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.
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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.
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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:].
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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.
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Plural forms of acronyms
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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.
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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).
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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).
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