• The personal abbreviations are those that each person uses in their own language and to communicate informally with others.
• The conventional abbreviations are endorsed and recognized by speakers of a whole community. For these reasons it can be said that every conventional abbreviation was initially a personal abbreviation but not every personal abbreviation becomes a convention. In addition, conventional abbreviations are regulated by the variables of place and time, so the abbreviations may fall into disuse or last for several decades.

The term abbreviation has its origin in the Latin language, and it is a spelling-type procedure that involves the reduction of a word through the suppression of final or central letters and, usually, ends with a period . Some examples are: Atte. (for “attentively” ), Mr. (for “sir” ), Dr. (for “doctor” ).

Although the above abbreviations (and many others) have widespread use and have acquired a conventional way, any person who can write may create an abbreviation for personal use. When a writer does this, he usually includes a glossary at the beginning or end of his work where he explains the particular abbreviations he has used.

There are two ways to abbreviate a term: by truncation or by contraction . The abbreviation for truncation consists in eliminating the final part of the word, as can be seen by observing Av. (By “avenue” ), or etc. (for “etcetera” ). In the Spanish language, this type of abbreviation never ends in a vowel, unlike other languages, such as English (see Ave. , which corresponds to the term “avenue” , which means avenue ).

The abbreviation by contraction , on the other hand, involves the elimination of the central letters of the word, leaving only the most representative ; some of the most used are Avda. (for “avenue” ) and no. (by “number” ).

There are abbreviations that can end in flown letters, such as # (by “number” ). On the other hand, there are abbreviations in which the end point of a word is replaced by a slash : c / c (for “checking account” ) or c / u (for “each” ). There are even abbreviations that can be written in parentheses: (a) (by “alias” ).

It should be noted that, according to the spelling rule, abbreviations should maintain the tilde of the source word, as is the case with p. (for “page” ).

English abbreviations of everyday life

It is a fact that, nowadays, abbreviations have invaded our daily lives, perhaps even in Portuguese, but, especially, English is a language that uses them a lot. semantic unit of a text. In other Words naturally plural, first letter highlighted, effective punctuation… many signs tell us that we are dealing with an abbreviation that can be considered interesting from all points of view. Because yes, in addition to being effective, abbreviations are real vectors of everyday life, which allow us to express ourselves, demonstrating reactions, sensations and emotions.

These are new signs of our contemporary society, which are no less important than some written testimonies of people enrolled in traditional online English courses. All this was promoted by the internet and telecommunications, which have managed to democratize the abbreviation and standardize this type of word, due to the simplicity and speed they convey, especially in the written part. In everyday life, all this is very useful, as evidenced by these terms:

• WTF: This abbreviation is probably the best known of all English abbreviations, as most of us use it, sometimes even wrongly . This is a sign of linguistic identity, coming straight from America, which means something like “what is this?”. A good base when you want to speak like a true speaker in English, regardless of region or accent;
• AC: Do you sometimes wonder why this abbreviation is on our cars when it comes to turning on the air conditioning? Well, it’s simply because “AC” stands for   Air Conditioning  , or “Air Conditioning” in English. Maybe at this very moment a mystery in your life has been solved;
• THX: Quite simply, “THX” is the logical abbreviation for   Thanks,   which means “thank you” in English. In addition to demonstrating politeness, its use can be very useful for all those who want to stand out and show that their level of English is very good, something almost familiar;
• LOL: I sure bet you already know this term, used everywhere, especially on the internet, all the time, by everyone. This is the simple translation of “Laughing Out Loud”, which expresses the idea that one is “laughing liters”, as we would say in Portuguese. I even wish you can use it more often!
• OMG: This abbreviation is probably already one of those you know well, as everyone uses it or has used it. This is the translation of “Oh my God”, and the abbreviation of ” Oh my God”  , a classic when you want to express amazement or surprise at something you have just heard, heard or read;
• DIY: If the internet world is not unfamiliar to you, the term ” Do It Yourself” is probably already familiar.  Coming from the United States, “do it yourself” includes all manual activities that you do for yourself and others, quite logically. A serving of gnochi, a beaded necklace, a Christmas wreath, and here we are with a nice DIY;
• YOLO: Perhaps for the younger ones, this abbreviation could translate to “You only live once”, meaning “we only live once”, in the sense of enjoying every moment. Increasingly present in oral conversations, it is often used in everyday writing. But attention: we said DAILY, and not in real estate law or political institutions, of course. 

English abbreviations: learn 10 of the most used