With the popularity and rise in real-time text-based communications,
such as Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, e-mail, Internet and online
gaming services, chat rooms, discussion boards and mobile phone text messaging
(SMS), came the emergence of a new language tailored to the immediacy and
compactness of these new communication media.
An
abbreviation is any shortened form of a word or phrase and an acronym is a form
of an abbreviation. In fact, there are three forms of abbreviation. First,
there is the acronym. It is a word
formed from the initial parts of a name and can be letters or syllables. For
example, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is commonly known as NATO which
is pronounced "nay toe”.
Then
there is the initialism. It is
formed by combining the first letters in a name or expression and each letter
is pronounced separately. For example, the National Broadcasting Company is
known as NBC.
Finally, there are truncations.
In this form of abbreviation, a word is shortened to its first syllable or few
letters, for example Tues. is Tuesday and info is information.
With more than 900,000 human-edited definitions, Acronym Finder is the
world's largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations,
and initialisms. Combined with the Acronym
Attic, Acronym Finder contains more than 4 million acronyms and
abbreviations. You can also search for more than 850,000 US and Canadian postal
codes.
Jargon and buzzwords
are technical or occupational term developed to help specialists in a specific
industry or business communicate quickly and simply with one another.
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