What Is The Difference Between Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms?
Abbreviation vs. Acronym vs. Initialism – Key Differences |
| When you want to shorten words or phrases in English, you use abbreviations, acronyms, or initialisms. These are easy to use, but also easy to confuse, the acronym vs. initialism being one of the most common confusions in the English language, even for native speakers.
For example, what is Dr. and what is NASA? Or what about VIP? They are all created to save time in conversations and space in writing, as well as make texts easier to read. Even though they are used in similar ways, there are slight differences that set them apart. Knowing these key differences can help you clear up your confusion about acronym vs. abbreviation and acronym vs. initialism.
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Acronym vs. Initialism – Why the Confusion |
| The biggest reason why most people confuse acronyms and initialisms is that both of them are abbreviations. That’s right. Acronyms and initialisms are two similar yet different types of abbreviations that are pronounced differently.
Therefore, in order to understand the key differences between them, you first need to know what exactly abbreviations are. |
Abbreviation – Definition, Usage, and Examples |
| Abbreviations are shortened forms of words or phrases like “St.” for “streets” or “U.S.” for “United States.” They represent the whole word or phrase and are pronounced as the original word/phrase, whether you pronounce them aloud or in your head. As you can notice, they don’t create new words but only shorten the original ones.
In most cases, they are formed by using the word’s most recognizable letters, such as “Blvd.” in “Boulevard.” This allows you to easily remember them and use them. They are usually not used in a heading unless previously established. To make the text easier to read and avoid confusion, try to use only standard abbreviations such as “Mr.” for “Mister.” Using too many abbreviations can do more harm than good, so try to avoid excessive abbreviations. Also, don’t try to invent new ones. This will only confuse the reader. Abbreviations such as “Ph.D.”, “i.e.”, “AM”, and “PM” are exceptions to the rule of reading them as the whole word and are pronounced just as they are spelled. The reason for this exception is because these abbreviations have become more popular than the whole words, either because the whole word is outdated or too long. For example, did you know that “PM” stands for “post meridiem” which means after midday in Latin? We bet that you won’t even know what “post meridiem” means if you read it somewhere. On the other hand, everyone knows what PM means. A few examples of common abbreviations include: · Intl. or Int. – abbreviation for international · Dr. – abbreviation for doctor · Prof. – abbreviation for professor · Mr. – abbreviation for Mister · Approx. – abbreviation for approximately · Dept. – abbreviation for a department |
Acronyms – Definition, Usage, and Examples |
| Acronyms are a type of abbreviation created when you take the first letter of each word in a phrase and pronounce them together as one word. They are almost always written in all caps. For example, “NATO” is an acronym for the long phrase “North Atlantic Treaty Organization” or “UNESCO” for “United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.”
As you can notice, acronyms are making the reading and writing of these long phrases simpler. Plus, it’s a lot easier to remember “UNESCO” than the whole phrase, isn’t it? Sometimes, it’s better to explain the acronym before using it in writing as the same acronym can stand for different phrases, depending on the situation. Other examples of acronyms include: · AIDS – acronym for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome · PIN – acronym for Personal Identification Number · ASAP – acronym for As Soon As Possible · RADAR – acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging |
Acronym vs. Abbreviation – What Is The Difference? |
| Even though acronyms are a type of abbreviation, there are key differences between them.
In general, abbreviations shorten certain words without creating new ones, as opposed to acronyms which form new pronounceable words. This means that when using an abbreviation such as “Nov.” for “November,” you read it as the original word, in this case, “November.” This means that you just use a shorter version of the same word while pronouncing it as the original. Acronyms, on the other hand, shorten certain phrases, usually longer ones, usually by taking the first letter of each word, thus creating a completely new word that’s pronounced differently than the original. For example, the acronym “IMAX” is pronounced differently than the original phrase “Image Maximum.”
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Initialisms – Definition, Use, and Examples |
| Another type of abbreviation and similar to acronyms, initialisms are a type of phrase and word shortening formed by taking the first letter of each word in a phrase and pronouncing it letter by letter.
For example, “HR” stands for “Human Resources” where “H” and “R” are pronounced as individual letters. You can use these words in both conversational and official language. Common examples of initialisms include:· FBI – initialism for Federal Bureau of Investigation· FYI – initialism for For Your Information· CIA – initialism for Central Intelligence Agency· PTA – initialism for Parent Teacher Association· VIP – initialism for Very Important Person |
Acronym vs. Initialism – What Is The Difference? |
| Now that you know what acronyms and initialisms are, it’s easier to understand their differences. While both of them are types of abbreviations formed in the same way, by taking the first letter of each word in a phrase, and used to save time and space in writing and speaking, they are pronounced differently.
Acronyms form a new pronounceable word that’s usually more popular than the original phrase itself, such as “UNESCO.” Initialisms, on the other hand, are pronounced by saying the individual letters such as “FBI.” |
To Sum Up |
| Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms are shortened words or phrases that make your writing easier to read while saving you time and space.
Even though acronym vs. initialism and acronym vs. abbreviation are common confusions among both English learners and native speakers, they are easy to understand and use once you know the key differences between them. |
