| Please delete the post. | What is the difference? "work for" vs "work in" |
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#1 (permalink) Fri Jun 13, 2008 13:45 pm OBGYN -- False acronym? |
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This has been gnawing at me for quite some time (years):
Every time I hear some bubbly woman say "O.B.G.Y.N." on screen or on TV (etc.) I want to yank out a tuft of hair because it is a false acronym.
What is an acceptable acronym? What are the acronym basics?
1) The entity's full name has more than one word, and 2) Each of those words is represented in the acronym using the first letter (or couple of letters, as the case may be) of each word. 3) Linking words (of, and, for, etc.) are usually left out of the acronym
So if we want to refer to an Obstetrics & Gynecology professional using an acronym, wouldn't it be better for us to refer to the professional as an "O.G."?
As in, "I saw my O.G. yesterday and she told me to stop taking The Pill."
I could also stomach a sensible abbreviation:
"I went to see my Ob/Gyn (pronounced as two words: ahb/gain) yesterday."
The fact is, O.B.G.Y.N. is not a true acronym. As such, it frankly sucks. Somewhere the "Older Boys and Girls of Youthful Notoriety" club is guffawing: "They stole our acronym, the buncha lousy bastards! And it don't even fit!" _________________ Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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Prezbucky I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 2528 Location: Nashville, TN (USA)
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#2 (permalink) Fri Jun 13, 2008 14:01 pm OBGYN -- False acronym? |
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Hi Tom,
"O.G" wouldn't be an acronym if you pronounced each letter individually. An acronym is a word that has been made up of the first letters of other words. For example, NATO and NASDAQ are acronyms while USA and FBI are abbreviations.
That's how I see it. _________________ Test Of English for International Communication TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 10060 Location: EU
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#3 (permalink) Fri Jun 13, 2008 14:03 pm OBGYN -- False acronym? |
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it'd be a short acronym, sure.
Or a simple abbreviation.
(you could always say "Og" -- rhyming with "bog". hehe)
NASCAR
National Association of Stock Car Aficionado Rednecks
(hehe -- that's not really what it is) _________________ Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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Prezbucky I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 2528 Location: Nashville, TN (USA)
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#4 (permalink) Fri Jun 13, 2008 14:40 pm OBGYN -- False acronym? |
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| Tortsten is half-correct. O.G., USA, and FBI, are initialisms and not acronyms. |
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Molly I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 4017
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#5 (permalink) Fri Jun 13, 2008 14:46 pm OBGYN -- False acronym? |
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So, what is the difference between an initialism and an alphabetism? _________________ Test Of English for International Communication TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 10060 Location: EU
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#6 (permalink) Fri Nov 21, 2008 13:13 pm OBGYN -- False acronym? |
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In 1943, Bell Laboratories coined the term acronym as the name for a word (such as SONAR) created from the first letters of each word in a series of words (such as SOund Navigation And Ranging).
Some acronyms have vowels thrown in to make them a word that’s easy to say, for example, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Others are rather contrived, for example Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH). Not to mention North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD).
FBI or CIA is know as an initialism, not an acronym as they are simple abbreviations.
There is no agreement on what to call abbreviations whose pronunciation involves the combination of letter names and words, such as JPEG and MS-DOS . These abbreviations are sometimes described as acronym–initialism hybrids, although most would group them under the broad meaning of acronym.
more:
Pronounced as a word, containing only initial letters laser: light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation scuba: self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
Pronounced as a word, containing non-initial letters Amphetamine: Alpha-methyl-phenethylamine Gestapo: Geheime Staatspolizei ("secret state police") Interpol: International Criminal Police Organization radar: radio detection and ranging
Pronounced as a combination of names of letters and a word CD-ROM: Compact Disc read-only memory IUPAC: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group SFMOMA: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Initialisms whose last word is a noun, but which are used as adjectives and the final noun stated separately (almost always redundantly) ABS system (ABS from the German Antiblockiersystem): Anti-lock braking system system ATM machine: Automated Teller Machine machine DC Comics: Detective Comics comics UPC code: Universal Product Code code PIN number: Personal Identification Number number KFC Chicken: Kentucky Fried Chicken chicken
Self-referential acronyms TLA: Three Letter Acronym, i.e. it is an example of what it means |
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Calandryll New Member
Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 1
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| Please delete the post. | What is the difference? "work for" vs "work in" |