Department of english language and literature course paper

Latin abbreviations

Latin abbreviations in English include a number of various abbreviations; some of them are quite common in written English. For example: a.m., p.m., e.g., i.e., etc.

Some Latin abbreviations are always read as abbreviations. For example, "a.m." ['ei'em] and "p.m." ['pi:'em]: He got up at 7:00 a.m. (read as "at seven a.m.")

Some other Latin abbreviations are always read as full words of their English equivalents. For example, "e.g." is read as "for example"; "i.e." is read as "that is".

(Read more about Latin abbreviations in "Latin abbreviations in formal text" below. Also, various Latin abbreviations are described in Latin Expressions in English in the section Idioms.)

Abbreviations of names of countries, states, streets, months

Generally, the names of countries should not be abbreviated. Names of some countries may be abbreviated in tables, footnotes, and the like. There may be variants of spelling, as well as preferences in use. For example, "U.S." is used as an adjective or noun; "U.S.A." and "USA" are used as nouns; "USA" is used mostly in mailing addresses. The noun "United States" can be used in most cases.

Abbreviations of the names of the states of the United States exist in two variants: two-letter postal abbreviations and older traditional state abbreviations. For example: AL and Ala. (Alabama); CA and Calif. (California); KS and Kans. (Kansas); NC and N.C. (North Carolina); TN and Tenn. (Tennessee); WY and Wyo. (Wyoming). Abbreviated state names are read in the same way as their unabbreviated names. State abbreviations are usually spelled out in formal writing.

Abbreviations on road signs and in mailing addresses, for example, "Ave., Blvd., Hwy., Rd., R.R., St.; Apt., Bldg.", are said as their full words: "avenue, boulevard, highway, road, railroad, street; apartment, building".

Abbreviations of the names of months and days of the week, for example, "Jan., Feb., Mar., Jul., Sept., Dec.; Mon., Tues., Fri., Sat.", are said as their full words: "January, February, March, July, September, December; Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday". Such abbreviations may be used where space is really tight (for example, in tables) or in informal writing (for example, in short messages to friends).

Acronyms

An acronym is formed from the initial letters of the words in a name or a phrase and is usually written in capital letters. Some acronyms are read as words. For example: NATO ['neitou]; UNESCO [yu:'neskou]. The majority of acronyms are read letter by letter. For example: BBC ['bi:'bi:'si:]; DNA ['di:'en'ei]; IBM ['ai'bi:'em]; U.S.A. ['yu:'es'ei]. Acronyms read letter by letter are also called initialisms.

Some acronyms have become ordinary words written in small letters. For example, the word "radar" was formed from "radio detecting and ranging", the word "scuba" was formed from "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus", and the word "pixel" was formed from "picture element", but nothing in their spelling or pronunciation indicates that these words are acronyms.

Not every acronym that looks pronounceable as a word is in fact pronounced as a word. For example, "bit" (binary digit) is pronounced [bit], while "IT" (information technology) is pronounced ['ai'ti:]; "ZIP" or "zip" (zone improvement program), as in "zip code" (BrE postcode), is pronounced [zip], while "VIP" (very important person) and "IP" (Internet Protocol) are pronounced ['vi:'ai'pi:] and ['ai'pi:].

Note: Informal and slang abbreviations and acronyms (for example, AFAIK, IMHO, LOL, OMG, TNX) are used by some Internet users on forums, in chatrooms, and in SMS messages. Such abbreviations and acronyms are not considered acceptable in formal writing.
Plural forms of acronyms

Plural ending "s" may be added directly to some acronyms (if the meaning allows, of course), usually to those acronyms that do not have internal periods: four URLs; two PCs; three TVs; many CDs.

Some linguists recommend using the apostrophe and "s" to form the plural of acronyms that have internal periods and/or both capital and small letters. For example: several Ph.D.'s (or several PhD's).

Some other linguists object to using the apostrophe to form the plural. Usually, you can change the construction to avoid using the plural form (e.g., several Ph.D. degrees).

Indefinite article before acronyms

The indefinite article "a" is used before words beginning with a consonant sound; "an" is used before a vowel sound.

Compare the use of "a" or "an" depending on the pronunciation of the initial letter in these acronyms: a CD ['si:'di:] player; an SMS ['es'em'es] message; a PR manager; an ESL course; an HBO picture; a UN member state.

(See "Note: a, an" in Articles: Countable Nouns in the section Grammar.)