Acronyms
An acronym is a word or literal reduction of titles based on the initial letters or syllables of each or some of the components of the title. That is, the word formed by the junction of the first letters or the junction of the initial syllables of a group of words, which normally represent a title. The acronyms are formed words acronyms or abbreviations. Each acronym or abbreviation represents a word, that is, it adds meaning. For example FIFA, NASA.
- Acronyms and acronyms are written without periods between each letter (unlike abbreviations, which do have a final period).
- The acronyms adopt the gender (masculine/feminine) of the word that constitutes the nucleus of the abbreviated expression. For example, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a feminine word because its core is “organization”, which is a feminine word.
- It is important to note that not just any acronym is considered an acronym, but must form a word that is read as written, without spelling. For example UFO, UN.
- Instead, there are acronyms that cannot be pronounced as words but rather spelling is necessary. For example DNA (it is an acronym and not an acronym).
- Some acronyms are incorporated into the everyday lexicon and may be written in lowercase. For example AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) Acronyms with history examples
History
The widespread use of acronyms and acronyms is a relatively recent phenomenon, typical of the 20th century. However, there are older examples. The first Christians in Rome used a fish as a symbol of Jesus, partly due to an acronym: “fish” in Greek ἰχθύς (capitalized mai, ichthus ) is written, whose meaning is taken by ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ ( Iēsous Christos Theou Huios Sōtēr ), ” Jesus Christ, Son of God, Salvador “. Traces of this interpretation date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries and are preserved in Rome. Also, the use of acronyms has been common in Hebrew since the Middle Ages, with examples like רמב״ם ( Rambam ) for רבי משה בן מימון ( Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon ) and תנ״ך ( Tanakh ) for תורה ( Torah, Law ), נביאים ( Nevi’im, Prophets ) and כתובים ( Ketuvim, Writings).
These often occur in technical language or as abbreviations for the names of organizations, since they allow for the abbreviation of long terms that are frequently referenced. The military and government agencies often use acronyms. Some people share the view that acronyms are used to encode messages.
Acronyms are linguistic signs generally formed with the initial letters of each term that make it up. For example: UN (United Nations Organization).
Characteristics of acronyms
- Acronyms are written without dots between the letters that make them up. For example: SA (Sociedad Anónima). Unlike the abbreviations that do have a period. For example: p.
- Some acronyms include more than one letter of each term, to make them easier to pronounce. For example: CONADEP ( National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons ).
- In the case of those that exceed four letters, such as INDEC (by the National Institute of Statistics and Census), many prefer to write them in lower case. For example: Indec .
- The acronyms that should be read as if it were a word. For example: the acronym SA is pronounced “sa” and not “that a”.
- The plural of acronyms is not marked graphically with the s but it is correct to pronounce the s orally. For example: las ONGs (“las ONGs” is incorrect).
- When an acronym represents plural words, each initial is placed twice. For example: HR (Human Resources).
Formation of Acronyms
These can be formed by two nouns, like a motel, English engine, and hotel. Or they can be made up of a noun and an adjective, such as computing. They can also arise from the union of two adjectives: portuñol, from Portuguese and Spanish.
From a grammatical and orthographic point of view, acronyms follow the rules of the English language regarding the formation of the plural ( UFO-UFO) and accentuation ( laser). As for the genre, it is usually that of its main element. In the case of acronyms from acronyms, being common words for all intents and purposes, they are no longer capitalized (like acronyms). They only keep the initial capital letter in the case of names of institutions or organizations (Unesco, Unicef) Acronyms with history examples
Examples
- APA. American Psychology Association, the American Psychological Association.
- Brexit. Britain’s exit, the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
- FIFA. International Federation of Football Association
- OPEC. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries,
- NATO. North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- RAM. Random Access Memory.
- AIDS. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
- Unesco. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
- UNICEF. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
- VIP. Very important person.
- CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
- ILO: International Labor Organization.
- SIDE: State Intelligence Secretariat.
- IMF: International Monetary Fund.
- CPI: Consumer Price Index.
- WHO: World Health Organization.
- CNV: National Securities Commission.
- DNI: National Identity Document.
- FIFA: International Federation of Football Association.
- VAT: Value Added Tax.
- RAE: Royal Spanish Academy.
- UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
- UN: Organization of the United Nations.
- AFA: Argentine Football Association.
- UOM: Union of Metallurgical Workers.
- NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- SME: Small and Medium Enterprises.
- PJ: Justicialist Party.
- CONADEP: National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons.
- UFO: Unidentified Flying Object.
- UIA: Argentine Industrial Union.
- CASLA: San Lorenzo Athletic Club.
- RIP: Requiescat In Pace
- UNICEF: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
- FIBA: International Amateur Basketball Federation.
- GDP: Gross Domestic Product (Many call it Gross Domestic Product).
- FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
- AC : Before Christ.
- OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
- UCR: Radical Civic Union.
- PDF: Portable Document Format
- DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration.
- IOC: International Olympic Committee.
- UBA: University of Buenos Aires.
- HR: Human Resources.
- UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply.
- CPU: Central Processing Unit
- VIP: Very Important Person
- CBU: Unique Bank Code.
- PIN: Personal Identification Number.
