ABBVRIATION REDUNDANCIES
An "acronym" is an abbreviation that is made up of the first letters of the words of something's name. For example, the word "SCUBA" is an acronym. (That's why it is written in all upper-case letters.) "SCUBA" stands for, "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus." I suppose also that, since some people call me Aj, as a word, (short for " 'aj' itation," according to some, a bastardization of "agitation") or "Age," rather than A. J., one could argue that my name is also an acronym.
Something closely related to acronyms are "initialisms". In hospitals, and on related TV shows (TV is an example, too), you hear doctors and nurses discussing G. S. W.'s (Gun-Shot Wounds). These are examples of initialisms, or abbreviations that use the first letters of the words in a phrase, spoken or written, as words unto themselves. (These are different from abbreviations that are only written with the letters but spoken with the word, as in "St." to mean "Street" or "Saint".) So my name is better used as an initialism rather than as an acronym, but that's just a personal preference. *Cough*
(For the record (FTR), there is yet another type of abbreviation: when you use the first several letters of a word, or the first syllable of a word, to indicate the word itself. "Esp." is used esp. in dictionaries to mean "especially." If it is written with all upper-case letters, "ESP," the same abbreviation becomes an initialism for "Extra Sensory Perception".)
Both of these ideas become redundant (and not always unnecessarily) when a word that is already used as part of the acronym or initialism is repeated, as in "TCBY yogurt," which means, "This Country's Best Yogurt yogurt." Below are some of the more common examples in English.
Something closely related to acronyms are "initialisms". In hospitals, and on related TV shows (TV is an example, too), you hear doctors and nurses discussing G. S. W.'s (Gun-Shot Wounds). These are examples of initialisms, or abbreviations that use the first letters of the words in a phrase, spoken or written, as words unto themselves. (These are different from abbreviations that are only written with the letters but spoken with the word, as in "St." to mean "Street" or "Saint".) So my name is better used as an initialism rather than as an acronym, but that's just a personal preference. *Cough*
(For the record (FTR), there is yet another type of abbreviation: when you use the first several letters of a word, or the first syllable of a word, to indicate the word itself. "Esp." is used esp. in dictionaries to mean "especially." If it is written with all upper-case letters, "ESP," the same abbreviation becomes an initialism for "Extra Sensory Perception".)
Both of these ideas become redundant (and not always unnecessarily) when a word that is already used as part of the acronym or initialism is repeated, as in "TCBY yogurt," which means, "This Country's Best Yogurt yogurt." Below are some of the more common examples in English.
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INITIALISTIC REDUNDANCIES
ABM missile: Antiballistic Missile missile ATM machine: Automated Teller Machine machine CNN news network: Cable News Network news network DVD video: Digital Video Disc video HIV virus: Human Immunodeficiency Virus virus ISBN number: International Standard Book Number number ISS space station: International Space Station space station KOA Kampground: Kampground of America Kampground SAT test: Scholastic Aptitude Test test TCBY yogurt: This Country's Best Yogurt yogurt UPC code: Universal Product Code code |
ACRONYMIC REDUNDANCIES
BASIC code: Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruc- tion Code code NATO organization: North Atlantic Treaty Organization organization PIN number: Personal Identification Number number SIN number: Social Insurance Number number (Canada only) VIN number: Vehicle Identification Number number |
There is another type of abbreviation: one in which the first part of a word represents the whole. I've begun looking into our language to find some redundancies based on this type of abbreviation. So far, I have found only one:
Landsat satellite, which means, "Land Satellite satellite.
I'll look for more and post them as they pop up. If you find any, please contact me using the form on the contact page and let me know.
