Abbreviations & Acronyms
Wednesday Writing Weekly #94: Abbreviations & Acronyms
Do you know the difference between abbreviations and acronyms? Do you know their rules for usage? When I was younger—or more specifically, before I ever took my punctuation and grammar textbooks seriously—I never knew there was much of a difference between the two.
Let’s explore what they are and how to use them!
The Difference Between Abbreviations and Acronyms (and Initialisms)!
Have you ever heard that all squares are rectangles, but all rectangles are not squares? This is because to be a rectangle, a shape must have only four sides and all corners must be a right angle. But a four-sided, four-right-angled shape must have four sides that are all the same exact length to be a square. The rectangle is inclusive, but the square requires an additional requirement to belong in its exclusive group.
Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms work in a similar way. It is not actually acronyms vs abbreviations but more so, acronyms are one type of abbreviation. And to make this even more complex, initialisms are also abbreviations, but they are not all acronyms.
Abbreviations: Words or phrases that are shortened to simplify saying or spelling a longer word or phrase. Abbreviations come in two types: acronyms or initialisms. E.g. Miss., Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc., vs, ad, tv, and more…
Acronyms: Abbreviations made from the first letter of each word in the phrase being abbreviated. These letters make up a new word that you stay instead. Examples are ASAP (as soon as possible), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), or BOGO (buy one get one).
Initialisms: Abbreviations that are spelled from the first letter of each word being abbreviated but this new abbreviation is then spelled out letter-by-letter when pronounced. Examples are OMG (oh my god), LOL (laugh out loud), or KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).
Punctuating Abbreviations
Punctuating abbreviations is unfortunately something you will need to memorize, and these rules can change often over time. Periods are used in abbreviations such as “U.S.A.” but we also know the spelling, “USA,” is just as commonly used. Here are some rules to help you figure out what is what:
Well-known or large businesses, corporations, nations, etc. usually are spelled without the periods. E.g. KFC, NASA, FBI, JFK.
Add periods where the abbreviation might be misunderstood in context. E.g. “What did you do to us? This is the U.S.!”
When introducing an abbreviation in an essay, be sure to spell that word or phrase out in full the first time it is mentioned and then introduce the abbreviation in parenthesis to declare to the reader what the abbreviation means before continuing on. Write, “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)…” first then you may refer to “The Federal Bureau of Investigation” as “the FBI” going forward.
Awkward Abbreviations
Have you ever tried to put an abbreviation at the end of the sentence and have ended up with a double period?
“I live in the U.S.A..”
It looks horrible, doesn’t it?! And luckily, everyone else thinks so too. It is actually correct to combine those two periods into one and write the sentence like so, “I live in the U.S.A.” But if you have any other kind of punctuation at the end of that sentence, you will need both separate punctuation points like this:
“I live in the U.S.A.!”
“Do you live in the U.S.A.?”
It looks terrible! But know that you are on the right track.
Note: I am using the U.S.A. as an example but you can usually spell it only as USA, as this is a well-known initialism and is usually not mistaken in text.
Conclusion
I think this will give you a good start for understanding abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms! This was a fun topic to look at because I just had it memorized what was an acronym and what was an initialism, but I never stopped to think that they all were and truly are abbreviations in the first place. I am sure to mention these rules are not one versus the other because I definitely thought that was the case at one point.
Anyways, happy writing! Let me know below what your favorite abbreviations are!