Job Discussion Forums

[Mike_2007]

In your original list you have PIN. Would you actually say 'my pee-aye-en code'? I've always treated it as an acronym.

What about the ***......er....the ***. Oh, **** it, the I...R...S

Also, EPL, SPL, IRA.

[fluffyhamster]

Oops, PIN, that's exactly the sort of item that shouldn't be in the list. Thanks Mike, well spotted.

Thanks to everyone who's posted so far, keep 'em coming. There are a few items that I'm going to need to look up or Google (they don't ring any bells)...perhaps that should be one of the criteria for inclusion (or rather, exclusion) - if an item isn't familiar enough to be immediately obvious to a certain number of teachers (so, if you don't recognize any of the items so far mentioned, just holler!). And there are even one or two items in my original list that I'm now getting a bit hazy on LOL.

[Guerciotti]

JD. FWIW, I think JD qualifies, but YMMV.

[voltaire]

Fascinating topic, Fluffy. I just want to comment that the kind of initial use that bothers me is when saying the initials actually takes more time than the original long form of the words. Case in point: W.W.W.. It's actually fewer syllables and easier to say Worldwide Web, isn't it? There ought to be a law!

P.S. I keep thinking your avatar is rabid bat, but I am not complaining, I'm just saying...

[fluffyhamster]

It's the WW... ones that made me look like that, Voltaire!

[Mike E]

[voltaire]

[fluffyhamster]

Heh, I quite like that 'dub' shortening for 'double u', Mike E. So yeah, maybe your roommate was quite a cool dude! (Edit: I see Voltaire disagrees. This can only mean one thing...Fight! (A running gag on Harry Hill's TV Burp )).

[Glenski]

Pretty much any government will be full of these things.

USDA
USMC
NSA
MOJ

Also, if you're going to use mph, why not open a physics or chemistry book and use all of the units of measurement there?

May one ask what purpose this list holds?

[fluffyhamster]

@Glenski: For one thing, initialisms can provide extra alphabet and "spelling" practice in a spoken way that isn't too laborious or boring (by which I mean, more graphically-involved items, such as people's names or proper lexical words, can just as easily be written down for and given to the genuinely inquisitive learner, but it would be silly to do so for most initialisms, as what you hear is already exactly how they are spelt). Many of them are also useful vocabulary items in their own right, so they are well worth learning. The main problem could however be not having a judicious- yet representative-enough selection to hand, hence this list I'm compiling.

[hippocampus]

I haven't checked, but I wish to add SAT to your list. I find non-native speakers tend to pronounce it the same as the past tense of 'sit'. I find this confusing, and sometimes I don't even know what they can mean when they first say it. So please teach students to say S.A.T. - spelt out.

[fluffyhamster]

Thanks, Hippocampus. I was thinking about the SAT, but held off adding it. Interestingly the GMAT on the other hand is apparently pronounced "jee/gee mat". (I guess its having 4 rather than 3 letters has something to do with it). I'm from the UK though, and both items have less currency there at least.

[johnslat]

Dear Glenski,


"USMC"

Semper Fi - OOORAH!!!!

Regards,
John

[Sashadroogie]

Good Russian phrase, that!

[LongShiKong]

This will of course vary depending on where you are but any national TV and Radio stations (BBC, NBC, etc) and any recognizable regional or multinational corporate (IBM, HP, AT&T) and institutional initialisms (UCLA, MIT, etc)

Have you included chemical elements: H2O, CO2, etc?