and VIP are initialisms: There is no way to pronounce the letters like a typical word, but we instead pronounce each letter sound separately.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are some examples that can be classified as both acronyms or initialisms. Think about the word ASAP. You can pronounce this phonetically as one word or say each letter separately A-S-A-P.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are tons of initialisms, but here are a handful of common examples that everyone can recognize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n IQ: intelligence quotient\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n lol:\u00a0 laugh out loud<\/span><\/p>\n UFO: unidentified flying object\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n RSVP: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>r\u00e9pondez s’il vous pla\u00eet (<\/span>please respond)<\/span><\/p>\n TBA: to be announced\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n OMG: oh my god<\/span><\/p>\n ETA: estimated time of arrival\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n NBA – National Basketball Association\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n VIP: very important person\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 3D: three dimensional\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I will leave it open whether initialisms are a subset of acronyms, but it\u2019s better to understand the subtle differences between abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms regardless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Knowing how words are shortened in English text will make you a better reader and a more effective writer. Instead of getting hung up on definitions, learn what the most common abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms mean, and you will be well on your way to better understanding how words in English get shortened in text and writing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 1. abbreviation (n.)<\/span><\/p>\n Def. <\/span>a short form of a word, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. The abbreviation<\/strong> for Monday is Mon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 2. acronym (n.)<\/span><\/p>\n Def. <\/span>a word formed from the first letters of the words that make up the name of something.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. The acronym<\/strong> for \u201cGraphics Interchange Format\u201d is GIF.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 3. initialism (n.)<\/span><\/p>\n Def. <\/span>\u200b<\/span>a word formed from the first letters of the words that make up the name of something, with each letter pronounced separately<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. The initialism<\/strong> for \u201cvery important person” is VIP.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n nuisance (n.)<\/span><\/p>\n 4. Def. <\/span>a thing, person or situation that is annoying or causes trouble or problems<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. Mosquitos are such a nuisance<\/strong> during the summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 5. assess (v.)<\/span><\/p>\n Def. <\/span>to make a judgement about the nature or quality of somebody\/something<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. He assessed<\/strong> the hiking route, and it is just too dangerous to proceed until the snow melts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 6. debatable (adj.)<\/span><\/p>\n Def. <\/span>not certain because people can have different ideas and opinions about the thing being discussed<\/span><\/p>\n Ex. Whether or not the Earth was created by the Big Bang is debatable<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Omg-oh-my-god-texting-social-media<\/span><\/a> by <\/span>Wokandapix<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n January-calendar-month-year-day<\/span><\/a> by <\/span>Amber_Avalona<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Fractal-mandelbulb-3d-ufo-invasion<\/span><\/a> by<\/span> cpmacdonald<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nAbbreviations\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"Calendar](\"https:\/\/www.voicetube.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/a015e240-mon.png\")
<\/p>\nAcronyms<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nInitialisms\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Conclusion\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Vocabulary\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
Photos\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
Sources<\/h3>\n