RAS syndrome

RAS syndrome (Redundant Acronym Syndrome syndrome) is the common tendency to use one of the words which make up an acronym or initialism as well as the abbreviation itself, thus in effect repeating that word. "RAS syndrome" is itself an ironic self-referential example, coined in 2001 in the New Scientist.^[1] Usenet users coined PIN number syndrome and the ironic PNS syndrome^[2]; other nonce coinages continue to arise. The terms themselves are occasionally referred to as RAP phrases (Redundant Acronym Phrases phrases).^[3]

Technically, this redundancy is a form of tautology, and in many cases a pleonasm. Most criticism of it is lighthearted or pedantic, and most speakers find most instances unexceptionable.

Examples

Doubly redundant examples are also sometimes heard, such as "personal PIN number" or even "personal identification PIN number" and "CSS style sheets", and even more redundancy is possible. In one Dilbert comic strip, Dilbert states that the "TTP" project refers to "The TTP Project" (which is also an example of a recursive acronym).

The phenomenon also occurs with people whose initials form a nickname used in place of their forename, such as Jeb Bush: Jeb stands for John Ellis Bush; likewise the British politician Rab Butler, and professional skateboarder Bam Margera (Brandon Adam Margera). Another example of this is on the television show Arrested Development, in which the character whose full name is George Oscar Bluth II goes by GOB Bluth. A questionable one is the musician KT Tunstall, whose initials, KT, are both an abbreviation of her name and a play on words with her first name, Kate. This only applies where the initials form an acronym as opposed to an initialism; nobody would say JFK Kennedy.

List

Some of the most common examples include:

ABS system = Anti-lock Braking System system
AC current = Alternating Current current
AIDS syndrome = Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome syndrome
ARC computing = Advanced RISC Computing computing = Advanced Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computing computing
ALJ judge = Administrative Law Judge judge
ASB Bank = Auckland Savings Bank Bank
ASCII code = American Standard Code for Information Interchange code
ATI Technologies Inc. = Array Technologies Incorporated Technologies Incorporated (Note that while "ATI Technologies" is also redundant, "ATI technologies" is not. See below.)
ATM machine = Automatic Teller Machine machine
Bay Area BART = Bay Area Bay Area Rapid Transit
CAC card = Common Access Card card
CAPT test = Connecticut Academic Performance Test test
CD-ROM disc = Compact Disc - Read Only Memory disc
CMS system = Content Management System system
CRC check = Cyclic Redundancy Check check
CRT tube = Cathode-Ray Tube tube
DC current = Direct Current current
DLT tape (or DLTtape) = Digital Linear Tape tape
DSL line = Digital Subscriber Line line
DSW shoe warehouse = Designer Shoe Warehouse shoe warehouse
DVD disc = Digital Versatile (or Video) Disc disc
EMP pulse = Electromagnetic Pulse pulse
GUI interface = Graphical User Interface interface
HDRI image = High Dynamic Range Image Image
HIV virus = Human Immunodeficiency Virus virus
IBAN Number = International Bank Account Number number
ICBM missile = Intercontinental Ballistic Missile missile
IDM Music = Intelligent Dance Music music
IGBT transistor = Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor transistor
ING Group = Internationale Nederlanden Groep Group (with Groep being Dutch for Group)
IM message = Instant Message message
IP protocol = Internet Protocol protocol
IRC chat = Internet Relay Chat chat
ISBN number = International Standard Book Number number
IT technologies = Information Technology technologies
ITBS test = Iowa Test of Basic Skills test
LCD display = Liquid Crystal Display display
LED diode = Light Emitting Diode diode
MIDI interface = Musical Instrument Digital Interface interface
MNB Bank = Malvern National Bank Bank
MRE meal = Meal Ready to Eat meal
MSDS sheet = Material Safety Data Sheet sheet
Microsoft MS-DOS operating system = Microsoft Microsoft Disk Operating System operating system
Nabisco Biscuit Company = National biscuit company Biscuit Company
NAFTA Agreement = North American Free Trade Agreement Agreement
NIC card = Network Interface Card card.
NTFS file system = New Technology File System file system
PAT tester = Portable Appliance Tester tester (unless someone is testing a Portable Appliance Tester)
PDF format = Portable Document Format format (PDF file is acceptable)
PIN number = Personal Identification Number number
PNG graphics = Portable Network Graphics graphics
PPC Cement = Pretoria Portland Cement Cement
RAD development = Rapid Application Development development
RAID array = Redundant Array of Independent Disks array (This is particularly ironic, given that the R in RAID stands for "redundant". The even-more-ironic phrase "redundant RAID array" is not unheard of.)
RAID disks = Redundant Array of Independent Disks disks
RDC car = Rail Diesel Car car
(MMO)RPG game = (Massively Multiplayer Online) Role-Playing Game game
RPM package manager = Red Hat Package Manager package manager
SAT Reasoning Test = Scholastic Aptitude Test Reasoning Test. There are many such standardized test examples.
SAM missile = Surface-to-Air Missile missile
SCUBA gear = Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus gear (since apparatus and gear are synonyms)
SCSI interface = Small Computer System Interface interface
STEP paper = Sixth Term Examination Paper paper
TCBY yogurt = The Country's Best Yogurt yogurt
SDI defense initiative = Strategic Defense Initiative defense initiative
TSB bank = Trustee Savings Bank bank
The New TNN = The New The National Network
The TTLB Ecosystem = The The Truth Laid Bear Ecosystem
VIN number = Vehicle Identification Number number
VIP person = Very Important Person person
UPC code = Universal Product Code code
UCD Dublin = University College Dublin Dublin
Windows WDM Driver Model = Windows Windows Driver Model Driver Model
Windows NT Technology = Windows New Technology technology
NCT test = National Car Test test

Not redundant

Examples appearing here may appear to be redundant but are actually not, for the given reasons:

ABM missile = Anti-Ballistic Missile missile is disputed, as it falls in line with military terms such as anti-missile missile, a missile used to destroy other missiles.
ASCII code = American Standard Code for Information Interchange code. Although this can be redundant, in common usage the latter "code" refers to a specific value representing a symbol, while the former "Code" refers to the entire body of such value-to-symbol relationships.
ATI technologies = Array Technologies Incorporated technologies is not redundant, as ATI is the service that provides technologies.
CRC code = Cyclic Redundancy Check code. The C stands for "check", not "code".
DNS server = Domain Name System server is not redundant. The S stands for "system", not "server".
JPEG graphics = Joint Photographic Experts Group graphics.
LASER light - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation light
MAC Address = Media Access Control Address
MOT test = Ministry of Transport test is not redundant, although the test is often referred to simply as an MOT.
PCR replication = Polymerase chain reaction is not redundant. The R stands for "reaction", not "replication".
PDF file = Portable Document Format file (PDF format is redundant)
RDF format = Resource Description Framework format
SMS message = Short Message Service message is not a redundant acronym, as SMS is a service, while message is something you get out of the service.
SWAT team = Although this acronym used to stand for Special Weapons Assault Team, which is redundant, it now refers to Special Weapons and Tactics.

Reasons for use

The most obvious reason for using an acronym in this way is that it has become (or been mistaken for) a word in its own right; the speaker may not know the original expansion, or may know it as the etymology but consider it irrelevant to modern usage. One acronym which has become a word is laser, which originally stood for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, but has become so much a part of common vocabulary that a verb form, "to lase", meaning to emit or make use of a laser beam, is in use as a product of back-formation.

All these cases conform to a specific pattern. The repeated word is the general class to which the object belongs (generally the main noun of the phrase). A "PIN number" is a type of number, an "ATM machine" a type of machine, a "RAID array" a type of array, etc. The rule for usage is both consistent and predictable. For this reason, some, including many prescriptivists, find objection to the usage to be a mere shibboleth.

One reason to deliberately use some examples is that they have become so common that not to use them would be more confusing. The sentence "I can't remember my PIN" when spoken does not distinguish between a pin and the acronym PIN (and some dialects of English even have identical pronunciations for "pin" and "pen"). People are simply more used to hearing "pin number" and, though redundant, it is widely accepted.

Some occurrences are in the interest of clarity; for example, when discussing a mainframe computer's requirements, the acronym "AC" might refer to air conditioning or alternating current depending on the context; the redundant phrase "AC current" can be used to distinguish them. Also, the phrase "AC current" distinguishes from "AC voltage" (which, incidentally, is itself an acronym of dubious meaning: "alternating current voltage"). The phrase "CSS style sheets" can also reduce confusion, where in certain contexts CSS could also refer to the content-scrambling system used on DVD Video titles. In addition, in many technical contexts, it is highly desirable to be as specific as possible, even at the cost of some off-putting redundancy. Combining the acronym with a noun identifying its class achieves clarity with economy of space and time. However, many people believe that if clarity is sufficiently important to justify the redundancy, the full phrase, rather than the acronym, should be used.

A final justification is that many acronyms and initialisms are trademarks, and trademark law generally treats trademarks as adjectives, which should be used with a generic noun. Examples of correct usage include "SPAM luncheon meat" and "CNN network".

Honorable Mention

Along the same lines, "please RSVP", which can be seen to be redundant once it is realised that RSVP comes from the French phrase répondez s'il vous plaît, which translates as "please respond".

The phrase "The El Alamein" begins with the word "the" in English, Spanish, and Arabic.

The expression "Thank God It's Friday", commonly abbreviated to "T.G.I.F.", is sometimes rendered instead as "T.G.I.F. Friday". Similarly, the popular restaurant chain T.G.I. Friday's is incorrectly referred to as "T.G.I.F. Friday's" on occasion.

The 1970s saw Strategic Arms Limitations Talk between the US and the USSR, aimed at producing a series of Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties, also referred to, respectively, as the SALT talks and the SALT treaties.

The Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in a suburb of Los Angeles, California was renamed in 2005 from the Anaheim Angels to The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This translates to the full name of The The Angels Angels of Anaheim. In addition, references to "MLB Baseball" itself, as well as "NBA Basketball" and "NFL Football", exist.

DC Comics is also an example, as the "DC" originally stood for Detective Comics.

An office supply company called WB Mason is not really a RAS, but comes close to it because their trucks and many of their products are labeled "Who But W. B. Mason".

References

^ New Scientist, Issue 2285, 7 April 2001, pg 108 "Feedback"
^ Usenet group alt.possessive.its.has.no.apostrophe
^ Redundant Acronym Phrases - a collection of common examples of such phrases.

[1] New Scientist, Issue 2285, 7 April 2001, pg 108 "Feedback"

[2] Usenet group alt.possessive.its.has.no.apostrophe

[3] Redundant Acronym Phrases - a collection of common examples of such phrases.

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