Talk:List of initialisms: Difference between revisions

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Merged Acronyms and Initialisms and Redirected

List of acronyms and List of initialisms have now been merged into list of acronyms and initialisms, following Wernher's suggestion above. The original pages have each been changed to #REDIRECT list of acronyms and initialisms so please go to Talk:list of acronyms and initialisms to discuss either list. Wikibob 14:00, 2004 Mar 4 (UTC)

All talk from here has been moved to Talk:List of acronyms and initialisms. Wikibob 01:01, 2004 Mar 5 (UTC)

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+== Merged [[Acronym]]s and [[Initialism]]s and Redirected ==
-Is there a difference between initialisms and abbreviations, if so what is it?
+[[List of acronyms]] and [[List of initialisms]] have now been merged into
-[[User:Dieter Simon|Dieter Simon]] 21:28 30 May 2003 (UTC)
+[[list of acronyms and initialisms]], following Wernher's suggestion above.
+The original pages have each been changed to #REDIRECT [[list of acronyms and initialisms]] so please go to [[Talk:list of acronyms and initialisms]] to discuss either list.
+[[User:Wikibob|Wikibob]] 14:00, 2004 Mar 4 (UTC)
+All talk from here has been moved to [[Talk:List of acronyms and initialisms]].
-An abbreviation is any shortening of a word or phrase, e.g.
+[[User:Wikibob|Wikibob]] 01:01, 2004 Mar 5 (UTC)
-:Mister -> Mr.
-:Johannesburg -> Jo'burg
-:North Atlantic Treaty Organization -> NATO
-:Light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation -> laser
-:Weapons of Mass Destruction -> WMD
-Only the last example (WMD) is an initialism, which is an abbreviation composed of the initial parts of words, all the parts being pronounced individually.  NATO is not an initialism because it is pronounced as a single word, not as four individual letters.  One or two of the above examples, depending on your definition, are also [[acronym]]s.  My source for this explanation is the [[OED]]. -- [[User:Heron|Heron]]
-I didn't realize that, many thanks, Heron, that's cleared that up --[[User:Dieter Simon|Dieter Simon]]
-It's not quite cleared up. In <cite>The Canadian Style</cite> (Dep't of Sec'y of State) [[1985]] p31: "An acronym is a pronounceable word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of other words...An initialism is formed from the initial letters only of a series of words and may not be pronounceable." Which I read as may or may not, esp since not everyone agrees on what is and isn't pronounceable. So NATO and AIDS are both initialisms (no more than the first letter of the words) and acronyms (pronounceable initialisms). Wish I had an OED to see ''exactly'' what it says...
-: OED says (full definitions):<br>'''initialism:''' The use of initials; a significative group of initial letters. Now ''spec.'' a group of initial letters used as an abbreviation for a name or expression, each letter or part being pronounced separately (contrasted with ACRONYM).<br>'''acronym:''' A word formed from the initial letters of other words<br> --[[User:Zero0000|Zero]] 14:09, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)
-::Highly interesting -- to me, this seems to say that the class of initialisms is a subset of the class of acronyms; so much the better to merge the two lists (see my list-merging-advocacy posting below). --[[User:Wernher|Wernher]] 15:35, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)
-Furthermore, I see ASAP in acronyms...and I've very seldom heard it pronounced other than "eh es eh pea". (And is its other pronounciation "eh sap" or "ahsap"? If the former, which sounds most natural to me, then RBOC could not be logically excluded as "are bock".) '''shrug'''
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-Why the heck the page is protected? -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 16:42 31 May 2003 (UTC)
-:Probably an accident - it's quite easy to protect a page by mistake, because the link to do so is right next door to other useful links. I've unprotected it now. --[[User:Camembert|Camembert]]
-Thanks. -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]]
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-This page would be rather confusing to a new speaker of English. The initial lines of [[list of initialisms]] and [[list of acronyms]] clearly imply that the distinction has been made as a pronunciation guide. They acknowledge that not everyone agrees with the distinction, but it is nevertheless a useful one to make. However, ''many'' of the items under [[list of initialisms]] are normally pronounced as words. For example, AIDS, BART, DIMM, FUBAR, KISS, QANTAS, etc, etc. I suggest we clarify the headings, then move the pronounceable ones to [[list of acronyms]]. However, there are also regional/personal variations e.g ACl = ay-see-ell or "ackle". Thoughts? --Roger 08:10 30 Oct 2003 (UTC)
-:I'd actually propose that we merge the two lists under one heading, [[list of acronyms and initialisms]], where acronyms could be marked with an "(a)", and initialisms with an "(i)", or something like it, to simplify both the contribution to and maintenance of the list(s).  As things stand now, it seems that some contributors who visit one of the lists, 'accidentally' add items that belong to the other list, no matter how clear the initial description of either list might be.  Merging the lists could also ease the acronym/initialism borderline case problem, e.g. by allowing such markings as "(a/i)". --[[User:Wernher|Wernher]] 11:37, 29 Nov 2003 (UTC)