Department of english language and literature course paper

III.Different types of abbreviations

Contracted forms

A shortened or contracted form of a word or group of words, often with an apostrophe instead of omitted letters, is called a contraction. Contracted forms of auxiliary verbs are very common in English.

For example: "don't, isn't, aren't, won't" are contracted forms; "do not, is not, are not, will not" are full forms; "it's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has"; "let's" is a contraction of "let us"; "o'er" is an archaic contraction of "over".

Standard contracted forms of auxiliary and modal verbs (for example, don't, isn't, can't, shouldn't) are usually considered acceptable in formal writing, though full forms may be preferable in more formal style.

Clipped forms

A clipped form of a word (a clipped word) is also regarded as a type of abbreviation.

For example: ad (advertisement); auto (automobile); bike (bicycle); bra (brassiere); chimp (chimpanzee); deli (delicatessen); exam (examination); flu (influenza); gas (gasoline); gym (gymnasium); lab (laboratory); math (mathematics); mike (microphone); phone (telephone); photo (photograph); plane (airplane); rhino (rhinoceros); sax (saxophone).

Clipped forms are usually informal, but some of them are also used in formal writing, for example, "cello" (violoncello).

Spelling notes

Abbreviations may have variants of spelling. Usually, main differences concern using capital or small letters and using periods. (Note: AmE period; BrE full stop.)
There are differences between British and American spelling of some abbreviations, especially in the use of periods. For example, "U.S." and "U.K." are usually found in American texts, and "US" and "UK" – in British texts. "Dr." and "Mr." are preferred in AmE (before surnames), while "Dr" and "Mr" are preferred in BrE.

Generally, periods are more often used in abbreviations written in small letters. Abbreviations written in capital letters (e.g., acronyms) tend to be written without periods, though traditionally many of them are still written with periods.

For example: a.m., e.g., i.e.; B.C. or BC, NB, N.B. or n.b. (nota bene = note well; take notice); PS or P.S. (postscript); NYC or N.Y.C. (New York City).

If an abbreviation with a period is at the end of a sentence, another period is not added. For example: They visited Washington, D.C. They arrived at 10 p.m.

Generally, there is no space between the letters of abbreviations (including acronyms) regardless of whether there are periods between the letters. Exceptions to this rule include square and cubic units of measure. For example: 1 sq. ft.; 2 sq. in.; 4 sq m; 3 cu. ft.; 1 cu. in.

There are some unusual plural forms. Compare these singular and plural forms: p., pg. (said as "page") – pp. (said as "pages"); MS., ms. (manuscript) – MSS., mss. (manuscripts).

Abbreviations-homographs

There are many homographs among English abbreviations. Their spelling may be the same or almost the same, but they stand for different words and have different meanings. For example, compare the following abbreviations: L.A., LA, La.; St., St.

"L.A." may stand for "Latin America" or "Los Angeles"; "LA" and "La." stand for "Louisiana". "St." after a name stands for "Street" (for example, Franklin St., Beacon St.); "St." before a name stands for "Saint" (for example, St. Peter, St. Louis).

These abbreviations are used in writing; they are pronounced as their full words in speech: Latin America; Los Angeles; Louisiana; Street; Saint. Note: In colloquial usage, L.A. (Los Angeles) may be pronounced ['el'ei].

Many other abbreviations (especially one-letter abbreviations) may have many more variants; it may be difficult to recognize and understand them even with the help of a good dictionary. It is advisable to use only those abbreviations in texts of general character that readers can recognize and understand easily.

Abbreviations in formal writing

As mentioned above, abbreviations are rarely used in formal writing of general character. Stylebooks usually recommend avoiding abbreviations in formal and ordinary writing of general character, with the exception of certain standard abbreviations.

Standard abbreviations that are considered appropriate for use in formal writing are described below. (Of course, standard abbreviations acceptable in formal writing can also be used in tables, footnotes, lists, and the like.)

Titles and academic degrees

Titles before surnames

The titles "Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr." are used before surnames. For example: Mr. and Mrs. Stone will be back next Wednesday. Dr. Brown is a surgeon. Dr. Reed is a historian.

In American English, these titles are written with a period: Mr. Smith, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Reed, Dr. Edwards. In British English, they are usually written without a period: Mr Smith, Mrs Jones, Ms Reed, Dr Edwards.

Other titles of this kind may also be abbreviated (Prof. Redman, Capt. Miller), but it is advisable to write them in full (Professor Redman, Captain Miller) if they are used in sentences.

Abbreviated titles are pronounced as full words; for example, "Mr., Dr., Prof." are pronounced as "Mister, Doctor, Professor". Note again that the titles "Mr., Mrs., Ms." are always written in the abbreviated form before surnames.

(See more examples in the articles Forms of Address in the section Vocabulary and Articles with People's Names in the section Grammar.)

Titles after surnames

Titles after surnames include abbreviations of academic degrees. For example: B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D. Or: BA, BS, MA, MS, MD, MBA, PhD.

Academic degrees are used after surnames. For example: The lecture will be given by Thomas Newman, M.D.

Academic degrees can also be used without a surname, but in a different construction. For example: He received his B.A. last year.

Titles used after surnames also include "Jr." (Junior) and "Sr." (Senior). In modern use, commas before and after "Jr." and "Sr." are not required. For example: James Edwards Jr. is a lawyer. Older use: James Edwards, Jr., is a lawyer.

Latin abbreviations in formal text

Abbreviations a.m., p.m., A.D., B.C.

Pronunciation: a.m. ['ei'em]; p.m. ['pi:'em]; A.D. ['ei'di:]; B.C. ['bi:'si:].

The abbreviations "a.m." (ante meridiem = before noon) and "p.m." (post meridiem = after noon) can be used if the time of day is indicated. For example: He works from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

In some cases, "a.m." and "p.m." can be replaced by "in the morning" and "in the afternoon; in the evening". For example: He works from ten in the morning to six thirty in the evening.

But "a.m." and "p.m." should not be used together with such words as "morning, afternoon, evening, o'clock", because "a.m." and "p.m." convey such meanings themselves. (See more examples in Time in the section Phrases.)

The abbreviations "A.D." (Anno Domini) and "B.C." (before Christ) indicate years of our era and years before our era. "A.D." is placed before or after the date; "B.C." is placed after the date. Alternative abbreviations for "A.D." and "B.C." are "C.E." (the common era) and "B.C.E." (before the common era).

Examples with "A.D.": The Norman conquest of England took place in A.D. 1066. Beowulf, an epic English poem, probably dates from the eighth century A.D.

Example with "B.C.": The first Punic War began in 264 B.C. and ended in 241 B.C.
Abbreviations e.g., i.e., etc.

The abbreviations "e.g." (exempli gratia = for example) and "i.e." (id est = that is; in other words) are read as full words of their English equivalents: "e.g." is read as "for example"; "i.e." is read as "that is".

The abbreviation "etc." (pronounced "et cetera") means "and others; and so on". Note that "and" should not be used before "etc." – the meaning of "etc." already includes "and" ("et" means "and").

Stylebooks recommend using these abbreviations in parentheses; English equivalents are preferable in formal writing.

Examples with "i.e." and "that is": Homographs (i.e., words with the same spelling) are listed in dictionaries as separate entries. Compound words, that is, words consisting of two or more roots, may have variants of spelling.

Example with "etc.": Illustrations (photographs, maps, drawings, etc.) are in the final part of this book.

Examples with "e.g." and "for example" can be found in this material (for example, in "Spelling notes" above).
Acronyms in formal text

Official abbreviations of the names of companies and organizations in the form of acronyms (for example, BP, GM, MTV, NBA, NBC, NFL, VOA, WHO) can be used in formal texts of general character after indicating the full names of companies and organizations.

Stylebooks recommend writing out the full name, with the abbreviated name in parentheses, when it appears in the text for the first time. For example: British Petroleum (BP); GM (General Motors); World Health Organization (WHO). Then, if the abbreviated name is repeated in the text, it can be used without the full name.

If the abbreviated names of companies and organizations are well known (for example, BBC, CNN, IBM, NASA, NATO, UN, UNESCO), their full names may be omitted in text. (Learners of English should have a list of common abbreviations, including well-known acronyms.)

Note: Acronyms and full names of companies and organizations are neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks. For example: She worked as an office clerk at IBM.

Other acronyms are generally used in the same way. Some acronyms are considered to be well known; their full names may be omitted in text. For example: CD, DNA, DVD, FM, GMT, IQ, MP3, PDF, UFO, Wi-Fi. Some acronyms are more recognizable than the phrases from which they were formed (for example, DNA, IQ, MP3).

Nevertheless, a list of abbreviations and their full forms at the end of the material in which they are used can be very helpful, especially for learners of English.