Re: Acronymns (was Re: C-IPA underlying principles and methods)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim May" <butsuri@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: 25 February, 2003 20:26
Subject: Re: Acronymns (was Re: C-IPA underlying principles and methods)


> Jake X wrote at 2003-02-25 20:17:22 (-0500)
>  > I think you're confusing the word acronymn with the way an
>  > acronymn.  The word acronymn, to my knowledge, simply refers to the
>  > system of taking the first letter from each word in a multiword
>  > phrase.  For example, 'Laughing Out Loud' becomes lol, from the
>  > first letter of each word.  Those new letters, "lol," are an
>  > acronymn regardless of how you pronounce it.
>
> Not so.  It's only an acronym if it's pronounced as a word.  At least,
> that's what a style manual will tell you.  I've read dictionary
> definitions which allow such a use "loosely".  The term for
> abbreviations formed from the initials of a phrase which are
> pronounced individually, eg. "BBC", is "initialism".
Thanks, I suppose I've always been wrong about that.  However,  I can
remember any number of old English teachers who were wrong as well...

Jake

::cowers in shame::